Emergency Management Specialist

Tate Recruitment are proud to be partnered with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to recruit a HM Principal Inspector of Railways: Emergency Management Specialist

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways and monitor of performance on England's strategic road network.

This is an exciting time to join ORR, we are delivering a significant transformation programme to create a consistently agile and enabling organisation, with the right capability and a strong, inclusive culture that reflects our talented people. This will ensure we continue to operate as an independent, expert regulator, fit for the future and equipped with the capabilities and ways of working required to support sector-wide rail reform, while contributing to the government's broader agenda on regulatory reform and economic growth. Further detail on our future role is set out here.

Tate are recruiting for a specialist in emergency management to support ORR's dedicated Channel Tunnel Team.

The ORR Channel Tunnel team plays a critical role in supporting the binational British and French Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) and Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) to ensure the ongoing safety of the Channel Tunnel fixed link. You can find more information about the IGC and CTSA at https://www.channeltunneligc.co.uk/

The Opportunity

This is a full-time, permanent opportunity, you will be based in London, but you will be expected to regularly travel to Folkestone, London and France for inspection work and key meetings.

Salary range per annum for London is £71,321 - £76,860 depending on experience, with a large range of benefits, including generous annual leave, starting at 25 days, Civil Service pension scheme and wellbeing initiatives.

In this role, you will lead inspections of Channel Tunnel operators' emergency preparedness and response arrangements and offer wider support to ORR on emergency planning across GB rail operations. You will also represent the UK as part of the CTSA delegation.

You will lead a small, multi-disciplinary team, including CTSA inspectors from ORR and the emergency services, and work closely with French counterparts to ensure coordinated, effective regulation of Channel Tunnel operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing expert advice on fire, rescue and emergency management matters to the CTSA and IGC, and ORR's Railway Safety Directorate.
• Building strong relationships and collaborate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders including the UK CTSA Delegation and Secretariat, Department for Transport, Home Office, British and French emergency services and local authorities
• Co-chair the CTSA's rescue and public safety working group alongside your French counterpart, ensuring coordinated binational oversight
• Lead the planning, delivery and oversight of the CTSA rescue and public safety working group's inspection and investigation activities, including the development and implementation of an annual work programme
• Act as the primary liaison with GB emergency services and French local authorities on matters relating to rescue and public safety
• Provide line management of the Fire & Rescue Inspector and oversee the contributions of CTSA inspectors from the emergency services
• Conduct investigations and produce detailed reports for CTSA and IGC meetings, while leading and participating in ad-hoc projects and meetings on emergency response and public safety
• Review and analyse CTSA reports and duty holder submissions, offering expert input on rail vehicle authorisations, safety incidents and emergency procedures
• Lead the CTSA Dangerous Goods sub-group when required, ensuring robust oversight of hazardous materials transport
• Represent CTSA 1 during serious incident investigations and subsequent follow-up activities
• Organise and facilitate the annual Bi-national Channel Tunnel exercise and other emergency drills, ensuring that lessons learned are captured and implemented effectively

Essential criteria

Experience:

• Significant experience of implementing/assessing emergency planning and emergency management arrangements in the rail sector, or other high-hazard industry. Demonstrated success in building strong, collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders.

Technical:

• Strong understanding of emergency management principles, particularly within transport or infrastructure contexts, alongside knowledge of fire and rescue operations, relevant legislation, standards and the broader health and safety regulatory framework
• Proven ability to interpret and apply regulations relating to the management of safety and emergency situations, including in binational or multi-jurisdictional environments, ensuring compliance and effective risk management

Mandatory licence:

• Full UK Driving Licence

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making effective decisions

*The lead criteria for this role is: Technical 1 - Strong understanding of emergency management principles, particularly within transport or infrastructure contexts, alongside knowledge of fire and rescue operations, relevant legislation, standards, and the broader health and safety regulatory framework.

Why you should apply

At The ORR, your work has real and lasting impact. You will help shape emergency preparedness for one of the UK's most critical transport links while working at the highest levels of rail safety regulation.

You will also be enrolled in ORR's Specialist Training Programme (STP) - this is a one-year programme comprising in both in-depth legal training and assessment - supporting your continued development as a HM Principal Inspector.

Disability confident employer - committed to an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone.

How we assess your application:

As part of the Civil Service, we are committed to attracting, retaining and investing in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Shortlisting

We'll assess your application against the essential criteria above using the Civil Service's Success Profiles recruitment framework. It is vital your application provides relevant examples to evidence how you meet each criterion listed - drawing from your own personal experience gained within a work, volunteering, training or educational setting. Please note part of the shortlisting process may involve attending a virtual screening interview to assess suitability against the essential criteria.

(*) If we receive a large number of applications, we might go through a pre-sift stage based on the lead criteria for this role; applications that pass pre-sift will progress to a full shortlisting stage against all criteria

We will let you know the outcome of your application and whether you've been shortlisted for an interview and email you the relevant details within fourteen days of the closing date (this may take longer if there is a high number of applications)

• Interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 15^th June, although please note this may be subject to change.
• At interview, we'll again assess you against the essential criteria listed above.
• As part of the interview process, you may be asked to complete a written assessment and/or prepare a short presentation and submit these in advance by a deadline or discuss or present these at your interview. Details of either a test or presentation and how you are expected to complete and deliver these, will be included in your email.
• Note, the selection process may also include a video assessment and/or second interview.

Please note the deadline for applications is 1^st June 2026. If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to attend an interview.

Security vetting

Anyone working with government assets must complete a minimum baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) checks.

Additionally, this post requires security clearance details of which will be provided after the successful completion of BPSS checks.

You can apply online or you can send your application directly to

Please be aware this advert will remain open until the vacancy has been filled. Interviews will take place throughout this period, therefore we encourage you to apply early to avoid disappointment.

Tate is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

Tate is committed to promoting equal opportunities. To ensure that every candidate has the best experience with us, we encourage you to let us know if there are any adjustments we can make during the application or interview process. Your comfort and accessibility are our priority, and we are here to support you every step of the way. Additionally, we value and respect your individuality, and we invite you to share your preferred pronouns in your application.