University Chemical Safety Adviser

Grade UE08: 50253 - 61759 per annum

Corporate Services Group / Health Safety and Wellbeing Department

Full time: 35 Hours per week

Open-ended (permanent)

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the University of Edinburghs Health Safety and Wellbeing Department. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Specialist Safety Advisory Services the University Chemical Safety Adviser is a new role which will play a vital role in ensuring that the wide range of chemicals used across the University are managed safely.

The Chemical Safety Adviser will have responsibility for advising on regulatory requirements with regards to chemical safety driving improvements in chemical safety practices and providing specialist support advice and direction to staff working with hazardous substances across the Chemical Safety Adviser will also support and where required lead investigations involving hazardous substances and liaise with regulatory authorities and other interested parties as required.

Additional key responsibilities will include the development of chemical safety management standards and guidance development of specialist training packages for staff and responding to regular requests for support and assistance from senior managers school and department safety professionals and other colleagues.

The post is full-time (35 hours per week) and open ended. During your probationary period there will be a need to be present regularly on campus and to be flexible on appropriate days to undertake work. Out of hours work may be required on occasion to provide support serious incidents and infrequent travel for networking/conferences will be required.

View the full job description

For further information about the position or to have an informal conversation about the position please contact Dr Phil Rodger (Deputy Director of Specialist Safety Advisory Services):

Your skills and attributes for success:

• A degree level qualification in chemistry or a chemistry-related discipline (or equivalent relevant experience)
• An academic qualification in health and safety (minimum of NEBOSH National General Certificate or an equivalent qualification) and membership of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
• A detailed knowledge of chemical safety legislation and techniques used to assess the risks posed by chemical hazards in the workplace along with the identification and implementation of effective proportionate control measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to constructively engage with and influence individuals at all levels of an organisation including the ability to communicate complex technical safety information clearly and concisely.
• Experienced in the design and delivery of training courses relevant to chemical safety in the workplace.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a proven ability to reach rational balanced and proportionate conclusions working both alone and as part of a team.

Application Information

• CV
• Covering letter

As a valued member of our team you can expect

• Competitive salary
• An exciting supportive creative challenging and rewarding place to work
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits such as a generous holiday entitlement a defined benefits pension scheme staff discounts family-friendly initiatives and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits

Championing equality diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 2nd February 2026.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

We will aim to hold interviews mid to late February 2026.