The post holder, based within the dispersed chemical and environmental hazards team, will respond to chemical & environmental hazard incidents and enquiries, which threaten people's health, through the provision of public health risk assessments. Such threats might involve chemical fires, chemical contamination of the environment, or the deliberate release of chemicals and poisons.

The postholder will contribute to the development of evidence and provision of expert environmental public health advice to government, multi-agency stakeholders and members of the public. Other responsibilities include the provision of training to stakeholders, and the public health response to a range of consultations.

The postholder will be expected to work both independently on allocated objectives, and as part of a team of scientists from across the department who maintain the incident response function on a day to day basis. Excellent communication skills are required.