HM Inspector of Railways: Human Factors Specialist in Manchester

We're looking for a HM Inspector of Railway Human Factors Specialist to join our Railway Safety Directorate.

This role can be based at any of our office locations: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York, Glasgow.

At ORR we have adopted hybrid working and are currently expected to work from a workplace location for a minimum of two days per week or 40%.

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.

ORR’s Railway Safety (RS) directorate plays a vital role in keeping Britain’s railways moving safely and efficiently.

From the entire mainline network to the London Underground, light rail, trams and the heritage sector, we oversee the safety of one of the most complex and dynamic transport systems in the world.

We want to ensure our railway is not only a safe way to travel, but also a safe place to work.

Across RS, more than 100 health and safety inspectors and specialists are recognised and respected throughout the industry.

With significant enforcement powers and deep technical expertise, they help ensure the rail system operates safely and efficiently.

Our Specialist Team leads strategic intervention in high-risk areas of railway health and safety, helping to shape strategy, improve industry risk control, and support operational teams with specialist knowledge.

We ensure the Railway Safety Directorate maintains a deep understanding of health and safety risks and drives continuous and sustained improvement across the rail sector for our specialist areas.

Our work contributes to the delivery of ORR’s strategic objective of a healthier and safer railway.

You will provide Human Factors expertise through advice, inspection, investigation support and liaison, on topics such as workload, human error, fatigue, human factors integration and design, competence management and non-technical skills, workplace assessment, etc.

You may have developed your Human Factors expertise in academia, industry or with another safety regulator but you will be both analytical and pragmatic.

You will have some experience of the rail industry and/or other high-hazard industries, and you will be open to developing your knowledge.

You will work collaboratively and flexibly with colleagues, for example, in developing advice for industry.

You will work independently in leading Human Factors inspection assignments and providing Human Factors support to investigations to help drive improvements in the management of system risk and reliability of the rail network.

You will have good communications skills and will build strong relationships across the industry, for example, with Network Rail, passenger and freight operators, and the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

You will need to use your judgement about when to seek advice or to escalate issues.

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Job Information Pack for further details.

Find out what our colleagues have to say about their ORR careers at Our people | Office of Rail and Road (orr. gov. uk).