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Inspector (General)

Job details
Posting date: 10 January 2025
Salary: £41,220 to £49,020 per year, pro rata
Additional salary information: £41,220 - £49,020 National: £41,220 - £45,400, London: £44,500 - £49,020. A technical uplift is payable on the successful completion of the probationary period (usually 6 months after starting). This is a supplement to the pay rate for Inspectors to reflect the technical skills of the role. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’. A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 09 February 2025
Location: London, UK
Remote working: On-site only
Company: Government Recruitment Service
Job type: Permanent
Job reference: 383979

Summary

Every day tap water is tested by the water companies. Inspectors independently check these tests and audit water company laboratories. If any one of the millions of tests each year fails the standards then the Inspectors use their powers to require the water company to make the necessary improvements to drinking water quality. Inspectors go out on site to check that improvement work is completed on time. They also inspect that the aspects of water operations which ensure drinking water is safe at all times. Very occasionally things go wrong. When this happens it is the job of the Inspectorate to investigate the operational incident and provide an independent report of the cause with recommendations on how to prevent similar events from happening again. Sometimes our investigations of incidents lead to a water company being prosecuted. In addition, when a water company fails to resolve a drinking water quality complaint then the consumer can come to the Inspectorate for help.

Inspectors work in teams under the direction of Principal Inspectors. However, there is a high degree of autonomy of decision making and Inspectors are involved in a wide range of tasks covering all functions from source to tap. Inspectors must decide whether or not there has been, or is likely to be, a breach of the Regulations and if so, whether enforcement action is necessary to safeguard drinking water quality. Inspectors may be involved with interviewing staff, contractors or consumers; conducting site audits to assess treatment and monitoring processes or storage facilities; and in certain circumstances may be required to attend court and give interviews to the media.

Responsibilities include:

Inspectors manage the day-to-day relationship between the Inspectorate and one or more of the regulated water companies.
Inspectors can also work in specialised team accessing information provided by water companies and other stakeholders in relation to compliance with the Regulations.
Inspectors are required to give authoritative advice to resolve disputes such as consumer water quality complaints or disagreements between the parties involved with the regulation or operation of water supplies.
Inspectors have a key role in maintaining wholesome supplies and protecting public health.
Inspectors may have a role in providing advice in relation to private water supplies.

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A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.