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Job description

Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI), is an Executive Agency within the Department of Justice, employing approximately 200 staff, and providing a wide range of scientific services and expertise to assist in the investigation of crime and the presentation of scientific evidence in court. The Agency is an independent, innovative organisation providing a service to its main customers, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland State Pathologist as well as a number of other customers in Northern Ireland and further afield. The Agency provides a full range of forensic science services through its operational casework sections, each of which consists of a number of teams which focus on a particular forensic science discipline. FSNI enjoys an international reputation for its breadth of expertise and experience. FSNI’s primary purpose is the provision of effective scientific advice to support the delivery of justice. The casework in FSNI is distributed between a number of Reporting teams who are responsible for the scientific investigation of some of the most serious cases including but not limited to murders, sexual assaults, misuse of drugs and terrorist activity. FSNI provides an out-of-hours on call service and therefore, the post-holder will be expected to attend scenes throughout Northern Ireland, where required within the role, often during unsociable hours and at weekends, on bank holidays etc. These scenes can be distressing and very often the person/s fatally injured will be present during the examination. Therefore, resilience is required when dealing with such scenes. Following the examinations, the post-holder will provide a report in the form of a witness statement and will regularly provide expert opinion evidence at criminal courts, generally under cross-examination.

Responsibilities

• Providing expert advice and guidance to investigators at scenes of crime and/or in relation to casework
• Liaison with the Senior Investigation Officer to establish lines of inquiry and advising them on the scientific aspects of the investigation
• Performing the role of ‘case manager’ to ensure the work is planned and allocated as necessary to meet the requirements of the case Effective management of workload, competing priorities and urgent work whilst meeting time pressures
• The supervision of the examination work of laboratory staff and line management duties where applicable
• Developing the forensic strategy to maximise best value solutions Assess items and issue instructions in respect of examinations/analysis to be performed
• Evaluate and interpret the results of examinations Attend case conferences and give advice, as required, to investigators based on their experience and areas of competence
• Report results to contextualise scientific findings and conclusions Provide reports on casework findings
• Fulfil legal and professional obligations expected of an expert witness and FSNI Reporting Officer in line with the Code of Ethics
• Leads/Supports the delivery of projects delivering changes to products and services within the section appointed to and wider agency initiatives.
• Quality and Health & Safety Carrying out appropriate quality checks/audits to ensure validated results are delivered to customers
• Completing all work in line with FSNI accepted quality standards (ISO/IEC 17025) and standard operating procedures Taking responsibility for specific activities e.g. quality rep, document owner
• Identifying and managing risks and reporting any issues to management
• Adhering to all policies and procedures in relation to Health and Safety and Risk Assessments e.g. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
• Ensure all policies and procedures in relation Equality, Diversity and Welfare are adhered to.
• Professional Development Ensuring relevant professional competencies are maintained and skills developed to maximise flexibility across the Laboratory
• Providing advice, guidance and technical direction as necessary to support the goals of the team
• Attendance at relevant training courses/events

Skills and Qualifications

Essential Skills

• Applicants must, by the closing date for applications: 1. Have a minimum of a 2:2 Honours level degree qualification or equivalent* in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry,
• Pharmacology or a closely related** scientific discipline where the study of Chemistry comprised the majority of the course.
• AND 2. Have the equivalent of at least 2 years full-time laboratory based experience in the last 5 years, where you applied an advanced knowledge of a range of scientific techniques
• relevant to forensic science, for example immunoassays, GC-MS, LCMS, HPLC, GC-TEA, SEM, FTIR and microscopy.
• AND 3. Demonstrable ability to work under pressure involving multiple work streams and priorities which can be subject to change at short notice,
• including evidence of planning, organising and prioritisation of work to deliver expected results.
• AND 4. Have the ability to communicate clearly at all levels, using a variety of media, with content, style and language suited to the audience and the ability to explain technical/specialist
• matters and scientific findings in a way that can be understood by fellow professionals, administrators and the general public.
• AND 5. Hold a current driving licence valid for driving in Northern Ireland and permanent access to a vehicle for travel to scenes to fulfil the duties of the post in full.
• *Relevant or equivalent qualifications: give the type of qualification and date awarded (the date awarded is the date on which you were notified of your result by the official awarding body).
• If you believe your qualification is equivalent to the one required, the onus is on you to provide the panel with details of modules studied etc so that a well-informed decision can be made.
• **Closely related subject: Should a candidate feel their degree subject is closely related to Chemistry, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry or Pharmacology they should list ALL
• of the modules studied during the degree (including those with no relation) and also provide a description of each of the relevant modules.
• The onus is on you to provide the panel with details of ALL of the modules studied, along with the content of modules so that a well-informed decision can be made.

Desirable Skills

• In addition, applicants should be aware that after an eligibility sift, should it be necessary to shortlist candidates to go forward to interview, the following shortlisting criteria will be used:
• Have a minimum of a 2:1 Honours level degree qualification or equivalent* in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmacology or a closely related** scientific discipline where the study of Chemistry comprised the majority of the course.

Further Information

NICS Application form only, Vacancy closing date Friday 27th November 2026 at 12 noon. Applications from Protestants, young people (people under the age of 35), people with a disability and people from minority ethnic communities are particularly welcomed for this post. The Northern Ireland Civil Service is an Equal Opportunities Employer. All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit

Application Information

Visit the recruitment service website www.nicsrecruitment.org.uk (Please quote reference number: IRC332573)