Health, Safety and Wellbeing Officer

The role is integral to children and families as well as part of a wider team of health and safety professionals across the council. With two roles based in our learning team (supporting schools) and one in children's social care, you will be key to embedding a positive wellbeing and safety culture in children and families. You will provide holistic, comprehensive advice, solutions and support, enabling colleagues to take positive action towards safe, healthy workplaces. You'll be closely linked with the corporate health, safety and wellbeing team and officers in services across the council, so you always have access to professional support, guidance and development opportunities. This is a role with far reaching impact; you will make a real difference to colleague wellbeing at work and enable them to deliver excellent services that change lives for local people., Job Purpose: Support the Senior Leadership Team to meet compliance with all statutory and legislative Health and Safety requirements and Approved Codes of Practice and compliance with the relevant underpinning Council Policies. To achieve high levels of efficiency, cost effectiveness and quality, ensuring maximum performance in accordance with the targets, standards and policies of the Council. To ensure overall value for money is achieved through the effective management of resources.,

• Assist and lead where appropriate in providing health, safety & wellbeing advice to operational managers and teams on a day-to-day basis across all sections of the service.
• Assist Service and Operational Managers in ensuring that all operatives undertake work in a safe and competent manner.
• Liaise with operational teams to ensure that all sites, works and offices are managed consistently and in the appropriate manner in relation to health, safety & wellbeing.
• Assist with incident investigations in a professional, competent and compassionate manner and provide accurate and independent reports and where applicable instigate corrective actions and track to the full resolution of the highlighted issues.
• Co-ordinate key information and documentation to advise managers on the measures required to ensure that work operations comply with relevant legislation and codes of practice, and thus informing compliance and assurance processes.
• Compile regular summaries, analysis and reports of all records and in accordance with operational requirement including performance information in an accurate and timely manner.
• Undertake internal monitoring of procedural compliance and undertake observation of work practices to provide assurance that systems are operating robustly.
• Carry out workplace inspections.
• Work with the local service training team to help develop health and safety compliant training by responding to changes in legislation and guidance and lessons learned from in-house accident trends.
• Comply with all internal health, safety and wellbeing Policies, Procedures, Practices and Legislation.
• Assist with training and developing staff across the Service on health and safety procedures.
• Work with the Corporate Health, Safety & Wellbeing Team on a range of identified issues and Corporate health, safety & wellbeing priorities.
• Maintain an up-to-date expert awareness and knowledge of health and safety practices and current legislation to provide sound advice applicable to your service.
• Develop effective working relationships with those you work with.
• To carry out appropriate administrative duties relative to your role
• Communicate and provide information by relevant methods internally and externally to assist and enable organisational operations and delivery of effective services.
• Lead on the development of Risk Assessments, Method Statements and Safe Systems of Work to ensure it meets legislative requirements.
• Ensure the procurement of goods and services is in accordance with financial regulations, corporate policy and legal requirements.
• Facilitate the wellbeing strategy for Leeds City Council.
• Be aware and promote the staff networks within Leeds City Council.
• Take a leadership role for wellbeing using the toolbox supplied within the service they are supporting.
• Escalate any wellbeing concerns to appropriate person within Leeds City Council.
• Take a lead role in any staff surveys to ensure best possible return rate.
• Provide specific advice to support the appropriate and effective management of health and safety, including the interpretation of health and safety performance standards, health and safety best practice, legislation and specific business needs.
• Effectively communicate and present information on a range of health, safety & wellbeing issues and project areas to a range of audiences.
• Liaise with union and non-union Safety Representatives and attend Safety Committees as required.
• Undertake a lead role on health and safety projects/cases, as directed by the Service Health and Safety Manager.
• Contribute and support council wide change initiatives and service projects, especially around the health, safety & wellbeing agenda.
• Develop excellent relationships with key stakeholders in support of overall and local health and safety objectives, in particular managers at all levels, Trade Unions, HR etc.
• Liaise and engage with external enforcement agencies as necessary e.g. HSE, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
• The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post., Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• A clear understanding of the importance of diversity and a commitment to implementing and promoting them in all aspects of the work.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee's responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Take care of your own Health and Safety and the safety of others whilst at work and ensure you do not cause harm to others or the environment through your acts or omissions.
• Courteous manner towards clients, customers and colleagues.
• Highly self-motivated and ability to use initiative, when necessary.
• Have a methodical approach to work.
• The flexibility to work outside normal office hours as required.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
• Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
• The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
  
  As our next Health, Safety and Wellbeing Officer, you will be qualified to NEBOSH General Certificate level or equivalent or be willing to quickly attain that qualification with our support., demonstrable experience of working within a health and safety role with sound knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation
• experience of workplace risk, compliance, legislation, data trend analysis and control measures to drive improvement and injury reduction
• a confident, well organised approach, with ability to prioritise and work to deadlines, showing a flexible 'can-do' attitude
• excellent communication skills to work with colleagues at all levels, encouraging, educating and advising to support good health, safety and wellbeing choices
• ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and partners in a multi-agency environment
You must have a full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work., Qualifications Hold a NEBOSH General Certificate or equivalent Essential Requirements It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.
• Able to work with managers at all levels in an advisory capacity.
• Able to formulate and implement practical guidance to implement safe working practices.
• Able to influence and negotiate with others when communicating on health and safety issues.
• Able to work to conflicting and strict deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels, using a variety of formats.
• Able to undertake health & safety briefings for all levels of staff on the implementation of Service procedures.
• Good IT knowledge and able to use a range of M365 and in-house applications.
• Organisational skills necessary to manage and organise own workload.
• Able to respond to changing priorities to meet deadlines.
• Able to produce work of a high standard with an attention to detail.
• Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate.
• A full driving license is required for this role.
• Sound understanding of H&S legislation and requirements in a similar/relevant) environment.
• Ensure legislative knowledge and practice is kept up to date in line with regulatory changes and appropriate training is undertaken where required.
• Knowledge of software integrated computing skills & experience
• Understanding of the Council values and a commitment to embed them into ways of working.
• Understanding of the role of Elected Members within the Council and the community.
• Experience of working in a health and safety environment and/or working in a similar area.
• Experience of producing risk assessments and method statements.
• Experience of working in partnership with other agencies. (DEFRA, HSE, Contractors, RoSPA)
• Experience of reporting to and working effectively with a range of colleagues and partners including Trades Union officials.
• Experience of problem solving, individually and in a group setting
• Experience of carrying out training or briefing sessions to staff/colleagues and partners.
  
  As a Health, Safety and Wellbeing Officer with our children and families team you'll thrive on ensuring all colleagues are safe and well at work so they can be their best, to do their best for the people they support.
It's not just about legislation and compliance, you will be instrumental in creating a positive workplace culture that promotes health, safety and wellbeing for colleagues, enabling them to deliver vital services to children and families in Leeds. We are recruiting to three posts, all based in teams within children and families at Leeds City Council. Two roles will focus on supporting effective Health and Safety within Schools and one will focus on Social Care. We're proud of our Ofsted outstanding children's services in Leeds, with dedicated teams working across social care, learning inclusion, learning improvement and early help. We work closely together and with our partners, committed to our shared consensus of wanting things to be right for children, young people and families in our city. The team base is Merrion House, central Leeds, with some work undertaken at other locations across the city. We offer hybrid working opportunities subject to the needs of the service. We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence. Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.


• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further