Lead Health and Safety Advisor

The Corporate Health & Safety team is a well-established group of professionals whose common function is to support on matters relating to health and safety across UKHSA, working together towards achieving a positive health and safety culture and managing the overall implementation and governance of the organisation's Health and Safety Management System.

The Health & Safety team delivers training, undertakes assurance activities and provides support to the organisation through the provision of competent H&S advice. In addition, the corporate team supports interactions with the regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The Lead H&S Advisor role supports the implementation of H&S arrangements across all UKHSA workplaces, including our specialist laboratory sites. The postholder will need to apply their own judgement and make decisions autonomously, but with support from colleagues and senior managers when required. This involves a collaborative approach, making reasonably practicable decisions regarding health and safety risks (during audits, incident investigation and assurance checks and contribution to committees and working groups).

The post holder will be a key leader in the team, alongside 3 other topic-specialist Lead Advisors, helping to support and mentor other team members through offering guidance and shadowing opportunities, supporting the competent advice function of the corporate team and helping to fulfil knowledge and skills progression for team members., As part of their role, they will also support senior management and other colleagues in the team with the annual programme of continuous improvement activity and corporate projects. They will seek to lead by example by implementing team processes such as H&S auditing, training provision, document management, review and consultation, H&S updates and communications; supporting team initiatives to maintain and improve ways of working that contribute to the organisation's safety culture and enhance operational H&S implementation.

An important part of the role is building and managing relationships with Heads of Departments and other key personnel to foster a positive health and safety environment. The postholder will lead on initiatives to investigate, identify, improve and resolve H&S issues in a way that supports the development of a learning culture.

UKHSA is a multi-site organisation and the corporate H&S team are required to travel to other sites on occasion for the purpose of auditing, training, investigations and meetings. As part of on-the-job learning and workplace support activities where they will be working alongside H&S team members, the Lead H&S Advisor may need to spend time working in the different locations. The main sites that corporate health and safety are based at are Chilton, Colindale (London) and Porton Down, and the role may also involve travel to regional laboratories, offices and Core Headquarters (London, Canary Wharf; Birmingham; Leeds; Liverpool).

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.