Head of Health and Safety

Head of Health and Safety

The Role:  

The Health and Safety area is responsible for developing a robust safety culture in line with the overall organisation strategy and ensuring & supporting compliance with company, national & European level health and safety, legislation and standards for our client. The team provides specialist advice, support and governance across the business areas and manages the maintenance and assurance of the health and safety management systems to ensure appropriate compliance with regulatory requirements.

Reporting into the People & Safety Director, the Head of Health and Safety is responsible for maintaining a strategic oversight across all Health and Safety aspects and is responsible for developing the overall strategic safety direction , advising on safety related strategic and business risks.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

•       Accountable for ensuring the delivery of the provision of Health and Safety strategy and services and are consistent with the overall company strategy

•       Ensure that the organisation’s safety value is driven across all levels of the organisation

•       Lead a Senior Safety Management team and the wider Health and Safety function, ensuring there is continued focus on the team’s development, performance and engagement 

•       Work closely with the Executive, and Management teams across the business to support in understanding their Health and Safety obligations across all activities, and to support a culture that prioritises the safety of the employees and its delivery partners 

•       Have a clear understanding of the legislative framework for Health and Safety and its application.

•       Ensure that appropriate Health and Safety policies and frameworks are developed, maintained, and revise

•       Provide updates, performance metrics and deep dives as required to Board and relevant Board sub-committees as required

•       Accountable for ensuring that the safety governance structures, processes and performance monitoring metrics are appropriate for the risks being managed and look to continually improve their effectiveness

•       Communicate and report on organisational health and safety related risks, trends and implications that need to be brought to the attention of the CEO and Executive team

•       Collaborate with the Organisational Risk and Resilience and IMS teams to ensure that the company-wide Integrated Management System is embedded in line with industry best practices. 

•       Represent the client and collaborate nationally and internationally on relevant committees and industry groups, both in water and relevant industries

•       Enable the creation of strong working relationships internally and externally

•       Accountable for ensuring robust audit, inspection plans and trackers are in place and ensuring analysis in place of all health and safety metrics and inputs to drive the delivery

•       Ensuring hazard identification/risk assessment/incident investigation processes are robust 

•       Maintain a strategic technical oversight for all functions across the Health and Safety remit, advising the Executive, and Management teams on key business risks, and supporting a strong focus on new technology, research and development, design standards and necessary training requirements in the area of Safety 

•       Accountable for ensuring that robust framework, management systems and processes are in place for process safety in areas such as Dam safety, electrical safety and ATEX

•       Accountable for the development, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the clients Occupational Health framework 

General Duties and Responsibilities 

•       Collaborate with key internal stakeholders across the business. 

•       Responsible for promoting and delivering health and safety commitments across the business and its supply chain, reinforcing positive behaviours and delivering health and safety objectives and requirements to the highest industry standards. 

•       Support the delivery of the client Transformation Programme, driving results required within the Directorate and supporting organisation-wide objectives.

•       Provide visible leadership for your team, coaching and developing them to achieve their full potential and deliver business objectives, promoting collaboration and highlighting the behaviours that are expected from everyone in the team.

•       Other duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

•       Relevant third level qualification and or accreditation and or relevant experience is desirable

•       A minimum of 10 years’ experience in a senior safety role ideally in the water, utilities or similar industries, with 5+ years working at a senior manager level

•       Experience in leading out on strategic plans with a proven track record in delivering business outcomes 

•       Excellent leadership and people skills required, and a demonstrable ability to attract and develop a high performing committed team.

•       You will have significant leadership, change & transformation experience ideally in a similar utility, regulated industry or multi stakeholder environment

•       Able to work to deadlines and adapt to changing conditions and ambiguity generating effective and pragmatic solutions to new situations and problems as they are presented.

•       Can quickly establish credibility and respect and build strong working relationships and influence effectively at all levels, both internally and externally

•       A proven track record of working in a commercially focused environment and working collaboratively across multiple functions and business areas

•       Excellent communicator with the capability to handle complex and difficult situations with thought and confidence

•       Proven track record of successful delivery against Business Objectives within a complex and large organisational context and have demonstrated an ability to align resources across these environments.

•       Strong negotiation skills with win/win mindset

•       Financially and commercially astute

•       Experience of implementing policies, systems and controls and overseeing the implementation of progressive policies.

For more information please call Christina Keating on 021 4944872 or email [email protected]