Job title: Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Adviser.
Salary: PO2 £39,862 - £42,839 per annum (pay award pending).
Hours: 37 Hours per week
Contract: Permanent.
Location: Belle Isle Centre and various locations around Leeds, hybrid working
Do you want to make a real difference and help drive culture change in a large organisation?
Due to recent promotions, we are excited to offer vacancies for 2 Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisers in our innovative and ambitious Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Fire Team.
As a Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Adviser you’ll excel in providing a range of high quality, responsive and flexible health, safety and wellbeing advice and guidance to a variety of stakeholders, including Directors, service area staff, managers, schools and unions to help them comply with health and safety legislation and good practice.
You’ll thrive on being part of a fast paced, dynamic team who strive to ensure we meet our duties and responsibilities as the council’s “Competent People” every day and seek to continually improve.
It’s not about a one size fits all approach or always black or white. It’s about being a critical thinker who can interpret legislation and guidance, understand the needs of our varied customers, and apply suitable solutions.
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.
About you
As a Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Adviser you will bring to the role:
-
Extensive knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, policies and the ability to interpret and apply them consistently in a large, complex organisation.
- Excellent communication skills through a range of media and with a range of stakeholders.
- A can-do approach and confidence to check and challenge and make decisions on routine health, safety and wellbeing issues.
- Experience of conducting health and safety audits and inspections, investigating incidents and delivering health, safety and wellbeing training.
- Experience of working with senior managers and other key stakeholders across a range of service areas and / or organisations.
- Experience of effectively using your own judgement skills to ensure positive outcomes whilst maintaining good working relationships with colleagues, managers, and other stakeholders.
- Experience of developing and delivering training to a range of stakeholders.
- Experience of effectively managing staff / a team (s) of staff at different levels with the ability to ensure work is carried out efficiently and effectively and that deadlines are met.
About the role
As one of our next Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisers you’ll be part of something bigger and join us in achieving the Best City Ambition, working together as a Team for Leeds. We have a new and ambitious Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Fire vision that you will play a key role in delivering and realising across Leeds.
The roles offer excellent opportunities to develop and widen your experience, skills and knowledge and make a real difference to the staff and people of Leeds.
The roles are integral to our Corporate Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Fire Team, that is part of Human Resources. We support over 24,000 staff (based in 5 Directorates and over 100 Leeds City Council schools) and have a traded service to over 150 other organisations. Our remit also covers protecting the people of Leeds who use over 500 different Leeds City Council services. Within the Team we also have a range of specialist sub teams supporting Directorates, strategies to reduce violence and aggression, schools’ health, safety and wellbeing, Fire Safety and Occupational Health.
We are a caring and supportive Team, who want the best for and from our colleagues, and we are committed to developing each other to achieve the full potential of the Team and individuals within it.
You’ll provide specialist health, safety and wellbeing advice and support on a wide range of issues for allocated work streams and contribute to cross-council projects and initiatives.
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
-
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
How to apply
Apply for this job online. Please complete the online application form and upload your CV if you have one.
Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.
If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Thomas Hollings - Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager,
[email protected]
Assessment may include presentations, group work and written based assessment centres and interviews for applicants that successfully pass any presentation and assessment centre stages.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.
Job description
Job purpose
Support Health, Safety and Wellbeing Managers and Senior Leadership Team to deliver excellent health, safety and wellbeing services across the council and to external organisations. Key responsibility for day-to-day management of HSW Advisers delivering services to LCC Directorates or traded work streams, providing oversight and direction to the roles carried out by in service HSW Officers, and contributing to organisation-wide health, safety, and wellbeing (and related) projects and initiatives.
Most importantly, this role fulfils that of one of the organisation’s ‘competent people,’ pursuant to the statutory requirement to have access to professional and technical professional and technical health, safety and wellbeing advice.
Responsibilities
- Manage the delivery of allocated health, safety, and wellbeing services, as part of the wider HR team, to support leaders and managers - anticipating, influencing, and ultimately delivering against defined business needs;
- Build a rapport and establishing credibility with Chief Officers, Heads of Service, and service managers leadership teams and managers on all areas of health, safety and wellbeing matters.
- Assist the Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Fire (HSWF) Leadership Team, and HSW Managers by taking responsibility for delivering core elements of the HSWF strategy for LCC. Including key responsibility for day-to-day management of the HSW Advisers delivering services in our key work streams and providing oversight and direction to the roles carried out by in service HSW Officers.
- Liaison with other services in and outside Leeds to ensure that holistic and comprehensive support is provided to service areas and contributes to HSWF improvement across LCC.
- Work closely with directorate management/leadership teams, chief officers, service managers, leadership teams of schools and external organisations to identify issues and provide appropriate health, safety and wellbeing solutions through strategic planning.
- Enable services to improve and ensure compliance with health, safety and wellbeing legislation and good practice, through the provision of effective guidance, advice, monitoring, review and challenge.
- Manage the directorate delivery of HSWF policy, advice and support, as part of the wider HR and HSWF Teams to support Senior Leaders and service managers and anticipating, influencing and ultimately delivering against defined business needs.
- Act as a senior competent health, safety and wellbeing professional for one or more of our key workstreams working closely with senior managers to identify issues and provide appropriate solutions through effective planning. This includes, but is not limited to, Wellbeing, the Directorates in LCC, Risk Management and Compliance across LCC, Training (internally and externally), LCC Schools, and Traded Services.
- In your key work streams, to actively contribute to the development and achievement of LCCs Health, Safety and Wellbeing strategies and ensure the provision of proactive and positive intervention. This includes developing policies, procedures and systems that promote a best practice approach to Health, Safety and Wellbeing as part of embedding a robust, effective safety culture and safety management system across LCC and external organisations.
- Manage and ensure the provision of high-quality appropriate health, safety and wellbeing advice and support in your key workstreams, including ensuring the services provided are professional, effective and, where relevant, tradeable and competitive.
- Provide effective check, challenge and support to managers, stakeholders and external organisations to enable them meet legal, best practice and LCC standards and ensure continuous improvement.
- Provide high quality performance information to senior managers across LCC and external organisations, and the Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing to enable assessment of compliance with health, safety and wellbeing in line with legal requirements, council standards and good practice.
- Support the management and development of health, safety and wellbeing advisers and support staff, and provide professional and technical support to council employees who are employed in a health, safety and wellbeing role outside of HR. This includes line management of HSW Advisers.
- Develop excellent relationships with key stakeholders, in particular managers at all levels, Trade Unions and external organisations. This would also include liaising with HM Inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive and other enforcement bodies, as necessary.
- Support in ensuring effective health, safety and wellbeing information and training is available to all stakeholders in LCC and relevant external organisations.
- Co-ordinate and/or contribute to council wide initiatives and projects, especially those that involve a health, safety and wellbeing agenda.
- Act as one of LCCs subject expert, supporting the HSW Manager and HSWF SLT in the provision of expert witness advice and guidance for accident / incident investigation, HSE legal action, insurance claims, and disciplinary / grievance investigations.
- Support the management of the budget for the provision of services within your key work streams.
- Build collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders including senior managers, Trade Unions, colleagues, and partner organisations to understand future challenges and to deliver effective workforce solutions.
- Keep abreast of legislation, case law and developments in health and safety and professional practice and communicate developments and relevant information within the Directorate as required.
- Represent LCC on regional Safety Advisors Group attending and contributing to associated meetings and ensuring good practice is shared and used to benchmark and inform LCC HSWF strategies.
- 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.
Qualifications Degree level or equivalent and relevant knowledge and experience within one or more of the HSW key workstreams are essential. NEBOSH Certificate or equivalent as a minimum.
Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.
-
Able to manage staff, and contribute to their development through appraisal, supervision and training.
- Able to and experience of working effectively as part of a team and to demonstrate organisational and time management skills prioritising own and team’s work to meet conflicting deadlines.
- Able to develop constructive working relationships and work in partnership.
- Able to use and experience of the use of information technology e.g. word, spreadsheet, database, email etc.
- Able to and experience of communicating appropriately and effectively with a wide range of people including internal and external partners, customers and members of the public, through a variety of different methods.
- Able to use and experience of using initiative to develop solutions to issues and problems to ensure effective delivery of the service.
- Able to and experience of gathering a wide range of information and accurately entering and retrieving data and information from digital and manual systems producing basic reports and data for senior managers.
- Able to and experience of analysing and interpreting varied and complex information or situations and producing appropriate health, safety and wellbeing solutions to difficult problems.
- Able to and experience of working within and interpret financial policies and procedures ensuring value for money.
- Able to and experience of developing and delivering training to a range of stakeholders.
- Good understanding of the legal, financial, political, and social factors affecting LCC and the organisations we support.
- Extensive knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, policies and the ability to interpret and apply them consistently.
- Understand responsibilities in terms of Health, Safety, Wellbeing, security, confidentiality and data protection.
- Experience of evaluating, developing and implementing policies, procedures, guidance documents and risk assessment including the use of health, safety and wellbeing organisational data.
- Experience of working with line managers and other key stakeholders across a range of service areas and / or organisations.
Experience of reactive and pro-active monitoring in a large, complex organisation – including serious accident/incident investigations.
-
Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics
-
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 Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities and a resilient sustainable city
- Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
- Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
- Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
- Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality & diversity 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
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
