Job Introduction
HEAD OF HEALTH SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT
Salary: £76,905 per annum plus essential car user allowance and excellent benefits
Location: Walsall, West Midlands (Due to the nature of this role it is expected that the post-holder will be in the office/out on site. There will be opportunity to work from home from time to time but this is predominantly an office position).
Contract: Fixed term contract to August 2027, 37 hours per week
Closing Date: 28 August 2026
Interview Date: Provisional dates 11 September 2026
The Head of Health, Safety and Environment is part of the senior management group and is the strategic lead and expert on corporate health, safety and environment for whg.
We are now looking for the right person to step into this role helping to inspire colleagues to ensure that a proactive approach to colleague and customer safety is fully embedded within our business.
Importantly, whilst this is a high-impact role that requires a set of specific skills, it also offers you the opportunity to be involved in a social business that has a clear set of values and objectives that are all about supporting people. And our inclusive culture and market-leading professional development opportunities have seen us achieve a Sunday Times ‘Best place to work’ award for 2025.
Interested? Please read on below and check out our website at www.whg.uk.com to find out more about what we do and read Our 2030 Plan.
You’ll be able to get stuck in straight away and your priorities will include:
-
Working with the Executive team to deliver a successful Health and Safety strategy
-
Developing Health & Safety policies, procedures and guidance as part of achieving a recognised Health and Safety Management System
-
Providing oversight and scrutiny of health and safety across whg’s sites, and supporting on asset compliance
-
Producing regular reports, detailing activity, data and performance and themed analysis and forward-looking discussion of priorities, drawing on external analysis and internal themes
-
Delivering a successful framework of incident investigation, auditing and training, with a primary focus on action closure and lessons learned
-
Increasing near miss reporting and the understanding of how these opportunities can be valuable
-
Developing training programmes to promote awareness and ensure colleagues are knowledgeable about safety protocols
-
Providing strategic direction leadership, operational management and financial budgetary control for the Health, Safety and Environmental Team
-
Leading on the Environmental Management System and ensuring on-going ISO14001 accreditation, supported by the Environment, Social and Governance working group to raise the profile of this work, engaging colleagues across the organisation as environmental champions and ensure robust processes and controls are in place.
You will also be required to forge excellent relationships with external partners and stakeholders so you’ll need to be a positive leader and team player, able to build trust and respect and influence people.
We're looking for someone who has:
-
Great interpersonal and communication skills ensuring the health and safety message is communicated effectively is a must and we are looking for someone who is genuinely passionate about putting customers and colleagues at the heart.
-
You’ll also need to have the confidence and gravitas to be the “voice of health & safety”, from time to time asking tough questions, having difficult conversations and ensuring decisions deliver great outcomes. Importantly you will have a confident and positive approach with the ability to remain calm under pressure and deal with difficult situations in an effective, professional and respectful manner.
-
We will require relevant professional qualifications and experience, specifically NEBOSH diploma and preferably a recognised environmental management qualification or experience of environmental management systems. Experience of working to the ISO45001 & 14001 standards and maintaining accreditation would be beneficial.
About us
We are a regional housing association with 22,000 homes owned and managed across the Midlands. We started life in Walsall, where most of our homes are, and it is still the place that anchors us to our communities. We believe passionately that everyone has the right to a safe and secure affordable home and that this is the foundation for a successful life. We are a social housing provider and we work in partnership with our customers to ensure homes safe, secure and comfortable.
What’s in it for you?
whg is an organisation that is all about supporting a positive culture for colleagues and enabling people to bring their best to work each and every day. We support a flexible approach to work and believe in giving colleagues the right balance of autonomy and support to enable them to work to their full potential. Working for whg means you will receive:
-
A competitive salary
-
27 days annual leave (plus three days for Christmas shut down)
-
Access to the annual leave purchase scheme
-
Access to a choice of two great pension schemes including the Local Government Pension Scheme
-
A health cash plan
-
Access to a car leasing scheme
-
A range of shopping and leisure discounts
-
Access to learning and development opportunities
-
The opportunity to work in a hybrid environment (as appropriate)
-
Automatic membership of Colleague Voice
-
A friendly office environment
-
A culture that really does aim to create a place for all colleagues regardless of job role.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, committed to providing opportunities and support for all applicants, including those with disabilities.
Due to the nature of this role it is expected that the post-holder will be in the office/out on site. There will be opportunity to work from home from time to time but this is predominantly an office position.
