Health and Safety Manager

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Trust's Corporate Governance team within the Health and Safety Governance Portfolio. We are looking for an enthusiastic, cheerful and self-motivated person to take on the Health and Safety Manager.

Working closely with the Safety and Learning team, and the Risk and Assurance team, the Health and Safety Governance team handles all functions associated with Health and Safety across the organisation.

As the Health and Safety Manager you will work collaboratively with operational, clinical and corporate teams, as well as specialist advisors in areas such as Fire Safety, Estates, Occupational Health and Radiation Protection. You will proactively engage with union health and safety representatives and support interactions with external regulatory bodies. The role also contributes significantly to the Trust’s safety culture by supporting training design and delivery, identifying and sharing learning from incidents, and contributing to Trust‑wide safety communications.

If you are passionate about improving Health and Safety within an NHS environment, we would love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

The postholder provides specialist advice on compliance with UK health and safety legislation, NHS requirements and best practice standards, contributing to the development, implementation and monitoring of the Trust’s Health and Safety Management System. They support the Head of Health and Safety in ensuring that policies, procedures and risk controls are robust, up to date and aligned with regulatory expectations.

A core element of the role involves leading and supporting the investigation of health and safety incidents, identifying systemic issues and ensuring learning is embedded through improved controls, training and communication. The postholder also undertakes and coordinates a wide range of risk assessments, audits and compliance monitoring activities, using data and intelligence to inform safety improvements and provide assurance to committees, including the Health and Safety Governance Group.

In addition, the postholder provides leadership and line management to members of the Health and Safety Governance Team, promoting high standards of professional practice, continuous development and effective performance management. They are expected to maintain their own professional competence and uphold relevant professional standards in all aspects of their work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities listed below should be undertaken in accordance with the levels of competence.  In addition, all staff are expected to act in accordance with the values and behaviours of our organisation. The main duties and responsibilities of the role include:

• Interpret complex UK health and safety legislation, regulations, and NHS statutory requirements to ensure organisational compliance, and support the Head of Health and Safety in delivering competent advisory functions as required under Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
• Contribute to Health and Safety Risk Management reporting for presentation to the Trust Safety and Quality Committee.

• Keeping up to date with changes to Health and Safety legislation and ensuring any changes relevant to the Trust are communicated through the appropriate committees and to relevant policy owners to be incorporated within Trust policies and procedures.
• Provide expert advice to senior leaders on maintaining a safe environment, safe systems of work and safe premises for patients, staff and visitors.
• Actively promote a culture that encourages openness and honesty so staff feel they can report all incidents and near misses.
• Ensure effective investigation and oversight of complex system failures relating to health and safety incidents of all non-clinical accidents, incidents or near miss events reported through the Trust’s incident reporting system and provide advice, guidance and support to investigators of these events, as required, to ensure appropriate investigation and mitigations to prevent reoccurrence.
• Carry out investigations into health and safety incidents and ensure appropriate follow‑up actions and learning.
• Maintain a robust Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) investigation processes and contribute to the investigation of RIDDOR incidents to confirm appropriate investigation and action, in line with Trust policy.
• Analyse relevant accident/incident information and identify trends ensuring significant findings are reported to the Health and Safety Governance Group with recommendations.
• Ensure that learning from incidents is triangulated with audit and risk data to inform Trust-wide improvement.