Health and Safety Advisor

Are you a qualified health and safety professional? Are you seeking a new opportunity to join a dynamic organisation?

NWAS are seeking to appoint two Health and Safety Advisors to join our Health and Safety team.

We take the health and safety of our people extremely seriously. The focus of the Health and Safety team is to provide professional advisory and support service. This involves ensuring the risk to the health, safety, and welfare of our people and any other persons affected by our activities are kept to a minimum.

Main duties of the job

The Health and Safety Advisor will be responsible for the development and implementation of Health and Safety Management Systems within the trust to meet required standards, regulations and laws. This will include involvement in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive Health and Safety Plan, Policy and associated procedures to ensure the upholding of workplace health and safety of patients, our people, and others involved in the services provided by the trust.

The post holder will be required to work closely with colleagues and senior managers across the trust, as well as external stakeholders, and take a lead role in the management and mitigation of risk in relation to health and safety.

The Health and Safety Advisor will provide expert advice and support on health and safety matters. The post holder will provide assistance by developing competencies in the preparation of risk assessments and risk profiling and develop a consistent approach towards Health and Safety.

The post holder will work following trust policies and procedures, without constant supervision but will be directed by the Senior Health and Safety Advisor. This role will be given autonomy over their workload but will be given prioritised tasks by the Senior Health and Safety Advisor. The Health and Safety Advisor will need to independently travel across the North West, including to NWAS sites, and adopt a flexible approach to working hours.

About us

NWAS is an inclusive and compassionate organisation driven by three value principles:

1. Working together.
2. Being at our best.
3. Making a difference in service to our people, patients and communities.

Our commitment to equality and inclusion feeds into everything we do and is a responsibility shared by everyone in the Trust.

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides 24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport.

Our highly skilled staff provide life-saving care to patients in the community and take people to hospital or a place of care if needed. We also provide non-emergency patient transport services for those patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition or clinical need.

Alongside the other emergency services, we also work to ensure the safety of the public and treatment of patients in the event of a major incident.

We also deliver the NHS 111 service in the North West. NHS 111 replaced NHS Direct in 2013. This service was introduced to make it easier for people to access local NHS healthcare services in England. It provides non-emergency medical help fast, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Job responsibilities

All leadership roles at NWAS at every level are required to promote and role model our Be Think Do Philosophy. NWAS is committed to attracting managers and leaders who are more than subject matter experts, but exemplary in demonstrating their experience and commitment to; values-based leadership; challenging workforce and health inequalities; operating successfully in ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty.

The Health and Safety Advisor will be responsible for the development and implementation of Health and Safety Management Systems within the trust to meet required standards, regulations and laws. This will include involvement in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive Health and Safety Plan, Policy and associated procedures to ensure the upholding of workplace health and safety of patients, our people, and others involved in the services provided by the trust.

The post holder will be required to work closely with colleagues and senior managers across the trust, as well as external stakeholders, and take a lead role in the management and mitigation of risk in relation to health and safety.

The Health and Safety Advisor will provide expert advice and support on health and safety matters. The post holder will provide assistance by developing competencies in the preparation of risk assessments and risk profiling and develop a consistent approach towards Health and Safety.

The post holder will work following trust policies and procedures, without constant supervision but will be directed by the Senior Health and Safety Advisor. This role will be given autonomy over their workload but will be given prioritised tasks by the Senior Health and Safety Advisor.

The Health and Safety Advisor will need to independently travel across the North West, including to NWAS sites, and adopt a flexible approach to working hours.

Person Specification

• Communicate succinctly, clearly and accurately using a plain English approach, both verbally and in writing
• Effective team member who is able to relate to colleagues at all levels across our large multi-site organisation with tact and diplomacy
• Awareness of role boundaries/limitations of practice and aware when to ask for guidance
• Follow written instructions and ensure that services you provide are in line with standard processes and good practice, showing attention to detail
• Ability to write high quality reports
• Ability to apply creative thought to problem solving
• Ability to engage and motivate colleagues
• Ability to work productively and autonomously
• Ability to analyse and present complex, sensitive and contentious data
• Ability to provide information in a helpful and polite manner
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage situations in a sensitive manner

Qualifications & Knowledge

• NVQ Level 5 in Occupational Health and Safety/NEBOSH Level 6 Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals or equivalent qualification
• Possession of Certified Membership of Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
• Demonstrates commitment to own continued professional development

Experience

• Experience of undertaking audits and inspections
• Experience of managing Health and Safety incidents/cases
• Experience of completing risk assessments
• Experience of reviewing and developing policies, procedures, and guidance
• Experience of working with information technology using Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Values & Behaviours

• Working together - demonstrate collaborative and inclusive working and challenge behaviour that is not inclusive or acceptable

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.