Head of Safety Management

Job Description

Thank you for your interest in this exciting and challenging role within the RSPB’s Health, safety and environment Department. This is a fantastic opportunity to work for Europe’s largest nature conservation organisation and support colleagues to deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of work in a healthy, safe and sustainable way!

You will join the dedicated geographically spread team of health, safety & environment professionals, develop our safe working standards and lead our approach to safety and health learning. You will engage and support senior managers across the RSPB, helping them ensure health and safety is embedded in their plans to deliver our ambitious strategy to 2030.

You will be able to form excellent working relationships, have a detailed health and safety management knowledge and experience of working across a multi-site, geographically dispersed organisation.

Our nature reserves are amazing places but vary significantly from major visitor destinations wildlife refuges. They are loved by our visitors and you will need a thorough understanding of Visitor Safety Management to empower the operational managers in taking reasonable steps to manage visitor safety.

What's the role about?

Reporting to the Head of Health, safety and environment you will manage all aspects of RSPB’s health and safety approach, provide a pragmatic, sensible enabling service, and keep our safety management system up-to-date. Your work with colleagues will improve and simplify how we communicate and embed our safe working practices. Your work with the Health, safety and environment team will build on our approach to assurance and monitoring. Linking with other risk managers within RSPB you will share practice and encourage a holistic approach to data management.

Our workforce undertakes a wide range of activities and our safety standards support this, including our premises and other structures, significant habitat management or creation, contract management, construction, land-forming and the use of machinery and equipment. Our workers may be reserve, office or home based, roving membership recruiters and research and investigations colleagues working in challenging and remote locations. Our international work includes pest eradication from UK Overseas territories and helping Birdlife Partners in East Africa and Indonesia.

Alongside you are two Health and safety Delivery Managers and the Head of Environmental Management leading the geographically-spread specialist advisors. You will help integrate our pragmatic and supportive standards, learning and advice to enable all RSPB’s workforce of over 2,500 employees and 14,000 volunteers to deliver safe and healthy work for nature conservation.

With the Learning Development Team you will embed a programme of safety learning into our way of working, including delivering safety leadership events. Monitoring changes in legal and sector standards you will work with delivery teams to develop our response to them. You will make sure our third-party support systems such as incident recording are fit for purpose and provide what RSPB needs.

Time with teams on the ground will enable you to work at some amazing places and to tailor your approach to support fantastic people who are passionate about nature. By supporting our teams to work safely and sustainably you will be directly contributing to our conservation objectives with teams being happier, healthier and more effective in their roles.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• A people person who can demonstrate how you form great relationships regardless of their position within the organisation.
• A flexible leadership style to influence the many and varied colleagues you will help to improve our safety performance and deliver consistency.
• Experience of working with Health, safety and environment colleagues, demonstrating delivery of continued improvement to safety learning, procedures and practices.
• Significant health and safety knowledge and experience in the land and visitor risk management field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to describe our expectations for safe working in a straightforward and pragmatic way.
• Chartered Membership of IOSH or equivalent, with experience of developing changes in safety management across a multi-site organisation.

This is a Permanent, Part-Time role for 30 hours per week. We are looking to conduct interviews on 27th April 2023. For further information please contact anne.quin@rspb.org.uk

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.