INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer

Salary: SO2 £37,280 to £39,152

Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Merrion House as team base, along with other locations across the city and some flexibility around homeworking

As a Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer, you will thrive on creating a positive Health, Safety and Wellbeing culture in our teams across Communities, Environments, Housing & Health.

This is great opportunity for you to join a forward thinking and motivated team, working across a variety of Services to help improve compliance with all Health and Safety requirements, policies, standards and procedures, along with making a real difference to people's wellbeing in the workplace.

It’s a chance to be part of embedding and supporting a positive and accountable culture, assisting, leading and supporting teams and managers through effectively providing health, safety & wellbeing advice. This will be vital in ensuring a safe workplace which makes our people feel both supported and valued.

The successful candidate will be a highly flexible, well-motivated self-starter who possesses excellent communication skills and a commitment to ensuring the highest level of health and safety.

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 our next Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer, you will bring the following to the role:

A sound experience of working within a Health & safety Role.
A confident, well organised approach, with a flexible ‘can-do’ attitude as a key team player.
Excellent communication and organisation skills to encourage, educate and support colleagues make good HSW choices.
Experience of workplace risk, compliance, legislation, data trend analysis and control measures to drive improvement and injury reduction.
Good IT knowledge and able to use a range of M365 and in-house applications
You will also need to have access to a vehicle for work and be qualified to NEBOSH General Certificate level, willing to work toward or equivalent.

About the role

The Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer will be part of a networked team of professional Health & Safety Officers based in different Service Areas.

The roles will seek to support our work in Housing with additional support from our Corporate HSW Business Partner, and the network of HSW Officers across the Council to ensure professional support is provided and best practice shared.

This role will directly contribute to improved wellbeing and reduced work-related injuries and illness for our employees and colleagues.

What we offer you

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

Please complete the online application form.

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 about the role please contact:

Liz Bailey on 0113 3789244 or email Liz.Bailey@leeds.gov.uk

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 visaroute 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. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose: Support and advice managers to meet create a positive HSW culture and improve compliance with all statutory Health and Safety requirements and relevant Council Policies, standards and procedures.

Responsibilities:

Assist, lead and support teams and managers to provide health, safety & wellbeing advice on a day-to-day basis to ensure a safe workplace and activities across all sections of the service.
Ensure all accidents, incidents and near misses are correctly reported, and provide support to investigation teams in accordance with our policies and procedures.
Conduct regular reviews and provide summaries, analysis, and reports to support the management of risk, consultation, and improvement.
Conduct manual handling, Personal Risk and COSHH plus PUWER assessments.
Undertake internal monitoring/inspection of compliance and working practices to provide assurance that systems are operating robustly.
Comply with all internal health, safety and wellbeing Policies, Procedures, Practices and Legislation.
Assist with the training and development of staff across the Service on health and safety procedures and competencies.
Work with and assist the Corporate Health, Safety & Wellbeing Team on a range of improvement initiatives.
Liaise with union and non-union Safety Representatives and attend Safety Committees as required.
Develop excellent relationships with key stakeholders in support of overall and local health and safety objectives, in particular managers at all levels, Trade Unions, HR etc.
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 A minimum of NEBOSH General Certificate or equivalent.

Essential Requirements It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

Experience of working within a H&S role.
Detailed knowledge of current health and safety legislation.
Confident, well organised, with a flexible ‘can-do’ attitude, have attention to detail and be a team player who supports and influences others
Excellent communication and organisation skills to encourage, educate and support colleagues make good HSW choices.
Good IT knowledge and able to use a range of M365 and in-house applications.
A full driving license is required for this role.
Experience of workplace risk, compliance, legislation, data trend analysis and control measures to drive improvement and injury reduction.

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 Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies 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
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

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