Health & Safety Advisor - Continuous Learning Opportunities

Whakatōhea Mussels farms and harvests Greenshell™ mussels in the open ocean off the Ōpōtiki coastline. Processing of our superior product takes place in our purpose built processing facility in Ōpōtiki. Our journey continues, and we are committed to getting our people and systems in place that are strong and robust to support the growth of the business.

An exciting permanent full time employment opportunity has arisen for a Health and Safety Advisor to join our team. This role is ‘hands on’ and is required to support and guide operations in the effective management of workplace health and safety to minimise risk and harm to workers, contractors and visitors.

The purpose of this role is to lead by example, provide advice, guidance and assist Whakatōhea Mussels (including but not limited to the processing facility, marine farm and vessels and land-based operations) to implement and maintain sustainable processes, procedures and practices with regards to health and safety.

You will be responsible for:

• Working closely with Managers and Supervisors to maintain the Health and Safety Management System (Mango).
• Assisting with the development and implementation of health and safety policies, procedures and SOPs across the business.
• Providing support, advice and guidance in hazard and risk management, contractor management, injury management/rehabilitation, traffic management, emergency management and training/education.
• Reporting to Management and the Board as required.
• Assisting in identifying health and safety training requirements for staff to ensure competency.
• Actively supporting Health and Safety Reps.
• Actively participating on the Health & Safety Committee and ensuring corrective actions are completed and closed out in a timely manner.
• Contributing to and supporting implementation of any safety initiatives which are in line with the business objectives.
• Maintaining and implementing an efficient induction program for employees and contractors.
• Assisting with investigation of serious harm incidents to ensure that reporting requirements are met, root causes identified and appropriate corrective actions implemented.
• Undertaking regular audits, safety walks across the business and safety talks with staff.
• Building a safe working culture, that is collaborative with daily operations through providing coaching, mentoring and technical advice.

We are looking for an experienced Health and Safety Advisor who is a champion of health and safety principles, leads by example and is operationally focused.  You will preferably have experience in a processing or factory environment.  

To be successful you will require the following qualifications and experience:

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Health and Safety and 5+ years demonstrated experience.
• Up to date knowledge of current Health and Safety legislation.
• Demonstrated experience with internal and external health and safety audit requirements
• Knowledge of Maritime New Zealand – Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS) Health and Safety programmes desired.
• Experienced in developing and/or implementing health and safety systems, processes, documentation and solutions.
• Strong safety leadership and mentoring abilities focused on inspiring and motivating others to achieve their best and demonstrate safe working practices.
• Incident/Accident investigation experience.
• Injury Management / Rehabilitation experience.
• Tenacity in taking problems through to successful outcomes despite potential barriers.
• Ability to build trust and maintain strong collaborative working relationships across all levels of the business.
• Strong interpersonal skills preferably experienced in working in a multi-cultural environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to adapt quickly to meet audience needs, ensuring communication is effective across all levels of the business to gain ‘buy in’ to health and safety to create and enhance a positive health and safety culture.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (word, excel, powerpoint, outlook).
• High level of report writing and presentation skills.
• Current NZ Drivers Licence.

To support this, the successful candidate will be appropriately qualified and experienced in health and safety in the workplace, have a strong attention to detail, possess a high degree of initiative, be process focused and a good communicator and most of all be a team player with a great ‘can do’ attitude.

If this sounds like you and you would like to be a part of our team, we would welcome your application. Applicants must be legally entitled to work in New Zealand.

All applications must be submitted via the Seek portal and include a Cover Letter and CV.  Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Applications close on Friday 7 June 2024.