Health and Safety Adviser

Role: Health and Safety Adviser
Contract: 6 months with potential extension
Location: London EC2
Working Hours: Mon-Fri Core hours
Hybrid working: 3 days in the office 2 days WFH (non negotiable)
Salary: £179 up to £190 per day

Purpose of Post

To provide advice and support to all members of the Departmental Leadership Team (DLT) to ensure the effective management of health & safety within the Community & Children’s Services department (DCCS)

Summary of Responsibilities

- In accordance with corporate direction and current legislation:
provide competent business focussed health and safety advice on the application of health and safety procedures/policies,
monitor the compliance of all services within the DCCS
report gaps or concerns to the DLT
- To take the lead in the design of, and to support the implementation of, local business focussed procedures / policies to ensure effective management of safety risk. Supporting the DLT with the safety risk management process (TopX) and to undertake, where necessary, interventions to manage the risk appropriately.
- To undertake audits, gap assessments and monitoring, to ensure the services within DCCS comply with health & safety regulations relevant to the service area and to support the leadership team in producing the certificate of assurance and corporate performance Key Performance Indicators
- To contribute to the Corporate and local health & safety communications plans and lead on the delivery of local publications of a health & safety nature, targeted seminars, "action" weeks, training sessions and other events as necessary.
- To prepare, co-ordinate and deliver training in various forms from toolbox talks to formal sessions and prepare as necessary e-learning presentations for corporate disbursement and use, monitoring the effectiveness of Corporate and local health and safety training, and maintain a register of all health & safety training activities
- To maintain the DCCS repository for health & safety documentation and records, including but not limited to risk assessments, templates, training materials, reports, etc and ensuring that all are available to all managers and staff as appropriate.
- To receive and monitor & review the outputs from the Corporate Incident reporting line:
supporting managers to take follow up action
ensure proper departmental investigation, learning and changes in processes are put into effect.
Ensure RIDDOR reports have been sent where required.
- To provide feedback to the health & safety managers (People and / or Property) and the DLT regarding changes to legislation or good practice that might impact on corporate / local health & safety policy or practice, to ensure the system remains supportive to the business and is effective at reducing risk of injuries or loss events.
- On all health and safety matters relating to DCCS, be the first point of contact for:
Corporate health & safety
External 3rd parties e.g. London Fire Brigade, Health & Safety Executive etc
- To ensure advice is implemented effectively and any investigation is handled in an effective and responsible manner that minimises where possible the likelihood of any enforcement action being taken against the City of London Corporation.
- To provide practical advice, support and interpretation on key safety risks, for example:

Fire safety
Display Screen Equipment
Manual Handling
Noise / Lighting
Controls of Substances Hazardous to Health
Ergonomics
PPE
Forklift Trucks / Occupational Road Risk
Asbestos
Legionella
LOLER
Contractors
Working at heights
Fire Safety
Lone Working
CDM Regulations/Designers/Contractors
Other issues, as relevant to the Departments
- To carry out where necessary monitoring with scientific equipment to identify risks to health from various hazards such as noise, vibration, chemical etc, controlling the use of and maintain the above scientific equipment by ensuring it is regularly calibrated and is fit for use.
- To build and develop strong working partnerships e.g. with service managers, heads of service, trade unions, colleagues, specialists and external contacts /providers in order to mitigate risk and deliver requirements. To be an ambassador for the health and safety function in these interactions.

Technical Skills/professional qualifications/relevant education and training

- Demonstrable knowledge / understanding of health and safety risks and their practical management.
- Detailed knowledge of health and safety legislation and its practical implementation within a business context.
- Demonstrable skill to develop pragmatic solutions to safety problems.
- Ability to define health and safety issues and then recommend a range of solutions which meet business objectives, supporting stakeholders to implement them.
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of health and safety risk management.

Professional Qualifications

- Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH) or equivalent or working towards obtaining the full CMIOSH qualification within 4 years.

Relevant Education & Training

Diploma (or equivalent) health and safety qualification, recognised by IOSH as being a pre-cursor to CMIOSH

Experience and knowledge required

- Experienced in the identification and solution of health and safety risks. These should include (but may not be limited to) dealing with infrastructure risks (asbestos; legionella; etc.); liaising with others (to ensure that corporate systems are followed) and understanding how safety applies to an organisation such as the City in a positive context.
- Working with stakeholders to implement recommendations in a supportive and positive way.
- Experience of applying health & safety within a Housing, Community or Property Services environment would be advantageous.
- Excellent written skills in order to write detailed investigation reports with recommendations, briefing papers, safety systems and procedures and write detailed guidance on health & safety matters.