Health & Safety Business Partner
| Posting date: | 22 April 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £41,220 to £49,020 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National £41,220 - £45,400 London £44,500 - £49,020 For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 06 May 2025 |
| Location: | PE28 4NE |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 401294/27 |
Summary
The role includes development of, and/or input into, topic-based policies and procedures, delivering training and other learning sessions/briefings to employees, observing work activities to identify hazards and levels of risk, and assisting the business with risk assessing and project-based work. The role spans a broad range of physical health and safety risks and also focuses on an increasing emphasis on psychological health and safety matters such as work-related stress and mental health first aid.
The role is integral to a centre of expertise for employee health and safety policy and procedures, which is whole Defra business facing. The People Safety Team support c7,000 core Defra employees, at all levels including senior leaders, across the organisation to meet their organisational and personal responsibility for managing health and safety risks arising from their work activities and working environments.
The role requires regular travel to any location within the UK, either to a Defra group workplace or elsewhere for meetings and observational visits etc. This will include overnight stays away from home where necessary. Regular attendance at in person team meetings and training events will be required.
The Health & Safety Business Partner role is part of the People Safety Team line managed by the Principal Health & Safety Business Partner but working operationally across the entire remit of the People Safety Team. The role supports delivery on behalf of the Principal Health & Safety Business Partner, Principal Adviser Psychological Health & Safety and Principal Adviser Health & Safety Services, Training & Communications.
Health & Safety Business Partners establish and maintain good relationships across the business to advise on, and influence, safe working practices and behaviours whilst working within Defra group workplaces, in third party environments, working at home, in the field or whilst travelling and working overseas.
Policy advice
Providing advice to the business, across a range of health and safety policy topics to enable employees to prevent physical and psychological work-related harm, comply with health and safety law and assist Defra to meet its legal and moral health and safety obligations.
Health & Safety Business Partners support discussion at Directorate/Team level across Defra and provide tactical advice to line managers. Within clear boundaries or their remit they are expected to provide relevant, accurate, practical and proportionate advice and assist the business to complete risk assessments across a range of health and safety policy areas including work-related stress and other psychological health and safety matters. The portfolio is nationwide/employee facing and includes, but is not limited to, for example:
- Injury/ill health (including work-related stress)/Incident reporting and investigation
- Display Screen Equipment (DSE) & Workstations
- Work-related stress
- Mental health at work
- Pregnant workers
- Working overseas
- Travel and Driving for work
- Lone and remote working
- Manual handling
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
- Fire and first aid
- Work-related violence and abuse
- Occupational disease and ill health
- Working on Third party premises
Policy development
- Writing, and/or assisting with the development and review of, national health and safety policies/procedures relating to Defra work activities for implementation by the business.
- Identification, and appropriate escalation, of new, novel or emerging risk encountered by the business and ensuring policies and procedures are up to date and relevant.
Audits and Monitoring
- Participate in observational visits, sample audits and monitoring activities.
- Support improvement and assurance activities and local plans within specified areas of the business e.g. sample Directorate level audits of compliance with national policy and procedures.
- Feeding findings into policy development to ensure continuous improvement of policies and procedures.
Risks & Issues
- Lead and/or assist with incident investigations and advise the business on preventative actions post incident.
- contribute to the Health & Safety (H&S) Risk Alert and Lessons Learned processes.
Training
- Assist Principal Advisers with the development of the health and safety training programme.
- Deliver training and awareness sessions on various topics under an agreed structure and programme.
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