Health & Safety Manager

Acquainted Talent Pty Ltd; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Monthly PTO (Planned Time Out)

Free onsite parking

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

Acquainted Talent Pty Ltd is seeking a Senior WHS Leader in Melbourne to guide a four-person WHS team and partner with operations across multiple sites. The role focuses on maturing the Safety Management Plan, strengthening risk management, and embedding a strong safety culture with executive visibility.

You will lead investigations, audits and policy development while providing strategic safety advice to Executives and the Board, ensuring regulatory compliance and proactive improvement across a

Qualifications

• Experience leading safety teams and programs.
• Proven ability to partner with operations and drive safety outcomes.
• Strong communication across senior leadership and boards.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach the WHS team of four.
• Partner with site operations across multiple Melbourne locations.
• Drive delivery of the Safety Management Plan.
• Strengthen proactive risk management and safety culture.
• Oversee incident investigations, audits and compliance.
• Develop WHS systems, policies, and reporting.
• Provide clear advice to senior leaders and the Board.
• Support continuous improvement across varied risk profiles.

Skills

WHS leadership

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Strategic partnering

Risk management

Job description

Acquainted Talent are specialist recruiters in the Health & Safety space. We are working with a large, purpose-led organisation that provides essential services and manages significant community assets across multiple metropolitan Melbourne locations. Its operations are broad and varied, bringing together plant and equipment, excavation, infrastructure, contractors and public-facing services.

With approximately 350 employees, a strong commitment to safety and several major projects underway, this is an opportunity to join an organisation where safety is well supported and properly funded.

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Operations & People Officer, you’ll lead a team of 4 and form part of the broader Senior Leadership Team.

A major focus will be continuing to shift the safety function towards a genuine business-partnering model. This means building strong relationships with operations, being visible across the sites and ensuring the team works alongside the business to deliver practical safety outcomes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading, coaching and developing the WHS team
• Partnering closely with operational leaders across multiple sites
• Driving delivery of the recently approved Safety Management Plan
• Strengthening proactive risk management and safety culture
• Overseeing incident investigations, audits and regulatory compliance
• Continuing to develop WHS systems, policies and reporting
• Providing clear advice to senior leaders, Executives and the Board
• Supporting continued improvement across a varied operational risk profile

About you

To be successful in this role, you’ll be an experienced safety leader who is approachable, solutions-focused and comfortable working closely with operations.

Your leadership style will be particularly important. You’ll know how to bring a team with you, rebuild trust where needed and combine strong technical knowledge with sound commercial judgement. While this is a senior role, you’ll still need to be visible and hands-on, with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organisation and adapt your style to different stakeholders.

Experience within a high-risk operational environment, along with proven experience in a senior safety leadership role, is essential.

This is a genuinely interesting opportunity for someone who wants to lead change and have a visible impact across an organisation.

Other benefits include:

• Established team of four
• Strong safety budget and executive support
• Recently approved Safety Management Plan
• Varied operational risk profile
• Opportunity to shape the future direction of the safety function
• Along with a generous base salary you will be offered a monthly PTO (Planned Time Out), Free onsite parking & EAP to support the overall wellbeing of employees and their families