Manager, Work Health, Safety & Compliance

Search4; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership of national safety program

Direct access to senior leadership

Shape safety framework across brands

Professional, accountable culture

Continuous improvement focus

Job summary

Search4 is seeking an experienced WHS and compliance leader to oversee and continuously improve our national safety, contractor compliance and risk management framework across our recruitment brands.

Reporting to senior leadership and managing the Health, Safety & Compliance Lead, you will ensure our systems are consistently applied, remain aligned with legislative and client requirements, and support the safe placement and ongoing care of contractors.

Qualifications

• Leadership experience in WHS, compliance, risk or governance.
• Strong knowledge of Australian WHS legislation and labour hire obligations.
• Experience maintaining and improving established compliance frameworks.
• Incident investigation, workers compensation and return-to-work processes.
• Experience operating across multiple jurisdictions or complex stakeholder environments.
• Strong coaching, communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Certificate IV in WHS, with a Diploma or Degree in WHS/Risk Management/HR/Business.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop the Health, Safety & Compliance Lead and build capability of the broader function.
• Oversee the WHS Management System across all brands, offices and jurisdictions.
• Maintain and improve WHS policies, procedures, controls and contractor compliance processes.
• Deliver WHS training and coaching to consultants, managers and support teams.
• Oversee contractor onboarding, licences, qualifications, right-to-work checks, visa compliance and client requirements.
• Manage client WHS assessments, contractor care programs and high-risk placements.
• Lead incident investigations, workers compensation oversight, return-to-work programs and regulatory reporting.
• Provide reporting, dashboards and insights to Directors and executive leadership.
• Drive audits, corrective actions, process improvements and safety outcomes.

Skills

WHS leadership

Compliance leadership

Incident investigation

Workers compensation

Return-to-work

Stakeholder management

Coaching and training

Education

Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety

Diploma or Degree in WHS/Risk Management/HR/Business

Job description

Manager, Work Health, Safety & Compliance

Search4 is seeking an experienced WHS and compliance leader to oversee and continuously improve our national safety, contractor compliance and risk management framework across our recruitment brands and operating jurisdictions.

Reporting to senior leadership and managing the Health, Safety & Compliance Lead, you will ensure our established systems are consistently applied, remain aligned with legislative and client requirements, and support the safe placement and ongoing care of contractors. You will also build WHS capability across the business through practical coaching, training, auditing and support.

The opportunity

• Lead, coach and develop the Health, Safety & Compliance Lead and help build the capability of the broader compliance function.
• Oversee the consistent implementation of Search4's WHS Management System across all brands, offices and jurisdictions.
• Maintain and improve WHS policies, procedures, controls and contractor compliance processes.
• Deliver practical WHS training and coaching to consultants, managers and support teams.
• Oversee contractor onboarding, licences, qualifications, right-to-work checks, visa compliance and client-specific requirements.
• Manage client WHS assessments, contractor care programs, high-risk placements and escalated safety concerns.
• Lead incident investigations, workers compensation oversight, return-to-work programs and regulatory reporting.
• Provide meaningful reporting, dashboards and insights to Directors and executive leadership.
• Drive audits, corrective actions, process improvements and stronger safety outcomes across the business.

About you You are a credible and practical WHS, compliance, risk or governance leader who can balance technical expertise with strong people leadership. You build trusted relationships, translate obligations into workable processes and influence consistent behaviour across operational teams.

• Leadership experience in WHS, compliance, risk or governance.
• Strong knowledge of Australian WHS legislation and labour hire obligations.
• Experience maintaining and improving established compliance frameworks.
• Demonstrated capability in incident investigation, workers compensation and return-to-work processes.
• Experience operating across multiple jurisdictions or complex stakeholder environments.
• Strong coaching, communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety, with a Diploma or Degree in WHS, Risk Management, Human Resources, Business or a related discipline viewed favourably.

Experience in labour hire, recruitment, construction, infrastructure, engineering, government or workforce management will be highly regarded, as will experience with ISO management systems and audits.

Why join Search4?

• Take ownership of a highly visible national function with direct access to senior leadership.
• Shape the ongoing effectiveness of safety, compliance and contractor care across a multi-brand recruitment business.
• Lead an established framework while identifying practical opportunities to improve systems, capability and outcomes.
• Influence how consultants and leaders approach WHS as part of everyday recruitment activity.
• Join a professional, accountable and improvement-focused organisation.