Senior WHS Officer

J&S Engineering; Rutherford; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time role

Mon-Fri

Home every night

Cross-department work

Direct interaction with staff

Influence safety culture

Long-term employment

Job summary

J&S Engineering & Maintenance is seeking a WHS Officer based at the Rutherford facility. You will help drive safe, compliant and practical work practices across the company, developing and implementing WHS policies and supporting documentation.

You’ll conduct inspections, risk assessments and incident investigations, while delivering toolbox talks and coordinating site inductions. This role balances systems development with hands-on safety culture improvements.

Qualifications

• Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety or equivalent.
• Previous experience in a WHS role.
• Experience developing and reviewing WHS policies, procedures and systems.
• Sound knowledge of WHS legislation, risk management and compliance requirements.
• Experience with incident investigation and corrective actions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence working with employees, supervisors and management.
• Good organisational and document management skills.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach.
• Current First Aid qualification.

Responsibilities

• Developing, reviewing and implementing WHS policies, procedures, systems and supporting documentation.
• Ensuring WHS requirements are effectively communicated, understood and applied across the business.
• Conducting workplace inspections, audits and risk assessments.
• Identifying hazards and working with teams to implement practical controls.
• Supporting incident and near-miss investigations, root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Preparing and delivering toolbox talks, safety alerts and other WHS communications.
• Conducting employee inductions and coordinating site inductions.
• Providing practical WHS advice to employees, supervisors and management.
• Monitoring contractor and workplace safety requirements.
• Maintaining WHS records, registers and compliance documentation.
• Supporting return-to-work and rehabilitation processes.
• Monitoring legislative requirements and identifying opportunities to continually improve our WHS systems and safety culture.

Skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Organisation & documentation

Practical, solutions-focused

First Aid qualification

Education

Certificate IV inWork Health & Safety or equivalent

Diploma in WHS/OHS (Desirable)

Certificate IV in Training & Assessment (Desirable)

Job description

Good safety is more than paperwork. Want a role where you can help shape how it actually works?

At J&S Engineering & Maintenance, we want safety to be part of how we work every day, not something that sits in a manual or only gets discussed after an incident. We’re looking for someone who can work alongside our people, build trust, challenge where needed and help strengthen a culture where everyone takes responsibility for working safely.

Based at our Rutherford facility, this is a company-wide role supporting employees, supervisors and management across all areas of J&S.

You’ll have the opportunity to influence both the day-to-day safety of our workplace and the systems, policies and procedures that support it.

Why Join J&S?

• Full-time, permanent local role

• Monday to Friday

• Home every night

• Work across multiple departments and operational areas

• Direct interaction with employees, supervisors and management

• Opportunity to develop and improve WHS systems, policies and procedures

• Genuine ability to influence workplace safety and culture

• Long-term employment with an established Hunter Valley business

J&S Engineering & Maintenance is a family-owned Hunter Valley company with 40 years of history supporting the mining and heavy industry sectors.

We have grown into a diverse engineering business with multiple specialist divisions and a skilled team of tradespeople, technical employees and support staff.

The Role

As our WHS Officer, you’ll help drive safe, compliant and practical work practices across the company.

You’ll be involved in:

• Developing, reviewing and implementing WHS policies, procedures, systems and supporting documentation

• Ensuring WHS requirements are effectively communicated, understood and applied across the business

• Conducting workplace inspections, audits and risk assessments

• Identifying hazards and working with teams to implement practical controls

• Supporting incident and near-miss investigations, root cause analysis and corrective actions

• Preparing and delivering toolbox talks, safety alerts and other WHS communications

• Conducting employee inductions and coordinating site inductions

• Providing practical WHS advice to employees, supervisors and management

• Monitoring contractor and workplace safety requirements

• Maintaining WHS records, registers and compliance documentation

• Supporting return-to-work and rehabilitation processes

• Monitoring legislative requirements and identifying opportunities to continually improve our WHS systems and safety culture

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who can balance strong WHS systems with practical implementation in the workplace.

You’ll ideally have:

• Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety or equivalent

• Previous experience in a WHS role

• Experience developing and reviewing WHS policies, procedures and systems

• Sound knowledge of WHS legislation, risk management and compliance requirements

• Experience with incident investigation and corrective actions

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Confidence working with employees, supervisors and management

• Good organisational and document management skills

• A practical, solutions-focused approach

• Current First Aid qualification

Experience within engineering, manufacturing, mining, maintenance, construction or another industrial environment would be highly regarded.

Desirable:

• Return to Work Coordinator qualification

• Certificate IV in Training & Assessment

• Diploma in WHS/OHS

• Mental Health First Aid

• ISO 9001 internal auditing experience

This Role Would Suit Someone Who...

Enjoys being involved across the whole business, from developing a policy or improving a procedure through to being out in the workplace making sure it works in practice.

You’re confident identifying where systems can be improved, comfortable working with people at all levels and willing to take ownership of actions through to completion.

You understand that good WHS is not just about having the right documents, it’s about creating systems people understand and can actually use.

If you’re looking for a varied WHS role where you can help shape both the systems and the safety culture of an established Hunter Valley business, we’d love to hear from you.

Successful applicants will be required to undergo a pre-employment medical and drug & alcohol screening.