Senior Work Health and Safety Advisor

Southern NSW Local Health District; Sydney; On-site; AUD 133,000 - 147,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Diversity and inclusion emphasis

Job summary

The Ministry of Health is seeking a Senior Advisor, WHS to join the People & Culture team, based at St Leonards NSW. You will provide expert work health and safety advice, support leaders and external stakeholders, and drive strategic WHS initiatives to improve safety outcomes.

You will lead governance of WHS, analyze data to spot risks, and co-design education programs to build capability and accountability for safety.

Qualifications

• Specialist advice on work health and safety in a complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of WHS legislation, policy frameworks and standards.
• Experience leading investigations, audits and preventative initiatives.
• Ability to analyse information, identify risks and craft practical solutions.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to create safe, healthy and psychologically safe workplaces.
• Act as a trusted WHS advisor and provide practical risk-based solutions.
• Lead WHS governance framework, identify and address risks proactively.
• Use data to identify improvement opportunities for safety and wellbeing.
• Facilitate consultation with leaders, employees and committees on safety.
• Support investigations of incidents and translate learnings into improvements.
• Co-design and deliver WHS education and improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to strategic projects on safety and wellbeing.

Skills

WHS advisory

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Project leadership

Risk management

Education

Bachelor level WHS qualification

Job description

Employment Type: Full Time Ongoing

Position Classification: Crown Clerk grade 9/10

Remuneration: $133,348 - $146,945 plus Superannuation and Leave Loading

Location: 1 Reserve Road, St Leonards NSW

Hours Per Week: 35 hours

Requisition ID: REQ693090

Closing Date: Monday 5 October 2026

Are you a passionate WHS professional who thrives on influencing culture, building strong partnerships, and driving meaningful change? If so, come join the People & Culture team at Ministry of Health for an exciting ongoing opportunity and be part of the team enriching health in millions of ways every day.

We are looking for a Senior Advisor, WHS to join our high-performing People & Culture team and play a pivotal role in creating a safe, healthy, and thriving workplace. It's an opportunity to work alongside leaders and teams to foster a genuine safety-first culture where people feel supported, risks are proactively managed, and wellbeing is embedded into everything we do.

About us

• Our core values of collaboration, openness, respect, and empowerment are more than just words – they are the guiding principles that shape every aspect of our work.
• While regular office presence is essential, we offer flexible work arrangements to support your needs.
• Committed to fostering diverse and inclusive workplace for all.
• The People & Culture team is a high-performing team that combines professionalism with genuine care for one another. We value people who bring a positive attitude, work collaboratively and contribute to our collective success.

To learn more about the Ministry and what benefits we offer, access our Employee Benefits Handbook.

About the role

With your skills and experience, you can contribute to the millions of ways we are enhancing health and wellness while developing your career as part of the largest health organisation in Australia. This is an exciting opportunity to join a high performing People and Culture team and play a key role in strengthening a positive safety culture that supports the health, safety and wellbeing of our people. Working closely with senior leaders, People and Culture Business Partners, employees and external stakeholders, you will provide specialist advice on work health and safety matters, drive strategic WHS initiatives and contribute to building safe and healthy workplaces across the organisation. This is an excellent opportunity for a WHS professional who enjoys working in a complex environment, influencing stakeholders and delivering meaningful workplace safety outcomes.

What you will be doing

• Partner with leaders across the Ministry to create safe, healthy and psychologically safe workplaces where people can perform at their best.
• Act as a trusted WHS advisor, helping managers navigate complex workplace safety matters and providing practical, risk-based solutions.
• Lead the coordination of the Ministry's WHS governance framework, ensuring safety risks, trends and emerging issues are identified and addressed proactively.
• Use data and insights to identify opportunities for improvement and drive initiatives that strengthen workplace safety, wellbeing and organisational capability.
• Facilitate meaningful consultation and collaboration with leaders, employees, Health and Safety committee members and other stakeholders to support positive safety outcomes.
• Support leaders through workplace incidents and critical events, ensuring investigations are conducted effectively and lessons learned translate into sustainable improvements.
• Co-design and deliver engaging WHS education, awareness and improvement initiatives that build capability and encourage shared accountability for safety.
• Contribute to strategic projects and organisational initiatives that enhance the Ministry's approach to work health, safety and wellbeing.

About you

We are seeking motivated and committed individuals who can support the work of NSW Health with:

• Demonstrated experience providing specialist advice on work health and safety matters within a complex organisational environment.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of WHS legislation, policy frameworks, standards and contemporary best practice.
• Experience managing WHS investigations, audits, risk management activities and preventative initiatives.
• Proven ability to analyse information, identify emerging risks and develop practical solutions that improve organisational outcomes.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of an organisation.
• Experience leading projects, coordinating competing priorities and delivering high-quality outcomes within agreed timeframes.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Work Health and Safety, Occupational Health and Safety, Risk Management or a related discipline, or significant relevant experience in a related field

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

At the Ministry of Health, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and flexible environment which reflects the community and customers we serve. We actively promote the employment of women, people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, LGBTIQ+ community and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. For more information, please visit Diversity Inclusion Belonging.

If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and would like assistance with your application or to obtain more information on how to apply, please visit The Stepping Up Initiative.

To be eligible for employment in these roles you must be an Australian citizen, or a permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen, or hold a valid visa with permission to work in Australia.

Additional information

1. This recruitment may be used to create a Talent Pool for similar future roles (ongoing or temporary) that may arise over the next 18 months.
2. For more information on applying visit the our career portal.
3. Please note that the selection process will include a range of comparative assessment techniques to assist in determining your suitability for the role.

NSW Health acknowledges the people of the many traditional countries and language groups of New South Wales. It acknowledges the wisdom of Elders past and present, and pays respect to all Aboriginal communities of today.