Health and Safety Officer

Highgate School; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Highgate School recherche un Officer pour la santé et la sécurité. Ce poste est essentiel pour garantir un environnement de travail sûr et conforme à la réglementation pour tous les employés et élèves. Le candidat idéal devra avoir des compétences en communication exceptionnelles et une expérience avérée dans la mise en œuvre de politiques de santé et de sécurité au sein d'une organisation.

Benefits

Pension avec contribution employeur allant jusqu'à 26%

Accès gratuit aux installations sportives

Congés généreux de 33 jours

Déjeuner gratuit

Aide au transport durable

Qualifications

• Plus de 3 ans d'expérience dans un rôle de conseil ou équivalent.
• Connaissance des politiques de santé et de sécurité.

Responsibilities

• Fournir des conseils d'experts sur la santé et la sécurité.
• Développer des politiques de santé et sécurité robustes.

Skills

Communication

Gestion des risques

Organisation

Education

Diplôme de premier cycle ou équivalent

Qualification en santé et sécurité de niveau 6 ou expérience professionnelle équivalente

Job description

• Salary: £40,000-£45,000 per annum (£46,400-£52,200 if full pension flex benefit is utilised)

The role involves working in all parts of the School across disciplines of health and safety and business continuity planning. It extends to support functions, commercial activities and third parties. The role will also involve supporting stakeholders across the whole School including Governors, Senior Team, staff, parents/carers and pupils.

It is a non-teaching role, however engagement in the rich life of the School’s co-curriculum activities is encouraged.

They will on occasion be required to provide support and advice outside of the School’s core hours.

The Department

The role of the compliance and operations team is to ensure that the School provides a safe environment for pupils to learn and for staff to work.

We are a small, dynamic team with a big reach – working across three schools and beyond to ensure that Highgate School policies and operations are in line with current legislation. The team focuses on building excellent relationships with internal stakeholders, providing expert advice, mentoring and support to staff at all levels. We deeply value professionalism and meaningful conversations, but also cultivate moments of joy and recognition. We deal with an immense variety of issues reflective of the full range of the School’s activities from transport to waste to emergency planning. We are at the frontline of responding to legislative changes and play a very active role in preparing the School for statutory inspections.

"I really enjoy working in an environment which is focused on education and wellbeing. And the kids are great!”

"I really enjoy working in an environment which is focused on education and wellbeing. And the kids are great!”

— New member of support staff

Job Description

Objectives

The key objective is to provide expert advice, mentoring and support to staff and other stakeholders at all levels. The principle aim of the postholder is to identify and manage health and safety risk, implement effective health and safety strategies, policies, standards and programmes, and instigate and maintain robust governance/reporting processes.

• Embed and actively promote health and safety as a core value in order to deliver robust standards, performance and a sustainable safety culture.
• Provide active and timely support and effective toolkits to staff at all levels.
• Develop and deploy new and progressive health and safety initiatives.
• Ensure effective governance and assurance activities of health and safety across the School.

Main Responsibilities

Whole School Compliance for Health and Safety

• Develop and maintain robust Health and Safety Policies, objectives, standards and procedures.
• Work closely with Managers and Heads of Departments to ensure best practice and continuous compliance with relevant legislation.
• Oversee and where required produce risk assessment documentation for the whole School and individual departments and activities, including creation and maintenance of a central COSHH register.
• Evaluate health and safety risks across the School and develop controls to manage and reduce these risks.
• Manage the programme and records of statutory testing (e.g. PAT testing).
• Author and disseminate accurate and up-to-date information on legislation, statutory and other guidance, and good health and safety practice. Use a variety of media to ensure the messages are appropriate in tone and content to every part of the School community. Tailor the advice to meet the needs of different audiences including Governors, Senior Management, Teachers, Non-Teaching Staff, Parents/Carers and Pupils.
• Plan and deliver effective, innovative briefings to promote a proactive health and safety culture and overall awareness of health and safety across the School. Ensure that the Health and safety of staff, pupils and visitors is present in the minds of all.
• Identify, promote, arrange and, where relevant, deliver health and safety training requirements across the School with the adequate record keeping systems in place.
• Deliver new staff health and safety inductions as required and at INSET sessions throughout the academic year.
• Identify measurable indicators of safety performance, including information about accidents and collect, analyse and present that analysis to Managers, Heads of Departments and Senior Leaders.
• Ensure that there is a proportionate investigation of accidents; support and assist Managers and Heads of Departments in investigating curriculum incidents; working with the insurance team appoint, where necessary, third-party experts to investigate the most serious incidents.
• Chair the whole School Health and Safety Committee and attend the School’s Health and Safety Executive Committee.
• Work with Safety Leads in other independent schools to identify, develop and promulgate good health and safety practice across the independent schools’ sector.
• Take the responsibility of all aspects of the School’s fire safety, including fire risk assessment, evacuation procedures, fire drills and record keeping.
• Carry out regular checks of premises, audits and inspections. Coordinate, track and execute the implementation of remedial measures identified in investigation reports, inspections, audits and other monitoring activities.
• Produce regular reports and analysis for Senior Leadership Team to ensure that they are equipped with accurate and timely information.
• Collate and maintain records to evidence that the School meets or exceeds the regulatory standards, e.g. Independent School Standards Regulations 2014.

Liaison with enforcement agencies

• Ensure that serious incidents are reported to the relevant enforcement agency in order to satisfy legislative requirements.
• Engage cooperatively with enforcement agencies to develop supportive relationships with them.

Business Continuity Planning

• Develop the School’s Emergency Plan to implement and manage a Business Continuity Plan. This will require engagement with local and external stakeholders to ensure contingences are in place to maintain teaching at all times.
• Act as the School’s main point of contact for researching, developing and managing a School Business Continuity Plan.
• Work closely with critical areas of the School to understand their processes, identify risks and key assets, and provide solutions to help manage and minimise those risks including major incident recovery.
• Plan a coherent review and expansion from the existing School Emergency Plan into a full Business Continuity Plan.
• Be responsible for the management and development of the Business Continuity Plan including all procedures and leading on delivery of Emergency Planning drills and crisis management training exercises.
• Maintain an active relationship with the Estates Director and Estates Team to ensure possible decant plans are current, appropriate and easily enforced.
• Remain up to date with developments in Business Continuity Planning as necessary, and keep abreast of relevant legislation and best practice.
• Support the response to major incidents including pandemic response.

Risk Management and Insurance

• Provide Support to the Executive Assistant in maintaining and developing the School’s risk register.
• Advise on how the School as a whole and individual staff members assess the risks associated with their work and that they plan and implement actions to mitigate those risks.
• Attend the annual meeting with the School’s Insurance Brokers, taking the lead in following up on any action points relating to health and safety.

Estates Department Support

• Support the Estates Manager in fulfilling the School’s statutory obligations to improve and safely maintain our buildings, including audit of records
• Support the Capital Projects team in ensuring compliance with statutory obligations in respect of construction projects and in ensuring that safety and sustainability are designed in during new capital developments.

Logistical Project Support

• Undertake and support large-scale management projects as required and directed by academic and non-academic departments. This may include carrying out extensive research, preparing business cases etc. for:
  • New and exploratory projects.
  • Whole School special events.
  • Whole year group educational visits.
  • Annual and biennial events.
  • Specific projects assigned by Senior Leaders, to provide advice and support as necessary.

Additional duties

• Perform any other duties reasonably requested to ensure the smooth running of the School.

These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Health and Safety Officer will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by their Line Manager.

Person Specification

• Criteria
• How will these be tested or verified?
• Qualifications

• Essential

  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent
  • Level 6 Health and Safety Qualification or equivalent professional experience

  Desirable

  • Chartered membership of IOSH or other professional body
• Experience

• Essential

  • 3+ years of experience in advisory role or equivalent.
  • Management of processes.
  • Proven experience of researching, developing and implementing projects.
  • Proven organizational skills and the ability to prioritise tasks effectively.
  • Experience of working in Business Continuity.

  Desirable

  • Experience working with a wide community to enhance working relationships.
  • Experience working on strategic commercial developments.
• Knowledge and Skills

• Essential

  • Excellent communication skills when dealing with pupils, staff, parents and external organisations.
  • Ability to work effectively both as part of a team and independently.
  • Ability to prioritise effectively.
  • Excellent ICT skills.
  • Motivational skills.
  • Setting and producing KPI’s, SLA’s and comprehensive performance management reports.

  Desirable

  • Experience of working in the education sector.
  • Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding policies.
• Personal Attributes

• Essential

  • Flexible with a ‘can-do’ approach and able to work effectively without direct supervision.
  • Ability to build strong relationships with key staff across the School.
  • Commitment to achieve.

Location |Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development |Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities |Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Most holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.

Lunch |A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel |Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies |Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Working at Highgate

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams,and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staffand pupilswillfeel a sense of belonging and willthrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.

Safeguarding

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. Ifin the course ofcarrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment.Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Please read before you apply

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of childrenand applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policy

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e.filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not befiltered,prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.