Senior Health & Safety Advisor

Scottish Environment Protection Agency; Holytown; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid and Flexible working

35 days annual leave + public holidays

LGPS

Training & development

Cycle to Work Scheme

Job summary

Scottish Environment Protection Agency is recruiting a Senior Health & Safety Advisor on a permanent, full-time basis to strengthen governance and compliance across diverse operations in Scotland. The role involves leading risk-based assurance, influencing senior leaders, and driving continuous improvement in health and safety performance.

You’ll develop policies, support risk controls, and champion training and data-driven reporting to enhance organisational safety culture.

Qualifications

• NEBOSH NGC (or equivalent) and current IOSH TechIOSH level with UK H&S knowledge.
• Experience leading H&S governance, audits and incident investigations.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management to advise senior leaders.
• Analytical reporting using H&S data and digital systems.
• Experience delivering H&S training and workforce development.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of SEPA's health and safety governance and assurance programs.
• Provide authoritative health and safety advice to managers and teams.
• Drive compliance through audits, inspections and investigations.
• Develop and improve SEPA's Health and Safety Management System.
• Promote a proactive H&S culture through training and engagement.

Skills

NEBOSH National General Certificate

IOSH TechIOSH

Stakeholder influence

Audits & investigations

Data reporting

Education

NEBOSH NGC (or SCQF 8-10)

Tools

ISO 45001 knowledge

Job description

We are recruiting for a full time Senior Health & Safety Advisor on a permanent basis

Your passion has never had a greater purpose

Here at SEPA, we’re connected by a passion that drives us to be purposeful in every action we take - to protect our environment. Through our expertise, we lead projects that make a difference for Scotland, and our workplaces are grounded in respect for that expertise.

Work that goes beyond your desk

Experts at what we do, we work in a professional way towards our shared goals, knowing the work we do makes a genuine, lasting difference on the environment. As Senior Health & Safety Advisor, that involves:

• Leading the delivery of SEPA’s health and safety governance, assurance and continuous improvement programmes across a diverse operational environment.
• Providing authoritative health and safety advice and support to managers, senior leaders and operational teams, influencing decision making and ensuring effective controls are maintained, developed and improved.
• Driving compliance, organisational learning and best practice through audits, inspections, incident investigations and assurance activities, identifying trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Supporting the development, implementation, assurance and continual improvement of SEPA’s Health and Safety Management System, aligned with legal requirements, HSG65 and the ISO 45001 standard.
• Developing and reviewing policies, procedures, risk assessments, safe systems of work, occupational health programmes and other key health and safety controls.
• Supporting the management of health and safety risks associated with higher-risk operational, field-based and lone working activities, ensuring effective controls are implemented and maintained.
• Producing detailed reporting and performance analysis and providing evidence-based recommendations to support informed decision making.
• Contributing to the design and enhancement of digital health and safety systems, improving reporting, compliance monitoring and organisational insight through effective use of technology and data.
• Promoting a positive, proactive health and safety culture by supporting training, workforce competence, stakeholder engagement and collaboration across the organisation.

Respect for your expertise

This is a highly important role within our People portfolio, which means you’ll need:

• To hold a NEBOSH National General Certificate (or equivalent recognised SCQF Level 8-10 occupational health and safety qualification) and current IOSH membership at Technical (TechIOSH) level or above (or equivalent recognised professional body membership). Comprehensive knowledge and experience of UK health and safety legislation, ACOPs, HSG65 and ISO 45001, together with good experience of providing professional advice and guidance, including influencing positive health and safety behaviours and driving continuous improvement in organisational health and safety performance within a complex environment.
• Proven experience in leading Health & Safety governance, assurance and operational risk management activities including auditing, inspections, incident investigations, compliance monitoring and performance reporting.
• Highly developed communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to provide authoritative advice, coaching and constructive challenge to senior leaders, managers and stakeholders ensuring consistent and legally compliant approaches to complex health and safety matters.
• Strong analytical, reporting and presentation skills, with experience of using health and safety data, evidence and digital systems to support governance, assurance, and informed decision-making.
• Proven experience of delivering and/or supporting health and safety training, workforce capability development and organisational improvement initiatives.

We recruit solely based on merit. Our shortlisting process is conducted on an anonymous basis.

Support that goes beyond the workplace

We’re cultivating a workplace that supports not only your passion and your professional lives, but your personal life. So, you’ll find benefits that make a difference at work and at home. Such as:

• Hybrid and Flexible working opportunities
• Up to 35 days annual leave and 7 additional public holidays each year (pro rata)
• Paid time off to support your Wellbeing and enable you to Volunteer in your community
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Progressive Family Friendly policies
• Training & development to enable colleagues to improve their skills, competencies and knowledge to perform at their best.

Plus, many more lifestyle benefits such as 24/7 access to an online employee discount platform, credit union facilities and access to a Cycle to Work Scheme.

Passionately you. Purposefully supportive

SEPA is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and good relations in everything it does - as a community leader, as a provider and commissioner of services, and as an employer.

Passionately Purposeful about Scotland’s environment - and your career.

We support flexible working arrangements to help you maintain a healthy balance between career and homelife. This includes working part time, reduced hours, job sharing, working remotely. As a flexible first employer we are open to having conversations about flexible working arrangements that work for you and SEPA from day 1 of your employment with us.

We are proud to be a ‘Disability Confident’ employer and will work to identify and implement reasonable adjustments and equipment to support you in the role that you do.

Applicants with a visual impairment can request job descriptions and application forms in Braille, large print or on tape.

For the security and wellbeing of our colleagues, successful candidates will undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) pre-employment checks including a level one Disclosure Scotland check.