Health & Safety Officer

Mater Private Network; Cork; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

Hollybank Trustees Ltd is seeking a Health and Safety Officer for a full-time, on-site role in a hospital setting. The position involves championing safety, leading risk management, and ensuring compliance with HSA, HIQA, and JCI standards.

A degree in Health & Safety and at least 5 years in regulated environments are required, plus IOSH membership or equivalent. The role entails delivering safety training, coordinating risk assessments, and supporting external inspections and audits to uphold

Qualifications

• Degree or professional qualification in Health & Safety or related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in healthcare or highly regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of Irish health and safety legislation and HSA requirements.
• Experience with accreditation and regulatory compliance programmes (JCI/HIQA).
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder engagement skills.
• IOSH membership or equivalent professional body.

Responsibilities

• Championi and promote a proactive safety culture across the hospital.
• Lead initiatives to improve patient, staff and visitor safety.
• Develop and implement risk assessments and safety campaigns.
• Coordinate risk management processes and governance.
• Oversee emergency, major incident and disaster management programmes.
• Conduct safety rounds, inspections and audits.
• Lead investigations into accidents and safety events.
• Ensure compliance with HSA, HIQA, JCI standards and related regulations.

Skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Audits & investigations

Risk management

Education

Health & Safety degree

Job description

Location: On site / Cork, Ireland
job type: Permanent / Full-time
Sector and subsector: Engineering | Health & Safety
Salary: Negotiable salary

Health and Safety Officer -(Full-time, Permanent Role, On Site)

We are currently recruiting for a Health and Safety Officer, on a full-time basis, for a permanent opportunity.

Duties within the role include:

• Champion and promote a proactive culture of safety, quality and accountability across the hospital
• Lead initiatives that strengthen patient, staff and visitor safety in line with organisational values and behavioural standards.
• Support the ongoing development of a positive safety culture through engagement, education, safety campaigns, audits and quality improvement initiatives.
• Facilitate and support departmental risk assessments and risk register reviews across clinical and non-clinical services.

• Coordinate the hospital's risk management processes, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, mitigated and monitored.
• In partnership with the Facilities Manager, oversee the development, testing and continual improvement of Emergency, Major Incident and Disaster Management programmes.
• Ensure emergency preparedness exercises, evacuations and drills are conducted and evaluated.
• Provide expert guidance on occupational health and safety, fire safety, security management, hazardous materials and environmental safety.
• Conduct safety rounds, inspections and audits to identify opportunities for improvement and ensure compliance.
• Lead investigations into accidents, incidents, near misses and safety events, ensuring appropriate corrective and preventative actions are implemented.
• Monitor compliance with relevant legislation, regulations, standards and best practice guidance.
• Maintain and regularly review the Hospital Safety Statement and supporting documentation.
• Ensure compliance with the requirements of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), Joint Commission International (JCI) standards, and all applicable health, safety and healthcare regulations.
• Support organisational readiness for internal and external inspections, accreditation surveys and regulatory reviews.
• Develop, implement and review health and safety policies, procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), emergency plans and guidance documents.
• Ensure policies reflect current legislation, accreditation requirements and industry best practice.
• Participate actively in relevant hospital committees and working groups, providing specialist advice and leadership on quality, risk and safety matters.
• Design, deliver and evaluate health and safety training programmes for hospital staff.
• Support managers in meeting their health and safety responsibilities and promote staff awareness of safety standards and safe work practices.
• Facilitate learning from incidents, audits and inspections to drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain and oversee the hospital's chemical inventory and database.
• Ensure compliance with chemical safety legislation, Safety Data Sheet (SDS) management and hazardous substance controls.
• Advise departments on the safe storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials.
• Collaborate with the Facilities Manager to ensure robust contractor safety management and induction processes are in place.
• Provide specialist health and safety input into construction, refurbishment and facility development projects.
• Review project risks and ensure compliance with health and safety requirements during all phases of planning and implementation.

Candidate Requirements

• Degree or professional qualification in Health & Safety, Occupational Safety & Health, Risk Management or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a healthcare, hospital or highly regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of Irish health and safety legislation and HSA requirements.
• Experience supporting accreditation and regulatory compliance programmes, including JCI and/or HIQA standards.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience conducting risk assessments, incident investigations and safety audits.
• Membership of IOSH or equivalent professional body.
• Qualification in Risk Management, Quality Improvement or Healthcare Management.
• Experience in hospital accreditation, quality and patient safety programmes.
• Trainer qualification and experience delivering health and safety education programmes.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to make a significant contribution to the safety, quality and regulatory compliance agenda within a leading acute healthcare organisation committed to excellence in patient care.

Closing Date for Receipt of Applications is Monday October 19 th 2026

Mater Private Network Cork is committed to a policy of equal opportunities.