At the City of Edinburgh Council, it’s our ambition that Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility and it will be your role to lead our work to make that ambition a reality.  As the local authority for Scotland’s Capital, we provide over 700 discrete public services through our workforce of 18,500 people across a diverse range of functions.  This creates unique opportunities and challenges for our Corporate Health and Safety Team to operate within and we need a highly skilled and capable senior health and safety professional to join us to lead our team and build upon the team’s successes to date.

Reporting to the Council’s Head of Legal and Risk, you’ll work alongside senior managers in complementary teams responsible for Legal Services, Audit and Risk Management.  As a key business partner for all our services, you’ll provide both support and constructive challenge in a positive and meaningful way, with a clear focus on ensuring safe systems of work, effective health and safety risk management and help embed a real culture of ‘safety first’ across the organisation.

This is a key role where you’ll be expected to make a corporate leadership contribution as a senior manager within the Council, just as much as you’ll bring your professional and technical expertise to bear.  Able to flex your style, you’ll need to be comfortable with developing and setting health and safety strategies and policies and in providing direct advice and guidance to colleagues at all levels, Councillors, the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.  You’ll also need to be a great people manager, who is able to coach, develop and support our team of Health and Safety professionals to become even more highly performing.

Working in close partnership with our Trade Unions and accredited safety representatives, you’ll have the knowledge, confidence and credibility to succeed and will hold a relevant higher degree level qualification, or equivalent, along with being a Chartered IOSH member, or equivalent, with strong continuous professional development evident throughout your career to date.

Informal enquiries about the role are welcomed by Nick Smith, Head of Legal and Risk who can be contacted at nick.smith@edinburgh.gov.uk