Health & Safety Advisor

JOB PURPOSE

The post‑holder will support the Head of Health & Safety in delivering a comprehensive range of health and safety services across the Highland and Islands region. They will act as the primary point of contact for property management teams within their allocated property portfolio. A core requirement of the role is to build strong, effective working relationships with management teams at their allocated properties, including the Regional Director, Business Manager and Operations Managers.

The post‑holder is expected to respond promptly to requests for support and to be a dependable, readily accessible health & safety professional. They will form a key part of the planning and decision‑making process within their portfolio.

Contribute proactively to the Trust’s health & safety agenda by supporting the development, implementation and communication of policies, guidance, and relevant information.

Conduct audits to test compliance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Develop and monitor agreed improvement plans with properties/functions. Produce clear, high‑quality audit reports and summaries to inform management of property/function-level performance.

Carry out thorough investigations into accidents and near misses to identify root causes and recommend measures to prevent recurrence. Prepare statistical analyses to identify trends and propose appropriate risk‑mitigation actions.

Maintain awareness of emerging health & safety risks within the allocated portfolio and consider any wider implications for the Trust. Monitor potential risks arising from incidents, legislation changes, enforcement activity, or relevant court cases.

Serve as the first point of contact for specialist health & safety advice within the portfolio. Escalate matters of concern to the Head of Health & Safety and relevant regional management when necessary. Provide practical, timely, and proportionate advice to property teams. Work with Operations Managers and property management to agree improvement areas based on audits, investigations, or policy/legislative updates. Collaborate with colleagues across the People Directorate to ensure consistency of approach and the effective use of resources.

Attend regional management and property-level meetings as appropriate to report on performance, promote improvement initiatives, and advise on the implications of Trust policies and procedures.

Identify health & safety training needs and work with the H&S team and People—Training & Organisational Development to meet requirements efficiently. Deliver training within the scope of personal competence. Evaluate training effectiveness to ensure learning is embedded and performance improvements are sustained.

Provide relevant data (audit findings, accident/near miss statistics) for the Operational Leadership Group and regional meetings. Contribute to the Operational Risk Register where required. Support the Head of Health & Safety in proposing appropriate risk‑management measures.