Health And Safety Business Partner

About the role

We’re recruiting a proactive, customer‑focused Health & Safety Business Partner to lead the H&S partnership for Place & Sustainability. This portfolio includes complex, high‑risk operations such as highways projects, guided busways and CDM‑regulated work, where strong health and safety leadership is essential to protect our people, communities, and the Council’s reputation.

You will be the trusted H&S lead for P&S—building effective relationships with service leaders, project teams, and trade union colleagues—providing specialist advice, challenge, and assurance that our Safety Management System and statutory duties are robust and working in practice.

What you’ll do

• Partnering & assurance:
  Act as the dedicated Health & Safety Business Partner for the Place & Sustainability services, attending management forums and project boards to anticipate risks and embed pragmatic, practical controls.
• Risk management & compliance:
  Lead on service‑specific risk assessments (including depot and site activities), CDM compliance, contractor management, and regulatory interfaces.
• Audit & improvement:
  Plan and deliver compliance audits across P&S; agree action plans and track delivery with accountable managers.
• Incident learning:
  Support investigations, identify root causes and trends (including RIDDOR), and translate lessons into measurable improvements.
• Training & capability:
  Design and deliver targeted H&S training and briefings to build managerial competence in P&S’s operating environments.
• Reporting & governance:
  Provide timely reports and insights to directorate and corporate H&S & Wellbeing groups, contributing to Council‑wide governance and culture.

• Qualified: NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent) and up‑to‑date knowledge of H&S legislation and industry standards relevant to infrastructure and construction.
• Experienced in CDM/high‑risk operations:
  Comfortable advising on highways, guided busways, and contractor activities with practical, proportionate solutions.
• Great relationship‑builder:
  Able to influence senior leaders, engineers, and delivery partners; confident working with trade unions and across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Data‑informed & improvement‑minded:
  You use audits, dashboards and incident learning to drive continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.

Stuart Wood, Strategic Health & Safety Manager

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