Head of Safety Management

Thank you for your interest in this exciting and challenging role within the RSPB’s Health,
safety and environment Department. This is a fantastic opportunity to work for Europe’s largest
nature conservation organisation and support colleagues to deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of
work in a healthy, safe and sustainable way!

You will join the dedicated geographically spread team of health, safety & environment
professionals, develop our safe working standards and lead our approach to safety and health
learning. You will engage and support senior managers across the RSPB, helping them ensure
health and safety is embedded in their plans to deliver our ambitious strategy to 2030. 

You will be able to form excellent working relationships, have a detailed health and safety
management knowledge and experience of working across a multi-site, geographically dispersed
organisation.

Our nature reserves are amazing places but vary significantly from major visitor destinations
wildlife refuges. They are loved by our visitors and you will need a thorough understanding of
Visitor Safety Management to empower the operational managers in taking reasonable steps to
manage visitor safety. 

What’s the role about?

Reporting to the Head of Health, safety and environment you will manage all aspects of RSPB’s
health and safety approach, provide a pragmatic, sensible enabling service, and keep our safety
management system up-to-date. Your work with colleagues will improve and simplify how we
communicate and embed our safe working practices. Your work with the Health, safety and
environment team will build on our approach to assurance and monitoring. Linking with other
risk managers within RSPB you will share practice and encourage a holistic approach to data
management.

Our workforce undertakes a wide range of activities and our safety standards support this,
including our premises and other structures, significant habitat management or creation,
contract management, construction, land-forming and the use of machinery and equipment. Our
workers may be reserve, office or home based, roving membership recruiters and research and
investigations colleagues working in challenging and remote locations. Our international work
includes pest eradication from UK Overseas territories and helping Birdlife Partners in East
Africa and Indonesia. 

Alongside you are two Health and safety Delivery Managers and the Head of Environmental
Management leading the geographically-spread specialist advisors. You will help integrate our
pragmatic and supportive standards, learning and advice to enable all RSPB’s workforce of over
2,500 employees and 14,000 volunteers to deliver safe and healthy work for nature
conservation. 

With the Learning Development Team you will embed a programme of safety learning into our way
of working, including delivering safety leadership events. Monitoring changes in legal and
sector standards you will work with delivery teams to develop our response to them. You will
make sure our third-party support systems such as incident recording are fit for purpose and
provide what RSPB needs. 

Time with teams on the ground will enable you to work at some amazing places and to tailor your
approach to support fantastic people who are passionate about nature. By supporting our teams
to work safely and sustainably you will be directly contributing to our conservation objectives
with teams being happier, healthier and more effective in their roles. 

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• A people person who can demonstrate how you form great relationships regardless of their
  position within the organisation.
• A flexible leadership style to influence the many and varied colleagues you will help to
  improve our safety performance and deliver consistency.
• Experience of working with Health, safety and environment colleagues, demonstrating
  delivery of continued improvement to safety learning, procedures and practices.
• Significant health and safety knowledge and experience in the land and visitor risk
  management field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to describe our expectations for safe
  working in a straightforward and pragmatic way.
• Chartered Membership of IOSH or equivalent, with experience of developing changes in safety
  management across a multi-site organisation.

This is a Permanent, Part-Time role for 30 hours per week. We are looking to conduct interviews
on 27th April 2023. For further information please contact [email protected] 

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including
evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone
feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a
world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People
of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate,
sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled,
we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any
additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act 1974.

The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship.