There has never been a more exciting time to join Wirral Council. We’ve got ambitious targets to meet and to achieve everything we have promised to our residents, we need people who are ready to deliver the very best for our communities and show how they can #BeTheDifference. Our vision is to secure the best possible future for our residents, defined by the community prosperity we create and supported by our excellent people and services. If you strive to #BeTheDifference and want to be at the heart of our change and improvement journey, then this could be the perfect job for you.

Health & Safety Officer

About the role:

Wirral Council is looking for an experienced Health and Safety professional to join its existing H&S team. We're looking for someone with the passion, skills, and knowledge to help drive the continuous improvements in health, safety, and wellbeing for the benefit of our communities. Working across the Council and Wirral schools’ network to support Council Managers, Headteachers and School Governors ensure they are compliant with their health and safety responsibilities.

The post requires the successful candidate to work independently and as part of a team, you will contribute towards the continuous improvement of health and safety, via policy reviews, health and safety audits, and monitoring health and safety compliance. You will have experience of interpreting legislation and guidance to provide practical advice, as well as developing learning from accident investigations. You will apply your knowledge and experience of UK health and safety legislation, as applicable to Local Authority, and school’s environments.

The role requires a range of skills beyond the usual health and safety role and candidates should include any additional examples from their previous positions.    

About the candidate:

The post holder will have completed a recognised diploma at level 6 (or equivalent) in UK Occupational Health and Safety Management and will have demonstrable experience in a UK based health and safety role.  A confident professional able to demonstrate how they meet the essential knowledge, skills and experience criteria of the post and their relevant practical implementation of UK health and safety legislation.  You will need to have a clear understanding of what excellent customer service looks like, alongside excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Training may be provided for candidates to meet some of the desirable qualifications within the post.

If you have a strong commitment to engaging those around you, along with a caring nature, we'd like to hear from you. You will find more details about the role in the job description, and what we are looking for from you in the person specification. In return we offer flexible, hybrid working, a generous holiday entitlement on commencement of 27 days, membership of the Council pension scheme, and an organisation that believes in ensuring the wellbeing of our staff. Ongoing training and development is a priority for us, as are professional support and opportunities for continuous professional development.

Previous applicants need not apply

If you are a Wirral resident, are unemployed or out of work, and require help with your application, please contact Involve Northwest’s employment and skills team on info@involvenorthwest.org.uk or contact 0151 644 4500 or 0151 652 4349.

 If you’re already a Wirral Council employee, and as part of our Talent Strategy, we’re committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn, grow, progress and thrive. For many of you, this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us, and we're passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience. Please get in touch if you want to know more about some of the ways in which we could support you by emailing recruitment@wirral.gov.uk

Working at Wirral

You’ll also want to know what it’s like to work here so, as a start:

Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! We’ve all played a role in developing these, so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do, what matters to us, what inspires us and inform how we think, approach things, and behave.

We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after, staff wellbeing is a priority for us. We’re serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. You’ll benefit from our track record of developing, growing, and investing in our people.

We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts, an excellent pension scheme which includes a generous employer contribution rate, immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach, hybrid working, family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays.

We have an inclusive, engaged culture, everyone has a voice, everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities.

Each voice is heard, each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds, who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us.

We want you to be your best at work, we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process. If you’d like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process to make it barrier-free and as accessible as possible please contact recruitment@wirral.gov.uk

^{Please note that in accordance with the Council’s policy, employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies.}

^{It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Council's Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package, unless in exceptional circumstances.}

^{Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date.}

^{We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.}

^{Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration.  Forms received via the post will not be processed.}

^{All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK.  Details of required documents can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the Jobs page.}

^{The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now.}