Health and Safety Officer

Salary: £35,235 to £37,938 per annum.

Working Pattern: Full-time, 37 hours per week.

Contract Length: Fixed-term/Secondment until 05/01/2026, to cover the permanent position holder whilst they are on secondment.

Location: County Hall, Chichester, a typical week will combine attendance at the office, visits around the County and ability to work flexibly. This is led by the needs of the service.

Interviews: 7th January 2025.

Your role as a Health & Safety Officer is a specialist function and unique to the Fire & Rescue Service.

You will apply your specialist knowledge to ensure the provision of competent advice and guidance in a specialised range of areas, including Fire Service personnel operating at major incidents in a highly hazardous environment.

Working as part of a team you will support the Health & Safety Manager, advising and supporting the Chief Fire Officer and Service Executive Board on implementing management systems that comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed by the relevant statutory health, safety and welfare provisions.

Specifically, you will:

• Review, update and maintain the Service's risk assessment database.
• Monitor and co-ordinate the reporting, recording and investigation of health and safety incidents.
• Monitor and review health and safety performance, carrying out inspections and undertaking audits.
• Design, develop, evaluate, and deliver health and safety training.
• Co-ordinate all matters relating to litigation claims, maintaining effective liaison with the County Secretary, County Litigation Team, solicitors, and insurers on matters relating to litigation claims.
• Lead on all work associated with the "Regional Ways of Working", including attending meetings, carrying out inter-service safety audits and be involved in the development of Four Fire (4F) collaboration work.

What we are looking for:

• Advisory, negotiation and persuasion skills.
• Ability to interpret complex information to produce health, safety and welfare guidance with minimal supervision.
• Analytical and judgemental skills to assess health and safety needs and to respond appropriately and provide unbiased options.
• Ability to design, deliver and evaluate health, safety, and fire training packages.
• The ability to keep up to date with new developments in the health, safety, and fire field.
• A National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) Certificate or a National Vocational Qualification level 3 in Occupational Safety and Health, or a British Safety Council Level 3 Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health.
• An appropriate qualification (or appropriate relevant experience) in the specialist area of Fire and Rescue Health and Safety.
• Teaching qualification (City & Guilds, level 3 or equivalent).
• Previous experience of working within an Emergency Service.
• Experience in the interpretation and application of health, safety, fire, and other associated legislation in hazardous and safety critical environments.
• Experience of developing safe systems of work and procedures to improve employee health, safety, welfare and risk management, and the health and safety of non-employees affected by an employer's operations.

Reward and benefits

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

• A competitive salary.
• 27 days annual leave + bank holidays.
• A generous pension scheme.
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring.
• A strong supportive management team.
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers with the opportunity to save over £1,000. Including: Argos, Samsung, Asos, B&Q and many more.
• Free access to employee assistance programmes.
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres.
• Car benefit scheme.
• A range of commuting and business travel discounts and initiatives

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee, go to our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is CPP01021.

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact .

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

To apply, please follow the links below upload your CV and complete the application explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

This role will be subject to 3 years' worth of referencing, a medical, declaration form and right to work.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.