Health & Safety Officer Jobs

Health and safety officer jobs offer expert knowledge and skills in order to generate and promote a positive health and safety culture. They play a key role in helping control occupational risk.

From multinational organisations to small consultancies, advisers work in partnership with employers, employees, directors and trade unions. Responsible for ensuring that all safety legislation is adhered to and policies and practices adopted, they help plan, implement, monitor and review the protective and preventative measures that companies are required or choose to follow. They work to minimise operational losses, occupational health problems, accidents and injuries.

Throughout the profession, work activities are varied and may depend on the employer or employment sector. However, tasks typically involve preparing health and safety strategies and developing internal policy; outlining safe operational procedures, which identify all relevant hazards and accurately assess risks; carrying out risk assessments and looking at how risks could be reduced and planning practical and effective solutions towards safe working practices.

Health and safety officer jobs may include negotiating with managers and operators to try to eliminate conflict between production and safety considerations; make changes to working practices that are safe and comply with legislation; liaise with officials from the regulatory authorities to ensure the organisation is compliant with mandatory regulations; keep up to date with new legislation and carry out regular site inspections to check policies and procedures are being properly implemented.

Keeping records of inspections findings and producing reports suggesting improvements; keeping records of incidents and accidents and producing statistics for managers; leading in-house training with managers and employees about health and safety issues and risks; producing management reports, newsletters and bulletins and carrying out accident investigations on sites and producing subsequent reports and recommendations will be expected from the health and safety adviser.

You will also be liaising with authorities; developing preventative and remedial programmes of health and safety; advising on a range of specialist areas, e.g. fire regulations, hazardous substances, noise, safeguarding machinery and occupational diseases; carrying out fire drills; ensuring the safe installation of equipment and managing hazardous substances and the disposal of chemicals, e.g. asbestos.