Health & Safety Advisor

JOB PURPOSE

The post‑holder will support the Head of Health & Safety in delivering a comprehensive range of health and safety services across the Highland and Islands region. They will act as the primary point of contact for property management teams within their allocated property portfolio.

A core requirement of the role is to build strong, effective working relationships with management teams at their allocated properties, including the Regional Director, Business Manager and Operations Managers. The post‑holder is expected to respond promptly to requests for support and to be a dependable, readily accessible health & safety professional. They will form a key part of the planning and decision‑making process within their portfolio.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Health & Safety System Monitoring

• Contribute proactively to the Trust’s health & safety agenda by supporting the development, implementation and communication of policies, guidance, and relevant information.

Health & Safety Performance

• Conduct audits to test compliance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Develop and monitor agreed improvement plans with properties/functions.
• Produce clear, high‑quality audit reports and summaries to inform management of property/function-level performance.

Accident and Incident Investigation

• Carry out thorough investigations into accidents and near misses to identify root causes and recommend measures to prevent recurrence.
• Prepare statistical analyses to identify trends and propose appropriate risk‑mitigation actions.

Identifying Emerging Risks

• Maintain awareness of emerging health & safety risks within the allocated portfolio and consider any wider implications for the Trust.
• Monitor potential risks arising from incidents, legislation changes, enforcement activity, or relevant court cases.

Property Support

• Serve as the first point of contact for specialist health & safety advice within the portfolio.
• Escalate matters of concern to the Head of Health & Safety and relevant regional management when necessary.
• Provide practical, timely, and proportionate advice to property teams.
• Work with Operations Managers and property management to agree improvement areas based on audits, investigations, or policy/legislative updates.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the People Directorate to ensure consistency of approach and the effective use of resources.

Attendance at Meetings

• Attend regional management and property-level meetings as appropriate to report on performance, promote improvement initiatives, and advise on the implications of Trust policies and procedures.

Training and Development

• Identify health & safety training needs and work with the H&S team and People—Training & Organisational Development to meet requirements efficiently.
• Deliver training within the scope of personal competence.
• Evaluate training effectiveness to ensure learning is embedded and performance improvements are sustained.

Risk Management

• Provide relevant data (audit findings, accident/near miss statistics) for the Operational Leadership Group and regional meetings.
• Contribute to the Operational Risk Register where required.
• Support the Head of Health & Safety in proposing appropriate risk‑management measures.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Full UK driving license.
• NEBOSH National General Certificate (or equivalent).
• Willingness to develop professionally within the National Trust for Scotland.
• A broad understanding of health & safety issues within a heritage environment.
• Fire Risk Assessor trained (or commitment to obtaining qualification within 6 months).
• Membership of an appropriate professional body such as IOSH or IIRSM with evidence of continual professional development. 

Desirable

• NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent).

EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Strong and broad post‑qualification experience.
• Experience of contributing to the development of a strong, person-centered health and safety culture. 
• Experience conducting health & safety audits and visitor safety-based risk assessment. 
• Experience in accident/near miss reporting and developing strategies to prevent recurrence.
• Experience providing health & safety support within a complex, multi‑functional organisation.
• Experience contributing to the development of policies or procedures.
• Highly developed communication and influencing skills.
• Confident user of MS Office applications.

Desirable

• Knowledge of automated health & safety management systems.
• Awareness of H&S issues in the conservation/heritage sector.
• Knowledge of emergency planning practices.
• Experience designing and delivering health & safety training.

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