Head of Health & Safety - Hybrid in Burgess Hill

Location: Hybrid with national travel across services as required

Salary: £70,000 - £75,000 per annum DOE

Hours: 35hrs per week

Why join us?

Brainkind is a charity that aims to improve the lives of people with brain injuries in the UK. Our assessment centres, rehabilitation units and hospitals use expert neurorehabilitation to support people to regain the skills they have lost. We treat people with a range of brain injuries – sustained through trauma, illness, substance abuse and more – to recover and meet their personal goals. Our employees are incredibly passionate about the jobs they do – you will find a strong team spirit across our services and amazing colleagues who always pull together and look out for each other.

MAIN PURPOSE:

• Develop, implement and maintain the organisation’s Health and Safety strategy, governance framework and management system.
• Ensure full compliance with all relevant Health and Safety legislation, statutory duties and recognised best practice standards.
• Provide independent, evidence-based assurance and expert advice to the Executive Team on Health and Safety performance, risk and compliance.
• Own the organisation-wide Health and Safety risk profile, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, managed and escalated appropriately.
• Lead the organisation’s approach to incident prevention, investigation and organisational learning to reduce harm and improve safety outcomes.
• Drive a proactive safety culture across all services, embedding Health and Safety into strategic and operational decision-making.
• Set organisational Health and Safety standards and ensure these are consistently applied across all services and functions.
• Ensure effective reporting, monitoring and assurance mechanisms are in place to provide clear visibility of Health and Safety performance.
• Act as the organisation’s senior point of contact for external regulators, including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), ensuring effective engagement and compliance.
• Manage the health and safety team who carry out inspections and reviews of Health and Safety Management Systems and provide support to all the operational and non-operational services.
• Ensure Health and Safety arrangements support safe, person-centred care delivery across all services.
• Promote safe systems of work that balance regulatory compliance with the dignity, wellbeing and needs of service users.
• Maintain a visible operational presence across services through inspections, engagement visits, audits and assurance activities.
• Provide strategic Health and Safety oversight for estates management, refurbishment programmes, property acquisitions, contractor management and capital developments.
• Provide Health and Safety leadership and due diligence input into organisational growth, new business opportunities, tenders and service developments.

ABOUT YOU:

• Five years of senior-level experience leading Health and Safety functions within complex, multi-site national organisations.
• Degree qualified Chartered Membership of IOSH (CMIOSH) or equivalent professional Health and Safety qualification.
• Strong leadership capability with experience driving organisational change, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Relevant knowledge/understanding of Health & Safety legislation, guidance and codes of practice.
• Relevant experience of writing reports/assessments at a strategic level and providing technical expertise with regards training content and delivery.
• Ability to use own initiative and be flexible in approach.

REWARDS:

• A competitive rate of £70,000 - £75,000 per annum DOE.
• 38 Days AL Buy/Sell up to 5 days AL each year.
• Simply Health Plan; helps to cover the cost of routine healthcare treatments.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
• Excellent training and support.
• Company Pension.
• Group life assurance.
• Eye voucher scheme.
• Long service and staff awards.
• Free parking.

We also put a big focus on employee wellbeing and support. It matters to us that you feel at your best. Career development is a priority. We will ensure you get all the training and learning opportunities you need to achieve your goals.

To join our friendly team, click the Apply Now button.

Please note we will be shortlisting and interviewing candidates on a rolling basis until the role is filled therefore, we recommend applying as soon as possible.

All successful candidates are subject to compliance checks including 3 years of checkable references and DBS/PVG checks.

Brainkind are a Disability Confident Employer. As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. Brainkind is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive organisation. It is a place where we recognise, celebrate, and live our values which includes offering a range of inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support employees from all backgrounds.