Occupational Health and Wellbeing Specialist

Overview

Job Title: Occupational Health and Wellbeing Specialist

Location: Nationwide, GB (Main) • UK-based (site flexible) | Monday–Friday | 37.5 hours

Salary: £41,000 – £51,000

At Gist, our Health, Safety and Environment function exists to ensure every colleague can go home safe and well every day. Protecting colleagues’ health means identifying, assessing and controlling occupational health risks before harm occurs. From occupational hygiene and health surveillance to compliance and assurance, our focus is on prevention, protection and long-term health.

The opportunity

We’re looking for an Occupational Health & Wellbeing Specialist to strengthen how occupational health risks and hygiene are managed across our network. This role focuses on preventing work-related ill health through effective identification, assessment and control of health hazards. You’ll work closely with site teams, HSE colleagues and external specialists to ensure occupational health risks are understood, monitored and controlled in line with legislation and best practice. While wellbeing forms part of the wider health agenda, the primary focus is on occupational health risk management and hygiene, ensuring colleagues are protected from exposure and supported to remain safe and well at work. If you’re motivated by people impact, collaboration and continuous improvement, this role offers both purpose and influence.

What’s in it for you?

This role offers scope, visibility and meaningful impact.

You’ll benefit from:

• A central role in shaping and improving occupational health and hygiene practices
• Exposure across a large, operational, multi-site environment
• Close collaboration with HSE, operational and people teams
• The opportunity to embed prevention-focused health practices into everyday operations

Alongside this, we offer:

• 20% M&S discount on most things from furniture, fashion and food
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (rising with length of service)
• Attractive annual bonus scheme linked to M&S performance and personal objectives
• Auto-enrolment pension or competitive Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and life assurance (up to 4x salary)
• Discounted healthcare cash plan
• Access to wellbeing support, including our Employee Assistance Programme
• Ongoing development opportunities
• Cycle to work scheme

Location: Based at any UK site, with periodic travel across the network

Your impact

You’ll play a key role in protecting colleagues from occupational health risks and ensuring effective health controls are in place across the business.

You’ll

• Lead the identification, assessment and control of occupational health hazards
• Coordinate and oversee occupational hygiene assessments, environmental monitoring and surveys
• Manage and maintain effective health surveillance programmes
• Act as the professional lead for occupational health service provision and third-party suppliers
• Provide expert advice on exposure risks such as noise, dust, chemicals, ergonomics and manual handling
• Support sites with health risk assessments and implementation of appropriate controls
• Contribute to investigations of health-related incidents and emerging trends
• Use health data to inform targeted interventions and improvements
• Support wellbeing activity where it directly contributes to health protection, recovery and safe return to work

About you

You’re an experienced occupational health and well-being professional, comfortable working in fast-paced, operational environments.

You’ll bring:

• A qualification in Occupational Health, Health Sciences or a related field
• NEBOSH General Certificate (or equivalent)
• Membership of IOSH or another appropriate professional body
• Experience managing occupational health services and third-party providers
• Experience coordinating occupational hygiene assessments and health surveillance
• Strong communication and influencing skills
• A structured, proactive approach with the ability to manage sensitive information confidentially
• Flexibility to travel and support a 24/7 operation when required

Desirable:

• Experience within logistics, distribution or a similar operational sector
• Experience working with trade unions or consultation forums

Why Gist?

At Gist we are united by our core values; with safety and people at the heart of everything we do, we are progressive, accountable, collaborative, and ethical.

Our objective is to establish a performance-focused environment that is fair and inclusive, where everyone can develop, and connect meaningfully to their manager, the Gist vision, and M&S. We are fiercely protective of everyone’s health, safety, and wellbeing, and align firmly to M&S’s sustainability commitments in Plan A.

Gist will play an integral part in the M&S journey as it pushes boundaries to lead the retail industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring era. As part of the M&S group, there’s never been a better time to be part of our team. Join us and make an immediate impact.

Gist aims to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers, and suppliers. If you require reasonable adjustments to any part of our recruitment process, we invite you to share those requirements with us when completing your application. We will make every effort to ensure your needs are met to provide a fair and transparent process of assessment. If it’s meaningful to you, it’s important to us.

Our Internal Recruitment Team fulfils vacancies on a direct basis. Unsolicited contact by unapproved agencies will not be accepted and introductory fees will not apply.

Note: This description reflects the current job and may be subject to change.