Deputy Health & Safety Manager in Exeter

We have an exciting opportunity for a Deputy Health & Safety Manager to join our Organisational Assurance department based at our Service Headquarters. You’ll join us on a Permanent contract working 37 hours per week. In return you will receive a salary starting at £42,839.00 rising to £46,142 (gross) per annum.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the largest non-metropolitan Fire and Rescue Service in England. We provide prevention, protection and response services across the counties of Devon and Somerset. Our vision is that together, we will work to end preventable fire and rescue emergencies, creating a safer world for you and your family. Keeping people safe is what we do, and we owe our fantastic reputation to our highly skilled and motivated workforce.

The Deputy Health & Safety Manager provides a critical role in the Service, working with the Health & Safety Manager, and leading a team of Health & Safety Officers, to support colleagues across the Service to comply with health and safety legislation. The role ensures the provision of timely and effective delivery of assurance of compliance to senior leadership teams to support continuous improvement and inform targeted interventions to improve safety. The Deputy Health & Safety Manager provides cover for the Health & Safety Manager in their absence, including representing the Service at regional and national forums and liaising with the Health & Safety Executive as required.

Key responsibilities and duties

• Provision of professional advice: As a professional subject matter expert, provide proactive and reactive health, safety and welfare advice on complex issues to senior and middle managers in order to attain and maintain statutory conformity.
• Develop policy and provide assurance of compliance: Manage the development and review of health and safety related policies and guidance and develop and undertake audits against them.
• Promote and embed a safety culture: Provide a pivotal role promoting, facilitating, embedding and continually evaluating the safety culture within the Service.
• Work with managers and key stakeholders in organisational learning and communications and engagement to ensure that strategic learning points identified through significant safety event investigations are embedded into operational and organisational practice and that staff concerns relating to health and safety are acted upon promptly and effectively.
• Lead and support the Health & Safety team: Provide support and direction to the Health & Safety Officers and casual contract safety event investigation officers. Deliver the team’s plan of work, assessing and prioritising workloads and delegating as appropriate. Support the Health & Safety Manager in developing and delivering the Health & Safety strategy.

How to apply

Closing date: 2359hrs 22 February 2026. For more information, or for an informal discussion about the role, please contact Health & Safety Manager Chris Elliott via CElliott@dsfire.gov.uk. If you feel you have the skills and experience to become our Deputy Health & Safety Manager please click ‘apply’ today, we would love to hear from you. The successful candidate must, by the commencement of employment, have the right to work in the UK.

Application criteria

• You will be required to complete an application form and submit a document detailing how you meet the following essential criteria taken from the Job Description and Person Specification.
• Holder of NEBOSH National Diploma or equivalent with relevant post qualification experience in Health & Safety – To effectively and efficiently carry out this role this is likely to be at least 5 years with evidence of Continuous Professional Development over this period of time.
• Proven successful track record of working within a Health & Safety Environment to at least middle management level.
• Evidence of high level of organisational skills with ability to deal with competing priorities to meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to work effectively and communicate with staff of all levels including strategic managers.
• Experience in developing, implementing and maintaining policy.
• Proven ability of implementing Health & Safety Strategies and policies / procedures which flow from such strategies.

Please note the evidence that you upload to your application should not exceed 2000 words in total (excluding titles). Evidence submitted in relation to the essential criteria above will be used to shortlist any applications received.

Our values

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and all employees must share this commitment and adhere to the Services’ Safeguarding Policy. Fire and Rescue Authority roles are listed in Schedule 1 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order and as such it is our policy to require all applicants to disclose any criminal convictions (both spent and unspent) including driving offences, cautions and reprimands. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to the rehabilitation of offenders, as such any positive disclosures will incorporate a reasonable and proportionate response.

Our workforce

We are proud to help. We are honest. We are respectful. We are working together. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service recognise and celebrate the vast diversity of the local communities that we serve, and we aspire for this to be reflected in our workforce. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds, experience and beliefs, who share our values to consider working for us.