Health & Safety Advisor

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland. We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety Advisor (Operational Specialist) to join our Field Operations Team, based in our offices in Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee or Elgin covering a large geographical area in the East of Scotland including the Orkney and Shetland Islands. You may also occasionally be asked to support other regions as needed.

In this role, you’ll be providing health & safety support to various groups within the Customer Water Services (CWS), playing a key role in raising safety awareness and enhancing compliance. You’ll help reduce workplace incidents and foster a strong organisational culture of Health & Safety by engaging with both our team and our partners on performance and risk management. While you’re building relationships that positively influence safety practices, you’ll ensure that effective Health & Safety skills and behaviours are deeply embedded into the way Scottish Water operates.

What you’ll do

As a Health & Safety Advisor, you’ll play a key role in meeting the legal requirements placed on Scottish Water by providing comprehensive health and safety advice and support across regional levels of the business. You’ll help to identify, evaluate, control, and monitor risks, working to implement Scottish Water’s safety standards in compliance with legislation and our strategic objectives. Your focus will be on building a strong culture of safety that extends throughout the organisation.

You’ll be responsible for researching, developing, implementing, and continuously reviewing health and safety standards and procedures. This includes promoting safe practices in areas like Energy Isolations, Working at Height, Lifting Operations, COSHH, DSEAR, Confined Spaces, Lone Working, and handling Toxic Gases. You’ll also ensure that all business functions operate within Scottish Water’s unified Health & Safety system, providing practical, cost-effective, and influential guidance based on legislation, industry best practices, and our commitment to zero harm.

In partnership with management, you’ll contribute to the development of health and safety action plans for Scottish Water and specific customer needs. This involves designing and delivering training that empowers managers and employees to understand and meet their safety responsibilities. You’ll gather feedback and provide follow-up support, enabling continuous improvement that goes beyond compliance to deliver best practices and value.

Your role will also involve auditing and reviewing Scottish Water’s safety management systems, and actively monitoring activities across operations, including our suppliers, contractors, and partners. Responding swiftly to any incidents, you’ll lead investigations to determine the root cause of accidents, helping to prevent future occurrences. Additionally, you’ll work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen health and safety performance through collaborative initiatives, site inspections, and customer liaison, fostering strong relationships built on trust and shared safety goals.

What you’ll need

You’ll need to be comfortable working independently, sometimes remotely, and have the motivation to deliver top-notch service across a wide area. You should have experience working with a diverse range of people at all levels and know how to positively influence health and safety culture here at Scottish Water.

You’ll also enjoy being part of a high-performing team and have a genuine desire to develop your skills, take on training, and learn from both internal and external coaching. We’re looking for someone with a NEBOSH General Certificate as a minimum, who can make smart, informed decisions even when things are moving fast. Experience working with key stakeholders and getting positive results is essential, too.

If you’re ready to build on your operational experience and are open to learning more about Scottish Water’s processes and practices, this role could be a great fit. You’ll need a solid grasp of health and safety legislation, and a full, clean UK driving license is a must. It would also be great if you’re aiming for a NEBOSH Diploma or have already started on it! Experience with key health and safety aspects like energy isolations, contractor management, excavations and utility avoidance, COSHH, DSEAR, permit-to-work systems, working at height, lifting operations, toxic gases, and confined spaces would be a plus.

Looking out for you

While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance. You’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.

When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working. For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance. As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.

The not-so-small print

This role will be a Grade 6. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a salary between £37,815 - £48,395, depending on your skills and experience. Performance-driven pay progression will then allow you to move through the range to the maximum salary. We’ll be working hybrid with the combination of working on-site, remotely from home, or at one or more of Scottish Water’s strategic Health & Safety hubs.

If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on 5th June 2026. Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party, and must be completed before your start date. Don’t worry - we’ll only start these checks once you’ve accepted an offer.

A few final things worth knowing… Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out! Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!).

We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask. As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.

Please note, Scottish Water takes the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees, colleagues and customers very seriously and as such you may be subject to Drug & Alcohol testing in line with our policy. Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted. We’re here to help. Ask us anything at SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk