The Health and Safety Officer is responsible for the planning and management of Health and Safety within the Galway region. They must have the skills and knowledge

and experience to be able to recognise health and service delivery hazards and to put in place sensible controls to ensure the safety of individuals supported by the service and to protect employees and others from harm. The successful candidate will be responsible for the implementation of the Corporate and Regional Safety Statements in the West Region, review of site-specific safety statements, and the maintenance and update of a robust safety management system in accordance with legal and other requirements to enable a safe place of work for employees, contractors and visitors. You will be responsible for the implementation of any new Health & Safety initiatives, policies and procedures. The Health & Safety Officer is a member of the National Health & Safety Team and reports to the Director of Service (West Region).

Qualifications:

The successful candidate must comply with the requirements of a ‘Competent Person’ and ‘Health & Safety Officer’ under the legislation and hold a minimum of a recognised Honours Degree (Level 8 in the National Framework of Qualifications) in Occupational Health and Safety, or an Engineering, Architecture, Nursing and/or Science degree with a minimum of a Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety.

A full clean manual Irish Driving Licence – Class B with use of a personal vehicle.

Experience:

The successful candidate must have a minimum of 3 years’ experience in Health and Safety in a large complex organisation.

Experience working in a Healthcare / Intellectual Disability setting is desirable.

Skills:

Excellent communication, administration and organisational skills with accuracy and good attention to detail.

Ability to exercise good judgement, discretion and confidentiality, to communicate effectively in both written and verbal forms and co-operate in a team environment.

A high level of flexibility, willingness and an ability to develop new approaches to our work whilst meeting the changing needs of our service.

Capability to apply technical knowledge and experience to Health and Safety Principles and demonstrate a good understanding of key technical

Ability to produce results, prioritise objectives and schedule work to make the best use of time/resources.
Competent in MS Applications and Electronic Information systems.

Working Hours:

35 hours per week based on a 5-day duty roster.

Main Duties and Functions:

The Health & Safety Officer has the responsibility to ensure their Region works towards a national health and safety structure and establishes and maintains an effective health and safety at work plan in compliance with statutory requirements in their Region.

This includes:

Management of the systems of work necessary to achieve a safe working environment

Monitoring the implementation of the requirements for the control of safety, health and welfare at work

Identification of responsibilities and roles of employers and employees

Carrying out risk assessments

Supporting local health & safety teams

Participate as a member of the National Health & Safety Team

Advising Senior Management and highlighting Health & Safety issues as appropriate

Raising awareness of Health & Safety in the workplace and supporting the induction of new staff

Developing systems which support management with the development and implementation of site-specific safety statements which specify the appropriate actions to be taken in addressing any potential hazards or risks in respect of persons supported by the service, staff, families and visitors to the Service

Developing and delivering Health and Safety Training as necessary

Liaising with cross-functional teams to ensure the implementation of the Health and Safety Agenda

Ensure that there are systems in place to monitor and audit health and safety compliance.

Monitoring and reporting on data from Health & Safety Systems.

Ensuring compliance with HIQA, HSA, CQL and HSE guidance and regulations.

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