Job description for Health & Safety Advisor

Are you ready to take on a dynamic role at one of the UK’s key Royal Air Force (RAF) stations? If so, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) are looking for a health and safety advisor to join their team at RAF Lossiemouth.

You’ll join a team dedicated to providing exceptional maintenance, training, and support operations for the RAF’s P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Excitingly, in the next 18 months, we’ll also be rolling out support for the E-7 Wedgetail after a thorough test and evaluation phase led by our on-site contractors.

In this role, you’ll collaborate closely with a diverse group of stakeholders and enterprise partners, including contractors, RAF Lossiemouth Air Base, and the RAF ISTAR Force Headquarters. You’ll deliver essential health and safety activities, drive business continuity planning, and ensure the safe operation of part of the Atlantic Building. As the local health and safety advisor for DE&S, you’ll ensure compliance with legal obligations and support the site lead in fostering a collaborative and safe working environment for DE&S staff. With the anticipated growth of the E-7 program and an increase in Delivery Team staff, your role will be pivotal in managing our expanding presence and nurturing relationships with the Air Base.

We champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. You’ll be required to be on-site on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and when it is necessary to conduct safety activities of your role in person. Additionally, you will need to attend face-to-face meetings at other times, which will be scheduled in advance.

 What you’ll be doing

• Deliver compliance with UK legislation, MOD Policy and DE&S/RAF expectations through risk management and assurance activities.
• Meet building custodian processes.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and enterprise partners to deliver a safe place of work, conduct business continuity planning, and support the safe operation of the Atlantic Building.
• Communicate safety, security, and other relevant information to DE&S staff and contractors based at or visiting RAF Lossiemouth.
• Lead and deliver on matters of security, business continuity, office management, and air base service level agreements, driving continuous improvement and actively seeking opportunities to share knowledge and best practice with MOD and industry partners.
• Deliver health and safety Subject Matter Expert (SME) support to committees, hazard review boards, management plans, and management Boards.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you’ll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• NEBOSH National General Certificate or equivalent level 3 Health & Safety qualification be held or attained within first six months of employment
• Relevant work experience in a similar working environment
• Hold relevant Professional Membership or attain during employment

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Conducting Risk Assessments (OHSEP)- Expert Level
• Audit & Assurance (OHSEP) – Practitioner Level
• Working Together – CSBC 3
• Managing a Quality Service – CSBC 3

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,200, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,197 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days
• Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of – and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

Further Information

• Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/DES-Candidate-Information-Pack
• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-SDA-Terms-and-Conditions

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift – We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
2. Sift – Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
3. Interview – If you’re invited to interview, you’ll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.