Health and Safety Manager

Job Description

Job Context

YMCA England and Wales (YMCAEW) is the national body for YMCAs in England and Wales, supporting, developing and representing 114 member YMCAs, ranging from small community based organisations to nationally relevant specialists.

The postholder will be a specialist in health and safety, instrumental in devising health and safety policy and practice, assessing progress towards health and safety goals and providing and organising the advice and training necessary to embed a health and safety culture within the organisation thereby ensuring compliance with legal and moral obligations.

Scope and Limits of Authority

Reporting to the Head of Property & Estates, the postholder will be required to work closely with the retail operational teams in planning, delivering, monitoring and auditing all aspects of health and safety to ensure YMCAEW meets and complies with all legislation requirements.

The Health and Safety Manager will in executing their duties need to exercise a high degree of their own initiative to identify and resolve problems through established procedures and be able to compile timely reports for the Senior Leadership Team and Head of Property and Estates.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• To continually monitor and evaluate the extensive framework of health and safety legislation with which YMCAEW must comply, including all newly enacted and proposed changes and all case law determined.

• To advise YMCAEW on changes required to infrastructure, working methods and practices to avoid prosecution and to advise on budgetary provision such changes would necessitate.

• To provide specialist technical health and safety advice to YMCAEW’s Health and Safety Committee in terms of YMCAEW’s Health and Safety Policy, the organisational structure necessary for its implementation and the practices and procedures by which the policy can be carried out.

• Lead on COVID-19 health and safety planning and compliance across the organisation

• To evaluate the existing levels of skills and competence within the organisation and to devise and organise and participate in training programmes to bring necessary staff to the required level of competence, delivering training personally in house where possible and sourcing competent external providers where appropriate.

• To lead on a programme of audits for YMCAEW retail and office locations to assess compliance on legal and YMCAEW health and safety policy requirements, advising senior management on critical areas of non-compliance.

• To produce and agree with locations action plans to address shortfalls and monitor progress towards completion of necessary remedial measures.

• To carry out specific mandatory health and safety risk assessments for all retail and office locations, at least annually, including but not limited to fire safety, asbestos management and legionella on a rolling programme, ensuring both remedial actions and timescales are recorded.

• To work closely with the Head of Property and Estates to ensure health and safety initiatives or improvements that are considered as part of the capitalisation works.

• To undertake, if instructed, a health and safety property acquisition surveys and to compile a report for consideration by senior management.

• To support and liaise with the area and local managers to resolve and eradicate any identified dangerous practices.

• To support the Head of Property and Estates with the issuing, monitoring and reviewing and auditing of the health and safety folders at YMCAEW locations.

• To devise the form and content of the documentation the Charity will require in order to demonstrate to enforcement agencies compliance with legislation including document retention policies and timescales.

• Investigate priority accidents, dangerous occurrences and near misses requiring such co-operation from managers as is necessary and deliver reports and recommendations for remedial measures to the health and safety committee.

• To be the point of contact and liaison with enforcement agencies following YMCAEW being served with letters of concern, enforcement or prohibition notices.

• If possible, to accompany enforcement inspectors under their statutory powers to entry, and to advise senior management on actions necessary/demanded and to co-ordinate management response and plans following receipt of such notices.

• Devise and implement a procedure for recording safe systems of work, and to advise managers on specific safe systems of work, ie, Volunteering initiatives, including working with them to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments.

• Liaise with YMCAEW insurers on the measures YMCAEW is taking in regard to all health and safety matters which may affect the cover or premium.

• Provide any first line advice required by directors and senior management on urgent matters relating to health and safety.

• Provide advice, as required, to the senior leadership team on health and safety matters affecting the business continuity planning.

• To attend and participate in management meetings as required.

• As requested, to represent or cover in absence for the Head of Property and Estates, within the limitations of the role of Health and Safety Manager.

• To undertake any reasonable request, duty or task that supports YMCAEW in promoting, maintaining and delivering our charity services.

General Overview

In addition to the specific duties and responsibilities, the role of Health and Safety Manager will also be aware of their specific responsibilities towards the following:

• Uphold ethical and professional standards at all times
• Adhere to promoting and maintaining good standards towards health and safety
• Have a willing and flexible approach to supporting the delivery of health and safety management.
• Be prepared to travel throughout England and Wales
• Understand that the role will involve overnight stays as part of the national coverage
• To attend and participate in planned meetings at the YMCAEW head office in London
• Be able to use Microsoft office suite to facilitate their own reports and administrated tasks.
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing registration requirements or any national professional or occupational standards associated with the role
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and development and to participate in any training relevant to this role.
• Attend Health and Safety forum groups to monitor new registration and best practice.

Key Working Relationships

Internal: YMCA England & Wales departments, Director of Income Generation, Head of Property & Estates, Head of Retail, Regional Area Managers, Retail Area Managers, Senior Shop Managers, Volunteer Recruitment and Development Manager, Shop Teams, Volunteers.

External: Environmental Health Officers, Fire Safety Officers, Health and Safety Executive, Building Contractors, M&E Contractors, Consultants, Suppliers, Customers, General Public and on occasions CEO’s from local YMCA’s.

This job description is not exhaustive. It is merely a guide and may be amended to meet the changing requirements of the charity at time after discussion with the post holder.

A full job description can be found here.

Additional Information

How to apply:

Please visit here to apply for this role online .