Head of Occupational Health

Description

As Head of Occupational Health, you will provide strategic leadership for the organisation's occupational health and public health agenda within a safety-critical and highly regulated operating environment.

You will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for workforce health risk management, establishing the governance, assurance and policy frameworks that ensure health risks are managed with the same rigour and discipline as safety risks. Working across the organisation, you will embed health considerations into operational decision-making, business planning, capital programmes and resilience strategies, helping to protect both our people and the continuity of our operations.

This role has overarching accountability for occupational health standards, outcomes and organisational integration. You will determine how occupational health services and specialist provider capabilities are deployed to meet business needs, including clinical assessments, health surveillance programmes, case management and specialist advice. While operational delivery may be provided through external partners, you will retain ownership of strategy, governance, quality assurance and performance outcomes.

The successful candidate will be a visible and influential leader, working with senior stakeholders to drive continual improvement in workforce health, and public health initiatives, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and supporting the organisation's commitment to maintaining a healthy, safe and resilient workforce.

Click here to view the job spec: HAL_B_Head of Occupational Health.docx

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the organisation's Occupational Health and Public Health strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, regulatory requirements and the operational risk profile.
• Provide governance, assurance and expert oversight of workforce health risk management, ensuring health risks are managed with the same rigour as safety risks.
• Define and maintain occupational health policies, standards and clinical governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with legislation, regulatory expectations and best practice.
• Lead the strategic deployment and performance management of occupational health service providers, ensuring high-quality delivery, value and alignment to organisational priorities.
• Drive a risk-based approach to health surveillance, prevention and early intervention, using data and insight to improve workforce health outcomes and reduce occupational health risks.
• Partner with operational, safety, engineering and project teams to embed health risk controls and Health by Design principles into business activities, programmes and future developments.
• Provide strategic leadership on public health, organisational resilience and health-related incident preparedness, working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners. 

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading Occupational Health strategy and workforce health risk management within a large, complex organisation.
• Strong expertise in governance, policy development, assurance and risk management, ideally within a regulated or safety-critical environment.
• Ability to translate complex health risks and data into clear strategic insights, influencing decision-making at senior and executive level.
• Experience managing and assuring the performance of external occupational health providers and clinical partners.
• Registered healthcare professional (NMC, HCPC or equivalent) with a postgraduate qualification in Occupational Health or a related discipline.
• Demonstrable senior leadership experience in Occupational Health, employee wellbeing and/or workforce health governance.
• Strong understanding of occupational health legislation, clinical governance, confidentiality and GDPR requirements.

Ideally, you’ll also have:

• Experience integrating Occupational Health into operational resilience, business continuity and emergency preparedness arrangements.
• Experience working within aviation, transport, infrastructure, construction or other complex operational environments.
• Master's degree in Occupational Health, Public Health or a related field.
• Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) qualification or equivalent public health qualification.
• Additional qualifications or recognised expertise in areas such as mental health, fatigue management or organisational resilience. 

#LI-Hybrid