Health and Safety Operations Manager

Job: Health and Safety Manager (Operations) Salary: £50k-£60k DOE
Hours: Full Time / Monday to Friday / 37.Job Type: Permanent
Field based with regular visit to our nurseries - South of England

To be considered for this opportunity you need to live in the South of England

The Bright Horizons Health and Safety Team is responsible for ensuring alignment of the Company’s behavioural safety framework with all areas of risk. The team has been divided into two separate functions to provide a dedicated, high performing, focused and robust health and safety support service across the whole business. The Health and Safety Manager (Operations) will manage a team of Health and Safety Advisors who will align with each Division in Bright Horizons to provide a comprehensive health and safety support service to the nurseries within their nominated Division. This support service will include regularly reviewing the policies and procedures in line with all current Health and Safety legislation, investigating accidents and incidents and providing advice, guidance, training and mentoring as part of their responsibilities.


Flexible working and holiday entitlements
Discounted childcare
Annual gala award evening
Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more
Wide range of wellbeing resources, supporting our teams for the ups and downs of daily life


We’ve been voted Great Place to Work for the last 17 consecutive years, as well as being awarded the newly created Great Place for Wellbeing and Great Place for Women 2023.
Our support functions enable our nurseries to deliver the best possible care and education to over 10,000 children across the UK. Through this support, our nurseries can deliver excellence – with 98% of our 300+ portfolio being rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
We’re on a mission to change the future for children, families, and the people we work with, and are committed to progressive working values like flexibility, work-life balance, and wellbeing.

To be responsible for the day-to-day personnel management of the Health and Safety Advisors. In collaboration with HR and Operations colleagues complete effective annual performance appraisals of all direct reports and contribute to succession planning, identification of training, and ensure robust personal development plans (PDPs), including coaching and mentoring for high performing team members.
-To support the Head of Health and Safety in driving the Health and Safety strategy and action plans to ensure alignment with the company strategic objectives.
-To play a proactive role in health and safety team meetings.
-To ensure the Health and Safety Advisors complete robust accident and incident investigations concluding in comprehensive investigation reports which have clearly identified actions.
-To ensure that the Health and Safety Advisors work closely with nurseries to close down actions identified as part of accident and incident investigations.
-To embed HEART culture, values, and behaviours, to drive quality improvement and excellent safe practices across all working environments.
-To ensure a Children First approach to the physical safety, health and wellbeing, including regulatory compliance, liaising with all aspects of the business
-To ensure that a first-class service is provided to all key stakeholders in the business delivering consistently high quality, timely health and safety advice and guidance and support as and when required.
-To play a key role in the development and implementation of an effective health and safety training programme to ensure best practice and compliance at all times.
-To regularly review all Bright Horizons Health and Safety Policy and Procedures, Forms, Guidance documents and training modules ensuring that these are up to date, remain fit for purpose and are in line with all relevant and current health and safety legislation.
-To support nurseries in the effective implementation of health and safety policies, procedures and guidance.
-To develop and maintain templates of risk assessments to assist nurseries and support offices in ensuring adequate risk control measures are in place.
-To drive forward the implementation of risk control measures across the whole business.
-To have processes in place to be able to record clear data which in turn can be used to identify trends across the business.
-To produce a quarterly report identifying data, trends and work output from the Health and Safety Advisor team.
-To support the Head of Health and Safety in reporting all accidents and incidents in accordance with RIDDOR to the HSE.
-To liaise with external bodies such as the Primary Authority, Ofsted, Care Inspectorate, Fire Brigade, EHO etc. To be responsible for the implementation and management of a robust DSE software system working with the H & S Manager (Audit and Compliance) to ensure compliance with the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.
-To develop the required capability and efficiency of the Health and Safety Advisor Team to enable outstanding performance and achievement of improvement targets. Plan and provide suitable professional development activities and opportunities for personal growth, within a culture of self-drive development to encourage individual and team expertise in all aspects of health and safety practice, development and learning, to secure a highly effective, motivated and innovative team.
-To oversee and agree Health and Safety Advisor workstreams and projects, to ensure quality improvement and improved health and safety standards, consistent embedded practice and health and safety excellence in all areas of the business.
-To lead in projects as directed by the Head of Health and Safety.
-To work proactively with managers and other key staff to establish and maintain a program of continuous improvement including supporting the team in undertaking regular support visits, attending regional and divisional meetings, ensuring support office health and safety compliance and ensuring any subsequent actions arising from such workstreams are followed up and completed in a timely manner.
-To take responsibility for own personal and professional development, accessing high level professional and technical training that inform health and safety standards of excellence based on national and international perspectives of ‘best practice’.


Minimum of 5 years’ demonstrable experience in a dedicated health and safety advisor/manager role which includes managing a health and safety team preferably within the education sector.
·A pragmatic, solution focused approach using risk evaluation and suitable control measures.
·Ability to keep abreast of current health and safety regulations, guidance, health and safety standards and research.
·Ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels both within and external to the business.
·Previous experience of managing a team of health and safety professionals with evidence of improving the quality outcomes over time
·Significant knowledge of a wide variety of health and safety regulations, topics, subjects and the ability to meet the requirements of these in a variety of ways.
·Broad Academic education
-NEBOSH General Certificate (Essential)
-NVQ 4/5/6 in Health and Safety and/or NEBOSH/NCRQ Diploma (Essential or working towards)
-Evidence of continuous professional development and awareness of current Health and Safety initiatives
-Full, clean driving licence

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