Health & Safety Assurance Associate

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF HAYLEA'S UNBEATABLE SPIRIT

Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people use their optimism and talent to achieve more than anyone thought possible.

Nobody personifies this more than Haylea Navarro. Born with cerebral palsy and paralysed down one side since birth, Haylea has been gleefully proving people wrong ever since. Now a project officer, she brings faster broadband connectivity to Westminster businesses, boosting the economy for all. Throw in her gong at the 2020 London Apprenticeship Awards, and it's clear for all to see just what can happen when you never give in.

Please view the extraordinary story of Haylea's Unbeatable Spirit here.

As a Health & Safety Assurance Associate, you can make your own powerful contribution to ensuring safe and compliant workplaces across Westminster. You will act as an independent professional Health and Safety business partner to the directorate you are assigned to, providing assurance over their Health and Safety activities. Conduct detailed reviews of workplace Health & Safety management systems to identify risks, working under the guidance of the Health & Safety Standards Development Lead, and assess the effectiveness of the Health & Safety Management System using benchmarking, leading and lagging indicators, and other performance measures.

You'll lead investigations into significant accidents and incidents, performing root cause analysis and developing action plans to communicate lessons to staff and managers. Maintaining, evaluating, and analysing records of safety audits, training sessions, incident reports, and compliance documentation for adherence to regulations and demonstrate strong governance. You will support the development, implementation, and review of Health & Safety policies and procedures while undertaking comparative hazards and where appropriate support safety needs and training analysis across directorates and teams.

Evaluating Health & Safety management systems through audits, surveys, and systems analysis, you will produce actionable plans to address gaps and improve compliance. You will also provide management guidance on risk assessments, method statements, and safe systems of work for activities carried out both in-person and online. By delivering effective assurance, supporting directorates, and fostering a proactive Health & Safety culture, you will directly contribute to protecting colleagues and embedding high standards across the Council.

Please refer to the Job Descriptionfor more information.

As a Health & Safety Assurance Associate, you will be able to demonstrate substantial experience working as a Health & Safety professional in a large, complex organisation, ideally within the Public Sector. You will have a proven track record in conducting Health & Safety inspections, audits, and assurance activities, applying your knowledge to improve compliance and embed a proactive safety culture.

You will hold a recognised Health & Safety qualification, such as a Level 6 NVQ, NEBOSH Occupational Health & Safety Diploma, or an equivalent professional credential, and maintain up-to-date knowledge through an active CPD programme with IOSH or IIRSM. You will have a thorough understanding of Health & Safety legislation, including the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations, and related statutory requirements. You're confident applying this knowledge to support directorates and teams.

You will possess excellent communication and presentation skills, able to convey Health & Safety information clearly and effectively to colleagues at all levels of the Council, both in writing and verbally. Your analytical skills will allow you to produce clear, actionable reports from complex data, investigate accidents and near-misses to identify root causes, and recommend corrective actions. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Forms and other software systems should enable you to manage records, audits, and reporting efficiently.

You are self-motivated, resilient, and able to work unsupervised while managing competing priorities. Yet, you also thrive collaborating with staff, managers, and stakeholders to integrate Health & Safety into all aspects of the Council's operations. Your meticulous attention to detail, professionalism, and ability to link Health & Safety advice to wider business objectives will ensure you make a meaningful impact on workplace safety and wellbeing.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council's strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city's future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.