About this role
Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Health and Safety Officer to join our small Estates and Facilities team on a fixed term basis for 12 months. Both full time and part time hours will be considered, with a minimum of 21 hours per week required.
Main duties of the job
Acting as the sole Health and Safety Officer for all Willen Hospice and Willen Hospice sites, this role provides professional, organisation wide Health and Safety support and guidance. The post is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining robust Health and Safety policies, procedures, and systems that drive continuous improvement in compliance and promote exemplary standards of safe working.
The role champions a proactive safety first culture across all locations and service areas, ensuring that staff, volunteers, patients, visitors, and contractors operate within a safe, legally compliant, and risk aware environment.
The successful candidate will require at least 3 years experience in a similar role, with proven experience of carrying out risk assessments, incident investigations and in-house health & safety training. Professional membership to either NEBOSH, IOSH or IEMA will also be required.
About us
Set in the tranquil grounds of Willen Lake, Willen Hospice is the leading provider of specialist palliative care within the Milton Keynes area. We offer 24 hour / seven days a week palliative care to people who have advanced disease, caring for people in our Inpatient Unit which accommodates 15 patients and the local community. Our person centred care is delivered with compassion and respect for peoples wishes. We have an expanding Therapeutic & Wellbeing service offering Psychological Wellbeing, Social Care, Physiotherapy, Occupational and Complementary Therapy. Our dedicated Business Development teams and retail portfolio of shops raise vital funds to deliver this care.
Job description Job responsibilities
Provide professional, competent and timely advice, supporting all areas of the organisation on the implementation of Hospice health and safety policies, arrangements and health and safety guidance to enable appropriate decision making, and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
Investigate and report on non-clinical accidents/incidents in accordance with internal procedures and relevant health and safety legislation.
Audit, monitor and review statutory compliance across a myriad of non-clinical activity, including planned preventative maintenance, COSHH, asbestos, building surveys, electrical safety, piped oxygen systems, lifting operations and lifting equipment LOLER, PUWER, Water management and operational activity.
Advise on non-clinical health and safety training needs across the Hospice. Support Learning and Development in identifying training needs and developing effective solutions, either by creating and delivering in-house training modules or by sourcing and coordinating external training providers.
Assess and review recommendations and actions taken to support all non-clinical statutory compliance.
Act as a key member of the Health and Safety Committee, as well as any additional groups or committees relevant to the responsibilities of the role.
Lead on the production, development, and review of all Health and Safety policies and procedures, incorporating regular gap analyses to ensure they remain current, compliant, and aligned with organisational needs and legislative changes.
Support department leads in completing risk assessments and developing suitable and sufficient control measures, ensuring actions are implemented, monitored and reviewed in line with legal requirements and best practice.
Coordinate and support emergency preparedness activities, including fire safety arrangements, evacuation planning, drills, incident response procedures and the maintenance of emergency equipment across all hospice sites.
Support the Facilities Manager with the Estates Business Continuity Plan and associated documentation, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and alignment with organisational and statutory requirements. Coordinate and support business continuity testing and exercises, evaluate outcomes, and implement improvements as required. Provide operational support during incidents or disruptions, ensuring effective communication, escalation, and recovery in line with agreed procedures, and contribute to audit, assurance, and governance processes.
Manage and monitor contractor activities, ensuring that all contractors working on hospice premises meet required health, safety and environmental standards, including Site inductions, reviewing RAMS, permits to work and competency documentation.
Maintain accurate and comprehensive records relating to health, safety inspections, audits, incidents, risk assessments, and statutory documentation, ensuring they are accessible for internal and external scrutiny.
Liaise with external agencies, regulators and auditors, supporting inspections and ensuring timely implementation of recommendations and corrective actions.
Develop and monitor KPIs related to estates maintenance performance, providing regular reports and analysis to the Facilities Manager.
Conduct routine site visits to complete internal Health & Safety audits and perform annual reviews of fire risk assessments
Maintain regular communication with external Health & Safety advisors to ensure compliance with current legislation and provide support during annual audits.
Deliver operational cover for the Senior Estates Officer and Estates Facilities Manager during sickness absence and planned leave.
Review and maintain Estates intranet pages (e.g., SharePoint), ensuring that all Health and Safety documentation and related resources are current, accurate, and easily accessible in a centralised location.
To deputise for the Facilities Manager as required and undertake additional duties, within the scope of the post holders competence, which may not be explicitly detailed in this job description but are considered a reasonable request.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
NEBOSH General Certificate or equivalent qualification preferred. An IEMA accredited qualification would be desirable. Competent knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, with the ability to quickly learn other software packages. Strong analytical skills. Professional membership to either NEBOSH, IOSH or IEMA.
Experience Essential
3+ years experience within a similar role. Proven experience of carrying out risk assessments, incident investigations and in-house health & safety training. Competent knowledge of Microsoft Office.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Willen Hospice
Address Milton Road
Willen Village
Milton Keynes
MK15 9AB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.willen-hospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)