Director of Health & Safety

Role Summary

DN Colleges Group is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Health & Safety to lead and develop our health, safety, wellbeing, incident response and business continuity functions across the organisation.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for providing expert advice, independent assurance and strategic direction to support a safe, inclusive and high-performing environment for staff, students, visitors and stakeholders. Working closely with senior leaders, governors, regulators and external partners, you will drive a positive safety culture, ensure compliance with statutory requirements and promote continuous improvement across a complex multi-site organisation.

Leading a dedicated Health & Safety team, you will play a key role in shaping organisational strategy, managing risk, overseeing critical incident response and ensuring robust governance arrangements across all aspects of health and safety.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership, expert advice and independent assurance on health, safety, wellbeing, incident response and business continuity matters.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of a positive organisational safety culture. • Develop, implement and review health and safety strategies, policies and associated frameworks.
• Present performance reports, compliance updates and risk analysis to senior leaders, governors and committees.
• Lead and develop the Health & Safety, Incident Response and First Aid teams.
• Oversee emergency planning, business continuity arrangements and critical incident management activities.
• Manage organisational audit, inspection and compliance programmes to monitor performance and statutory compliance.
• Chair and lead health and safety committees and stakeholder forums. • Develop and deliver health and safety communications, guidance and training initiatives.
• Maintain effective relationships with regulators, enforcement bodies, insurers and external partners.
• Lead on accident, incident and near-miss investigation processes, including root cause analysis and preventative actions.
• Provide assurance on fire safety, property compliance and statutory safety requirements across the estate.

Essential Criteria

• Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health (such as NEBOSH or equivalent).
• Chartered IOSH membership, or working towards Chartered status.
• Significant leadership experience within health and safety management in a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Experience of developing and implementing organisational health and safety strategy and presenting assurance information to senior leaders, boards or committees.
• Comprehensive knowledge of UK health and safety legislation, governance, risk management principles and compliance requirements.

Important Things to Note

• In DN Colleges we call this role Director of Health & Safety but you might know this as Head of Health & Safety, Health & Safety Director, Director of Safety, Health Safety and Wellbeing Director, Corporate Health & Safety Lead.
• The role will involve travel between sites and the ability to respond to serious incidents or emergencies outside of normal working hours when required.
• We are not looking for agency support for this role.
• If you need more information, please contact us at staff.recruitment@dncolleges.ac.uk.