Regional Health and Safety Manager

Grade and Salary Grade C €83,891 - €125,837 per year

We are Uisce Éireann. Every day, we are responsible for the delivery of secure, safe, and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland. As Ireland’s national regulated water utility, our vision is a sustainable Ireland where water is respected and protected, for the planet and all the lives it supports.Our purpose at Uisce Éireann is to rise to the challenge of delivering transformative water services that enable communities to thrive. That means we are proud to take on the responsibility of protecting our water supply and passing on a safe and secure water system to a rapidly growing population and empowering Ireland’s social and economic growth.

We are passionate about empowering our people, enabling them to make a positive impact on communities across Ireland. We are guided by a shared vision and purpose, grounded in values that define who we are and shape how we work, where we deliver for customers and communities, we work better together, we do the right thing, we aim high, and we keep each other safe. Our behaviours define how we interact, communicate, and succeed together. These values and behaviours apply to each one of us, across every role, location, and level.Our goal is to attract and develop skilled and talented people from diverse backgrounds, who bring a dynamic range of expertise and insights to our work. With a strong, values-driven workforce, we ensure Uisce Éireann can continue advancing Ireland’s water services and meeting the needs of the communities we serve for generations to come. 

The Role:

The Health and Safety area is responsible for ensuring & supporting compliance with company, national & European level health, safety, quality & environmental standards for Uisce Éireann. The team provides governance and specialist advice across the business areas and manages the maintenance and assurance of the quality, environment and energy management systems to ensure appropriate H&S compliance with regulatory requirements.

The Health and Safety Team support the operational areas of the business to deliver on their health and safety responsibilities. They support the implementation of the safety management systems and roll out tools including processes and procedures to support health and safety compliance. They support the development of a safety culture appropriate to our organisational values which facilitates us to deliver on our Work Safe Home Safe vision and beliefs. The team also provide governance and specialist health and safety advice across assigned business areas and are the visible presence of safety in the regions. The team work with the business and the broader health and safety team to monitor the implementation of safety management systems and investigate and respond appropriately to internal health and safety trends and developments and external requirements such as legislative changes and regulator requirements and expectations.

Reporting to the Health and Safety Operations Senior Manager, the Regional Health and Safety Manager is responsible for the governance, oversight, and management of Uisce Éireann standards and policies. The role holder works with direct employees and 3rd party contractors alike, to ensure adherence to Health and Safety policies where required across specific regions and is responsible for managing a team of regionally based health and safety advisors. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for oversight and management of the Regional OHS team to provide specialist technical advice to support the business to deliver on their health and safety obligations
• Develop Health and safety policies, instructions and procedures for implementation by asset operations which are aligned to the requirements of our safety management system and ensure continuous improvement of the system
• Support the management team to develop an OHS Strategy which considers the health and safety issues impacting Uisce Éireann employees . Incorporating regional requirements to ensure effective OHS management nationally
• Manage the regional implementation of all HS strategies, programmes etc. 
• Create and develop Environment, Health and Safety processes, procedures, guidelines and templates, which form part of the overall national HSQE strategy to meet legislative, regulatory, corporate and operational requirements and drivers
• Manage the day to day OHS operations of the region including but not limited to the OHS activities associated with the management of employee occupational health and safety and the OHS activities required to support Operations and Maintenance activities and operational Capital projects providing leadership and support to managers in creating a safe, healthy and environmentally friendly working environment.
• Provide an OHS framework for all functional areas in compliance with the requirements of the employer duties of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 
•  Implement national Environment, Health and Safety strategies, policies, processes, procedures, guidelines and templates in respective region to support national HSQE strategy 
• Engage and collaborate with asset operations specifically the ROM for water and waste water in their respective region to ensure aligned direction on HSQE strategy. 
• Lead the development of the annual risk based national OHS audit and inspection strategy, and implement the national audit and inspection plan within the given region covering Uisce Éireann operational activities and responsibilities
• Monitor and report on HSQE compliance in their respective region.
• Maintain knowledge of the current legislation, standards, processes and procedures relevant to OHS.
• Assess the outcome of audits and work with the relevant Uisce Éireann business area to identify corrective action/improvement plans.
• Manage all hazard identification/risk assessment/incident investigation processes for the respective region
• Ensure statutory reporting of accidents is undertaken in accordance with current legislation and client/contractor procedures
• Provide reports and key regional metrics as required to the Environment, Health and Safety Manager in relation to OHS aspects of Uisce Éireann's work in their respective region.
• Work with 3rd party contractors and interested parties to ensure adherence to HSQE policies where relevant
• Track all Environment, Health and Safety incidents, analyse trends and work closely with regional managers to identify opportunities for improvement (i.e. action plans, ‘Lessons Learnt’)
• Communicate expectations to regional teams, and ensure training and coaching on OHS policies and accident/injury prevention is provided to managers and their employees where required
• Embed the Work Safe Home Safe strategy and in particular the Leadership and Safety Culture pillar by coaching management and senior management at regional level
• Develop and oversee the implementation of the end to end process to manage the close out of actions and issues arising from the inspection and audit programme. This will include the development of appropriate risk mitigation strategies which balance budgetary requirements against environment, health and safety risk
• Act as the main regional point of contact with the Health and Safety Authority in regards to Uisce Éireann’s health, safety and welfare performance, reporting all such interaction to the OHS Manager as required 
• Have oversight of the support provided to:
• Asset Operations to ensure operational activities are undertaken in compliance with health and safety standards;
• Infrastructure, Networks, Capital Programme and Project Managers to ensure Asset Delivery preconstruction, construction and commissioning activities are undertaken as per HSQE plan
• Assist in the identification, discussion, and development of Uisce Éireann-wide programmes and initiatives designed to prevent accidents and incidents in the work place. Work with other managers to develop Environment, Health and Safety programs and awareness
• Lead and support managers in all functions within the region to create a safe, healthy and environmentally friendly working environment 
• Responsible for proactively identifying regional OHS risks and issues that may impact the business and working with the extended OHS team and business to mitigate against them. Escalate risks and issues to the OHS Manager as appropriate
• Responsible for duties under the Construction Regulations, including:
• Responsible for undertaking regular PSCS/PSDP audit inspections during both Capital Delivery projects and Operational activities 
• Responsible for reporting on the compliance of PSCS/PSDP requirements, identifying corrective actions and issuing them to the relevant stakeholders
• Responsible for the OHS Manager in preparing the annual safety and health plans (preliminary and construction stage)
• Communicating health and safety lessons learnt
• Responsible for leading, managing, motivating, coaching and developing a team to maximise their performance. Responsible for setting objectives, reviewing and monitoring the performance and development of all team members using key performance measures.
• Work collaboratively with the other members of the HSQE management team to ensure strategies and plans current and future are consistent with the OHS requirements of the regions. Work with the HSQE management team along all project lifecycles to ensure they are regionally appropriate
• Ensure OHS regional team complies with all OHS training, plans, procedures.
• Ensure the regional OHS team provides expert OHS support and advice to the business and in particular the field based teams to deliver service to our customers in a safe manner.

General Duties and Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with key internal stakeholders across the UÉ business, including but not limited to, Leadership, Risk teams, Integrated Management Systems Teams and Human Resources 
• Responsible for promoting and delivering health and safety commitments across UÉ and its supply chain, reinforcing positive behaviours and delivering health and safety objectives and requirements to the highest industry standards. 
• Support the delivery of the Uisce Éireann Transformation Programme, driving results required within the Directorate and supporting organisation-wide objectives.
• Provide visible leadership for your team, coaching and developing them to achieve their full potential and deliver business objectives, promoting collaboration and highlighting the behaviours that are expected from everyone in the team.
• Other duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Relevant third level qualification and or accreditation is desirable and or relevant experience
• A minimum of 7 years’ Experience in the water, utilities or similar industries is desirable
• Demonstrated leadership ability, proactive development, motivation and engagement of staff
• Experience managing a large team, with strong people, change management and conflict resolution skills
• Experience of developing and maintaining effective strategic partnerships with key stakeholders
• Proven track record with dealing with complex issues, proactively and in a timely fashion along with the ability to communicate complex information to others
• Experience of supporting policies, systems and controls and driving the implementation of progressive policies.
• You will have a proven track record in leadership, change & transformation experience ideally in a similar utility, regulated industry or multi stakeholder environment
• Able to work to deadlines and adapt to changing conditions and ambiguity generating effective and pragmatic solutions to new situations and problems as they are presented.
• Proven track record in promoting and embracing differences of opinion and challenging poor practice
• Experience in setting safety and wellbeing goals and challenging any unsafe practices.

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