Head of Health, Safety and Business Continuity

Salary £52,968 - £61,405 per annum

About us

The Sheffield College is a thriving further and higher education community, empowering around 13,000 learners each year to achieve their goals. Driven by our mission to transform lives through learning, we foster an inclusive environment — recognised through our 2026 Investors in Diversity Gold award and 3rd place ranking in the National Centre for Diversity’s 2025 Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers.

Role Purpose:

The Sheffield College is a large, vibrant and diverse further education college and we are proud of how the college contributes to transforming lives through learning by meeting local skills needs.

As Head of Health, Safety and Business Continuity at The Sheffield College, you will be responsible for maintaining, embedding, and continuously improving our health and safety culture across all College sites. You will ensure our staff, students, and stakeholders operate in a safe, compliant environment, while managing robust business continuity plans that keep the College prepared and resilient.

You will act as the College's competent person for Health and Safety, providing expert advice, assurance and management information to the Executive Director – People and the Executive Leadership Team, ensuring ongoing compliance with all relevant legislation and standards.

Key Objectives:

The current key objectives for the role are:

Manage the ongoing implementation, communication and review of the College's Health and Safety and Wellbeing strategies to ensure a safe and secure environment for all stakeholders.
Manage the implementation, communication and review of the College's Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans to ensure the College's ability to respond effectively to major incidents.
Act as the competent person for Health and Safety under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, providing expert advice and management information to the Executive Director – People and the Executive Leadership Team.
Ensure ongoing compliance with relevant legislation and standards, including the Health and Safety at Work Act, providing timely assurance to the Executive Director – People.
As a member of the College Senior Leadership Team, work with colleagues to further embed a culture of health and safety throughout the College, engaging all staff and stakeholders.

Main Responsibilities:

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), this post will contribute to the SLT's common goals.

To achieve these specific duties, include, but are not limited to:

Leadership

Maintain and develop effective consultation and communication systems for Health and Safety to meet statutory, legislative, and internal policy requirements.
Act as the College's competent person for Health and Safety, providing expert guidance and assurance to the Executive Director – People and the wider Leadership Team.
Review and advise on Health and Safety policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.
Maintain and continuously improve the Health and Safety Management System to meet legislative requirements.
Lead investigations into accidents, incidents, and near-miss events, embedding a lessons-learned and preventative culture across the College.
Maintain and update the Business Risk Register in relation to Health, Safety, Welfare, and Business Continuity.
Support the implementation of the College's employee well-being strategy in collaboration with the People team, aligned with the College's goals.
Promote and embed wellbeing principles within the College culture, with an emphasis on work-life balance and resilience.

Operations

Conduct regular audits to ensure Health and Safety compliance and provide recommendations for improvement.
Support departments in hazard analysis and risk management activities, enhancing organisational safety.
Advise and support teams on statutory compliance, including Asbestos Management Plans, Legionella Risk Assessments, COSHH records, and statutory planned preventative maintenance (PPM).
Ensure compliance with accident, incident, and near-miss reporting requirements, supporting effective resolutions.
Advise on Health, Safety, and Wellbeing aspects of College projects and collaborate with departments on safe operations.
Provide staff advice, induction, training, and CPD opportunities within the H&S team and across the College.
Support the safe operation of trips and visits across The Sheffield College.

Reporting

Manage Health and Safety reporting systems, ensuring timely and accurate reporting of incidents and near misses.
Prepare and provide H&S and business continuity updates and management information for the Executive Director – People to present at ELT and to the Board of Governors.
Liaise with regulatory authorities on Health and Safety matters.
Working with the People team, monitor and evaluate the impact of wellbeing initiatives on metrics such as absenteeism, satisfaction, and productivity.
Analyse employee well-being and medical support data to identify trends and gaps.
Lead the Sheffield College Business Continuity Group.
Manage the Sheffield College Health and Safety Alert system.

Other Duties

Maintain up-to-date knowledge of developments within own areas of responsibility to develop best practice, provide professional advice, and ensure the College complies with relevant legislation and legal duties.
Collaborate with external organisations and participate in health and safety forums to share best practices and stay updated on industry standards.

From time to time these responsibilities may be reviewed so that they evolve as part of the college's strategic growth and success. You may also be required to take on other tasks related to the job to support the College in the delivery of its strategic aims, without changing the role's main purpose.

People Management and Cross College Responsibilities

You will directly line-manage the following posts:

Key staff within the Health and Safety department

You will be part of the College's Senior Leadership Team and will need to work collaboratively with members of those teams across the College to deliver the College's strategy and objectives.

You will be required to participate in/lead cross-college teams and working groups on key projects.

You will attend relevant internal committees and groups. This could include preparing and presenting papers as required.

You will support and lead people management processes within and external to your area including but not limited to grievances, disciplinaries, performance management, flexible working and absence management.

You will act as a role model to colleagues, ensuring that the responsibilities of the post are carried out in line with the College's FREDIE+ values and behaviours.

Student Related Responsibilities

Anyone who has regular contact with children and young people in their day-to-day responsibilities must ensure they are safe. You will work with the Safeguarding Team, ensuring concerns regarding students/apprentices are shared in a timely, accurate manner.
You will be involved in supporting college open days, supporting during the exam season, student enrolment and other required events.
You will assume part of the Duty Manager Rota; which will require you to be on campus and available to support in an emergency. This will include being available and responsive to help in difficult situations.

Other Responsibilities

All staff have a responsibility to ensure that the college provides a safe and sustainable environment for students, staff and visitors. You will support this by:

Understanding and undertaking the specific responsibilities for their role as documented within the Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.
Ensure compliance with Data Protection Regulation.
Ensure that environmental sustainability is a key consideration in the actions we take, working towards the college's environmental strategy and net zero ambition.

For more information about this role, please contact Paul Simpson - Executive Director of People: Paul.Simpson@sheffcol.ac.uk

What we can offer you 

As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of between £52,968 - £61,405 per annum based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge and experience that you can bring to the role.

Alongside your salary, your pension is one of the most valuable benefits of joining the College. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), administered locally by SYPA, provides financial security in retirement and support for your loved ones.

Our Full Benefits Package

SYPA – with a generous employer contribution of 18.6%
Annual leave - 30 Days (222 hours) + 8 Bank Holidays (59.2 hours)- this includes a discretionary Christmas closure period
Health and wellbeing, we offer
Employee assistance programme through Bupa
Occupational Health through PAM
Free eye tests for VDU users

Free parking is available at the majority of our campuses

Hybrid and flexible working opportunities

Continuous professional development opportunities

A people focused working culture where you can grow and thrive

Further information can be found on our Benefits and Career Development  pages.

Disability Confident 

We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment and as an employee. Please review our Recruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidates which provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice. If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact jobs@sheffcol.ac.uk 

Armed Forces Covenant  

As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant, we’re pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognising the value Personnel, Veterans and military families contribute to our community and country. 

Safeguarding  

We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures. Further details on our safer recruiting procedures, including the employment of ex-offenders can be found here Safeguarding 

Next Steps: 

To apply: Click apply online and follow the links to complete the online application. For queries regarding the application process, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@sheffcol.ac.uk 

CVs are currently not accepted. 

As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.  

Closing date: 30 April 2026

Please be aware – If we have a high number of applications, we may decide to close the vacancy earlier. 

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