Job title: Head of Health & Safety
Grade: Man B
Salary: £57,722 – £62,664 per annum (rising by annual increments to £62,664) More information on salaries and progression can be found on our pay and policies page.
Allowances: Corporate Car Scheme (if car is eligible)
Hours: Full Time – 37 hours per week
Location: There will be a requirement to attend Service Headquarters at Five Rivers Salisbury for key activities and meetings. When you are not working from your centre of duty location there will be the flexibility to work from home / DWFRS Stations / Support Offices, and we will welcome a conversation with the successful candidate on what type of flexible working arrangement will work best for you.
Appointment Type: Permanent
Contact: For a chat about this post, please contact Dave Waters, ACFO Prevention, Protection & Compliance on 07500066143 / David.Waters@dwfire.org.uk.
Closing and Interview date: The closing date for applications is Sunday 8 November 2026 (midnight). We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. It is intended that interviews will take place on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November 2026. Should you be shortlisted for interview, further details regarding the interview format / location will be provided before the interview date.
This is a fantastic opportunity to join Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, an organisation that is passionate about changing and saving lives. Our corporate staff are absolutely vital in helping to make our communities safer and healthier. Without them, we couldn’t do it.
We offer a wide range of employee benefits and strive to ensure that staff are valued and rewarded. For example, we offer a flexi time scheme, Local Government Pension Scheme, a generous annual leave allowance, a variety of family friendly schemes including 39 weeks’ full pay during maternity leave (subject to qualifying criteria) and health & well-being services.
As Head of Health & Safety in our Health & Safety department you will:
· Strategic Leadership Team reporting: Advises senior leadership and the Fire Authorities on safety performance, risk exposure, and required investments to ensure organisational compliance to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
· Provide strategic direction and health and safety expertise to support Service projects, programs and organisational change, working collaboratively with project leads and relevant stakeholders to ensure health and safety risks and requirements are considered throughout their development and implementation
· Act as the senior point of contact for the HSE in relation to the Service’s health and safety arrangements, working with the Service’s competent H&S Adviser(s) to ensure appropriate technical advice, statutory notifications and responses are provided.
What makes you our ideal Head of Health & Safety?
· Hold a recognised health and safety qualification, or commit to achieving the NEBOSH National General Certificate (or equivalent) within 12 months of appointment, and, where a relevant Level 6 health and safety qualification is not already held, the NEBOSH Level 6 National Diploma (or equivalent) within 36 months of appointment
· Understanding of applying health and safety and risk management principles across operational and corporate environments, including organisational learning from incidents, investigations, exercises and audits.
· Experience of developing, reviewing and improving policies, procedures, frameworks, systems or management arrangements within a complex organisation.
For full details of the role and requirements please have a look at the job description and person specification.
Other Information:
· You must have a full current driving licence and be able to fulfil the significant travel requirements of the role. Use of your own vehicle will be required; however, a Service vehicle may be available. Please note Service vehicles are predominantly manual transmission only. The successful candidate will need to attend in-person meetings, undertake site visits, attend BS ISO 45001 inspection sites, and attend quarterly H&S Committee meetings.
· If you are unable to drive due to a disability, we would still welcome your application and will explore any reasonable adjustments that could be put in place.
· A Standard Disclosure & Barring Service Check (DBS) clearance will be undertaken on the successful individual prior to offer of employment.
· Any offer of employment will be subject to full pre-employment checks which include identity checks, right to work in the UK, medical, receipt of satisfactory references, verification of employment history and an explanation of any gaps in employment in the last 3 years.
· Upon appointment you will be required to adhere to the requirements of a Health Surveillance Programme and attend an Occupational health appointment for baseline readings.
· Please click here for information relating to raising tax awareness and pension considerations when applying for a job.
To find out more and apply:
Our Candidate Charter outlines the commitments we make to you when applying for a vacancy with us.
Please note we do not accept CV’s in place of application forms.
We welcome the use of AI responsibly and ethically to demonstrate your skills in your application, but please don’t allow it to overshadow your own unique voice.
While we appreciate innovative approaches, we also value authenticity. Our assessment considers both the content of the application and how it was created, ensuring fairness and inclusivity for all applicants. At the end of the day – we want YOU to work for us!
You should ensure you include satisfactory evidence in your application to demonstrate all of the areas stated as being measured at the Application Stage on the Person Specification.
This will ensure you have the best opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the selection process.
We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities and welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. All applications will be treated on merit and staff involved in recruitment and selection processes undertake unconscious bias training.
We are committed to the Disability Confident Scheme and guarantee an interview to applicants with a disclosed disability if they meet the minimum criteria for the post to which they are applying. Please tell us in confidence if this applies to you, or if there are any reasonable adjustments that would help you apply for this post. To find out more, please see our website.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Adults, Children and Young People. All staff and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.
If you hold international qualifications, you will be required to provide official evidence that shows how these compare to UK Qualifications. We will accept a Statement of Comparability from a UK organisation called ENIC which can be obtained via their website. Please note that UK ENIC charge for this service, so if you request a Statement of Compatibility, you will be required to pay for it as we are unable to reimburse you.
For further guidance on how to complete your application, please refer to the Job Application Guidance Notes. If you are experiencing difficulties completing your application or have a need to complete your application in an alternative format due to a disability, please contact HR Resourcing on 01722 691444 within plenty of time of the closing date of the position you are applying for.
Values & Behaviours Framework
Our recruitment, assessment and progression processes are based on our Code of Ethics that has been developed specifically for Fire and Rescue Services. When recruiting, we identify the most important behaviours for the role and these are used as part of the short-listing and selection process.