Health and Safety Adviser - Property

Job summary

Are you passionate about Health and Safety?

Are you able to give great specialist advice?

Do you want to contribute to the safety of our estate?

If so, this could be the job you have been looking for.

The Health & Safety Advisor provides health and safety advisory and support across the breadth of the Property Safety Team remit, health and safety legal framework supporting delivery and providing advice and guidance directly to the business.

The Defra Property Safety Team support the design, plan, build and implementation of our safety function across the Defra group Property managed estate. The team provide specialist safety advice to internal and external stakeholders whilst enhancing safety culture and compliance across our portfolio and outsourced suppliers. Developing, monitoring and managing the Defra group Property health and safety strategy and arrangements for the build estate.

Job description

This is an important role, within the Property Safety Team. The Property Safety team support the wider department’s aim in ensuring it remains compliant to legislative changes and its policies and processes remain centred around ensuring the health and safety of all users of the estate. As part of the small, innovative and busy Property Safety Team, you will provide a quality service through gathering information and will maintain Defra’s health and safety management systems to agreed timescales to keep colleagues and site users safe. As this is a role that requires accuracy and attention to detail, you will be a passionate advocate for health & safety within Defra. You will effectively liaise with stakeholders and respond to queries efficiently, according to Defra’s guidelines.

The role is national employee/business facing so can be based in any one of the following Defra office locations Nottingham NG2 5FA, Norwich NR3 1UB, Exeter EX1 3PB, London SW1P 4DF, Bristol BS1 5AH, Reading RG1 8DQ, Cardiff CF14 7YT, Peterborough PE2 8YY, Birmingham B3 1AQ, York YO1 7PX, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 7AR, Weybridge KT15 3NB (blended working is available with a minimum of 3 days per week office attendance expected).

The role requires regular travel to locations within the UK, either to a Defra group workplace or elsewhere for meetings and observational visits etc. This will include occasional overnight stays away from home where necessary. Regular attendance at in person team meetings and training events will be required.

Person specification

Advisory support

• First point of contact for all mail/queries into the team on a broad range of property health and safety issues.
• Provision of advice to the business in relation to the application of relevant risk assessments, health and safety policies, best practice procedures and legislation.
• Triage, providing response or escalation to seek advice from Health and Safety Managers (Property) and People Safety Team colleagues. • Secretariat support for meetings and working groups etc.
• Collating performance data to contribute to various team reports such quarterly, group and annual etc.
• Implementation and checking of hazard control measures as per risk assessments.

Delivery

• Engaging with other areas of the business when required re control measures and property adjustments e.g. Estates/HR.
• Conduct site H&S audits, including statutory technical compliance and assurance checks.
• Delivering Property Safety awareness sessions • Liaison with employee representatives including TUs or H&S Champions.

Incident Reporting

• Initial review of all property safety related incident reports to establish most appropriate team for investigation.
• Triage, file and allocate incident reports for further investigation as needed e.g. Legal Standards & Compliance Team for property related matters
• If investigation falls to the Property Safety Team, action or delegate as appropriate.

Compliance Support

• Monitoring property safety related statutory compliance data and providing coordination of property safety team assurance activities based on risk profiling.
• Actively monitoring training compliance data and providing the property safety team with recommendations to maintain and improve organisational compliance.
• Secretariat Support for meetings.
• Production of meeting minutes in liaison with the meeting chair.
• Clarifying points of action.
• Collation and management of outstanding property safety related actions across Defra Group Property, Arm’s Length Bodies and Facilities Management Provider stakeholders.

Skills

• The ability to provide practical and proportionate health and safety advice.
• Ability to communicate effectively with the business to increase engagement and compliance with property safety requirements.
• Flexible attitude, with the ability to manage a range of tasks, work to deadlines, and prioritise effectively.
• Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Forms)
• Ability to manage different types of data set and create actionable reports and insights to support risk management.
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a group and independently, using own initiative and self-motivation.
• Willingness to develop own competence and maintain CPD relevant to the role and property safety remit.

Experience

• Experience in an advisory and coordination role across a wide range of H&S legislative and hazard topic areas.
• Experience of health and safety in a multi-site organisation with a diverse workforce and work activities.
• Experience of managing a diverse range of stakeholders at varying levels of organisation and conflicting demands.
• Experience of using Microsoft Office Applications to effectively communicate, plan and coordinate team activities.

Qualifications

NEBOSH National General Certificate (or equivalent Level 3 H&S qualification)

Memberships

Technical Membership of IOSH (TechIOSH)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Risk assessment and control

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,765, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £10,071 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

  Flexi Time Policy. Our Flexi-time policy allows you to vary your hours from day to day, within the requirements of your role, to suit your needs and to offer a better work/life balance.

  Leave. If you work full time at Defra you are entitled to 25 days’ leave (rising, over 5 years, to 30 days’). If you work part time it will be pro-rated.

  Privilege day. You are also entitled to a privilege day off in May to mark the King’s birthday (date varies), plus time off for the 8 public holidays a year.

  Career breaks. We recognise that your work-life balance can extend beyond the short-term to the longer-term, and to support this you are able to apply for career breaks. These are unpaid extended breaks from work, granted at the discretion of the department.

  Volunteering leave - 3 days paid volunteering leave every year (pro-rata). Once you have passed probation.

  Season ticket loan – for an interest free season ticket loan, if you have worked within the Defra for more than three months. This can be used to purchase train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking.

  Tenancy deposit loan – for an interest free loan, to assist you in meeting the deposit costs for your privately rented home.

  Salary advances and loans for other circumstances – for salary advances and loans in the following circumstances: for new entrants, for the purchase of bicycles, holidays and religious holidays.

  Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme – Since the closure to new entrants of the employer childcare voucher scheme, the government introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. In this scheme, working parents open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 a year for each child or £4,000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare.

  Support to buy a bicycle – we run two schemes that can help you buy a bicycle for your commute:

  1. The Cycle to Work Scheme –you can apply for a bicycle for your commute, up to the value of £6,000, which is recovered from you through salary sacrifice, as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the repayment period, you have the option to buy the bike if you wish, saving around 30% of the original cost.
  2. Bike loan – if you are not eligible to apply for the Cycle to Work Scheme, you can apply for a loan of up to £1,000 towards the cost of a bike using the Bike loan scheme. This however is not a salary sacrifice scheme.

  High-street and online discounts. Offers through SmartSpending™ which is accessed through the StaR platform. Accessible 24/7, you can save at hundreds of top retailers.

  Maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave. We offer generous maternity leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave – a total of 52 weeks leave to look after your new baby, regardless of your length of service. Most mothers are entitled to 39 weeks of paid leave, and a further 13 weeks of unpaid leave. Most partners are entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave. Shared parental leave arrangements are in place, allowing parents to divide their leave with each other.

  Professional Membership. Defra group will fund one professional membership for each permanent employee which is relevant to their role.

  Eye care scheme. If you use a computer screen in connection with your job, we will pay for a regular eyesight test, and you may also be entitled to help towards purchasing new glasses, if they are needed for computer use.

  The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a free 24/7 confidential telephone advice service, available to all of our staff throughout the year.

  Civil Service Sports Council. The opportunity to join the Civil Services Sports Council.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted on the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sifting will take place w/c 11th May 2026.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on behaviours, experience, technical skills and strengths.

Interviews are currently scheduled to take place w/c 25th May or 1st June 2026 but may be subject to change.

Near miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum pay band.

Face to face interviews

Please note that Defra does not pay travel expenses for applicants from Other Government Departments (OGD) or external candidates.

Location & Travel

As part of the pre-employment process, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is 'National' the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

You will need to agree your working arrangements with your new manager. Some travel may be required and occasional overnight stays.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Ben Lindsay
• Email : ben.lindsay@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk