Head of Health and Safety

Job Introduction

We’re looking for a Head of Health and Safety to help us make a difference to our planet. 

As our Head of Health and Safety, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. This post can be based in Exeter or Reading.

This is a temporary position on a fixed-term for two years. Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 30 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share.  Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone. 

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are. 

•    We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact

•    We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better

•    We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making

•    We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater

•    We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

Joining us at an exciting time in our health and safety journey, you will have a significant impact on the Met Office.

You will provide strategic direction, expert advice and leadership on all aspects of health and safety and risk management across the Met Office. Guiding a newly developed team, you'll develop and deliver strategic plans to transform health and safety culture and compliance across the organisation.

Championing a culture of continuous improvement, you’ll work across teams to identify opportunities and deliver innovative solutions to help our community to stay safe and thrive.

Your key duties:

• Provide inspirational leadership to develop and deliver the Health and Safety Strategic Improvement Plan across the Met Office, transforming safety culture and driving safety improvements to align with the Met Office strategy. 
• Design, build and lead the management of the overall framework and continuous improvement for the Safety Management System (SMS), policies and procedures and tools, which aligns to Met Office business and legal requirements.
• Leadership and management of the Health and Safety Team, and provision of the Business Partnering service to all the Met Office Directorates and teams (1st line health and safety risk owners) – both providing expert support and advise to those with operational responsibility for managing health and safety risks their work creates or faces, alongside an appropriate level of challenge.

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

As our Head of Health & Safety, your total reward package will be up to £89,943 annually, which includes: 

• £64,846 base pay.
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave.

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. An expert by nature with experience in transforming Health and Safety culture in a complex environment. (Lead Criteria)
2. Level 6 (or above) Diploma in Health and Safety e.g. NEBOSH Diploma in Health and Safety or relevant degree; and / or Chartered Membership of IOSH or IIRSM.
3. Proven ability and expertise in leading safety at a senior level, ideally in a multi-site, trade unionised operation with multiple stakeholders, and in-depth knowledge and understanding of relevant legal requirements.
4. A collaborative mindset, with the ability to work better together across teams.
5. You keep evolving with the ability to lead change effectively, communicating the vision and goals clearly to inspire a diverse range of stakeholders.

The panel may perform a preliminary sift of the lead criteria as indicated above.

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills. 

Closing date 12/05/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 19/05/2025. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk. 

If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role. 

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code. 

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.