Senior Occupational Health Adviser

Job responsibilities

Job title: Senior Occupational Health Adviser

Grade: Grade 11

Job evaluation reference: HR014

Job family: Human Resources

Purpose and impact

1. To provide a comprehensive, high quality in-house occupational health service for Dorset Council and our external customers, working in partnership with Dorset Councils external occupational health provider(s) and partner organisations.

2. To support and maintain effective working relationships with the external service provider(s) and customers. This may require involvement with complex and potentially contentious matters in seeking an appropriate way forward for all parties concerned.

3. To support the implementation of appropriate occupational health protocols and procedures and recommend areas for future service development.

4. To support the monitoring and review of the performance of the service to ensure that agreed performance standards are met.

5. To support the collection of management information relating to medical referrals and Occupational Health service provision, helping to identify emerging patterns and trends, reporting findings to the OH Lead.

6. Working collaboratively across the HR Service and with colleagues across the wider council to help ensure that the HR Service meets both the organisations and external customer needs.

7. To support the achievement of whole authority people priorities and meet corporate aims, enabling the organisation to transform ways of working and achieve whole authority cultural change.

Key responsibilities

8. To undertake a range of health-related assessments including pre-employment medical screening and management referrals and to ensure any reports / recommendations are conveyed promptly to the appropriate officer. Any advice given should be clear and concise and assist the employing service to make appropriate decisions in regard to an individuals employment.

9. To be able to work autonomously in the management of an individual case load and also participate fully as an effective team member.

10. To advise managers on the reduction of health risks in the workplace and on how to support employees at risk or suffering from ill health. This may include providing advice and guidance to assist the employing service to comply with prevailing health and safety, employment and other relevant legislation.

11. To engage proactively with individual members of staff on a confidential basis with the overall aim, wherever possible, to reduce employee absence and work related sickness.

12. To work effectively with internal and external agencies on all aspects of employee health and wellbeing, so as to reduce sickness absence.

13. To support and assist in the development of health promotion activities and information.

14. To provide health related advice and guidance to managers and individual staff groups tailored to their service requirements.

15. To assist in the management of all aspects of infection control affecting Dorset Council employees.

16. To assist with the management of sickness absence within the framework of existing policies and procedures.

17. Engage with customers to seek feedback on current provision and discuss emerging needs with the OH Lead to support the improvement of services.

18. Undertake continued professional development to keep knowledge up to date, remain up to speed with best practice thinking and to develop and learn new skills.

19. To maintain accurate, contemporary and confidential records for all clients and ensure their security in line with the prevailing legal requirements.

20. To work sensitively with all clients and be able to adapt to situations which may be complex and confrontational.

21. Deputise for and represent the OH Lead as required.

22. Undertake such other comparable professional duties in support of corporate or service objectives as required.

NB: The duties and responsibilities of this post are not restrictive, and the post holder may be required on occasion to undertake other duties. This will not substantially change the nature of the post.

Supervision and management

Reporting to: OH Lead

Our values

Our values act as guiding principles, defining what we believe is important in the ways we work together. Our values are Respect, Together, Accountability, Openness and Curiosity. You will need to be able to demonstrate these values in action through the way you work, regardless of your role within the organisation. Information about our values can be found on our website.

Person specification

Your application will be assessed based on your demonstration of how you fulfil the following criteria; you should include clear examples of how you meet these criteria within your application form and during the assessment process.

Essential

Essential criteria are the minimum requirement for the above post and will be assessed through a combination of your application form, assessment and interview (as specified below). We'll also use references to confirm that you meet the criteria for this role. We will require evidence of the qualifications, training or registrations listed below:

1. Registered nurse NMC level 1 to maintain valid and up to date registration and comply with NMC guidelines in relation to professional issues and clinical supervision
2. Recognised Occupational Health Specialist Practitioner on the NMC register (SCPHN)
3. Significant experience in occupational health practice post qualification
4. Conducting medical assessments in response to management referrals
5. Conducting pre-placement medical screenings
6. Understanding of the occupational health function and its contribution to workforce wellbeing in a large organisation
7. Understanding of the relevant employment legislation and its implications for OH practice in a large, diverse organisation
8. The importance of good practice for in-house OH service delivery
9. Use of professional judgement to recommend appropriate action in a range of occupational health settings
10. Production of reports in response to manager referrals
11. Ability to build effective working relationships with both internal and external customers and stakeholders at all levels
12. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
13. Excellent interpersonal skills
14. Ability to work flexibly to contribute to wider team and HR Service outcomes
15. Ability to manage own time and workload with competing priorities
16. ICT skills in the use of Microsoft Office and Outlook and internet
17. Ability to work by our values of respect, together, accountability, openness and curiosity
18. Ability to fulfil travel requirements of the position to meet with employees and conduct assessments if required

Desirable

Desirable criteria will be used in the event of multiple applicants meeting the minimum essential requirements and if applicable, will be assessed through a combination of your application form, assessment and interview (as specified below). We'll also use references to confirm that you meet the criteria for this role. We will require evidence of the qualifications, training or registrations listed below:

1. NEBOSH certificate
2. Working in a large, complex organisation
3. Dealing with employees at all levels within an organisation

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered nurse NMC level 1 to maintain valid and up to date registration and comply with NMC guidelines in relation to professional issues and clinical supervision
• Recognised Occupational Health Specialist Practitioner on the NMC register (SCPHN)

Desirable

• NEBOSH certificate

Other

Essential

• Ability to fulfil travel requirements of the position to meet with employees and conduct assessments if required

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Understanding of the occupational health function and its contribution to workforce wellbeing in a large organisation
• Understanding of the relevant employment legislation and its implications for OH practice in a large, diverse organisation
• The importance of good practice for in-house OH service delivery
• Use of professional judgement to recommend appropriate action in a range of occupational health settings
• Production of reports in response to manager referrals
• Ability to build effective working relationships with both internal and external customers and stakeholders at all levels
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work flexibly to contribute to wider team and HR Service outcomes
• Ability to manage own time and workload with competing priorities
• ICT skills in the use of Microsoft Office and Outlook and internet

Our values

Essential

• Respect
• Together
• Accountability
• Openness
• Curiosity

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience in occupational health practice post qualification
• Conducting medical assessments in response to management referrals
• Conducting pre-placement medical screenings

Desirable

• Working in a large, complex organisation
• Dealing with employees at all levels within an organisation

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).