Health and Safety Manager - Wakefield

Health and safety manager jobs

Health and safety is not only a legal requirement of any ongoing business, it is also important in maintaining morale of staff and also keeping them safe, which can reduce sick days and prevent litigation through accidents at work. In charge of H&S will be a health and safety manager or head of health and safety. Their job will be to keep in touch with the law and technologies surrounding the industry they are working in, performing inspections and ordering repairs, and to keep the staff informed about health and safety.

Logistics, with its heavy transport, warehouses, potentially hazardous materials and bulk goods, is inherently dangerous if the correct health and safety procedures are not observed. But even “safe” areas like offices require health and safety law to be implemented, and this will also form part of the health and safety manager’s role.

In large companies, the health and safety manager might be required to oversee several sires, and an in-depth knowledge of their H&S requirements will be required. The health and safety manager often has the power to shut down any part of a site he or she thinks falls below the required standards.

The skills required

Instilling health and safety is often something of a persuasive skill, as it’s well known that workers get complacent and can often fall into bad habits. It will be up to the head of health and safety to make sure rules are observed, so good communication skills – informing and listening – will be essential.

The role also requires an ability to absorb and comprehend changes in H&S law and the H&S implications of new technologies. This could involve study and attendance at seminars, where a receptive personality will be valued.

The job will involve a good deal of paperwork, digital and literal, so good computer skills, especially report-writing, will be necessary.

Health and Safety Manager Jobs in Wakefield

Wakefield is a city just south of Leeds that comprises the five towns of Pontefract, Castleford, Normanton, Featherstone and Knottingley, as well as other minor towns. With a population of around 325,000, it’s a moderately sized city that is overshadowed by its northern neighbour and Sheffield, which is 20 miles (31 km) to the south. Wakefield is well connected by rail and road, with the M62 and the M1 passing by its north and west respectively.

The city and its constituent towns boomed during the Industrial Revolution when vast seams of coal were discovered beneath them. The area dug hundreds of mines and this remained the key industry in the area until the 1980s when they were closed down one by one. The last remaining one is Kellingley Colliery, located at Knottingley, just east of Pontefract.

The city remains industrial, however, although the days of heavy industry are largely gone. The city’s excellent communications and central location have made it an ideal place to site warehouses, factories and distribution centres, so Health and Safety Manager jobs regularly appear in the Wakefield area. There are also regeneration projects going on in the city designed to diversify and stimulate the economy, and this looks set to bring further growth to an area that has had to reinvent itself completely in thirty years.

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Cast UK’s logistics opportunities

Cast UK was founded by specialists in the logistics, supply chain and procurement trade, and as we grow, we only employ consultants from the same backgrounds. This gives us in-depth knowledge of what employers and candidates are looking for.

We have jobs in all areas of the UK, so are perfectly placed to find you work wherever you are located. If you’re moving house, please check to see if there are any positions available in the new area; if you’re simply looking for more job fulfilment or to advance your career, there’s more than likely an employer who’s looking for the skills you are offering.

Employers approach us to find candidates because they are confident that we will be able to fill their managerial and executive vacancies. So do get in touch if you’re looking for a job in logistics; there’s a good chance a vacancy will arise with your name on it.

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