Senior Health Safety &Worker Welfare Manager - City Operations Field Safety Unit

Role Purpose

The HS&WW Manager / Senior Manager – City Operations Field Safety Unit is responsible for the leadership, governance, and operational oversight of Health, Safety and Worker Welfare (HS&WW) across city operations and public realm activities. The role ensures that HS&WW standards, controls, and assurance processes are embedded across front‑line service delivery and consistently applied at the point of work in public‑facing environments.

The role focuses on driving effective risk management, field assurance, contractor safety oversight, worker welfare compliance, and continuous improvement across streets, parks, public spaces, roads, and other public realm environments, while safeguarding workers, contractors, assets, residents, visitors, and the wider public in accordance with defined HS&WW minimum standards and regulatory expectations.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

1. HS&WW Leadership & Operational Implementation

• Lead the implementation of HS&WW requirements across city operations and public realm activities and ensure alignment with the City Operations HS&WW Framework and minimum standards.

• Translate HS&WW policies, standards, and procedures into practical controls for front‑line operations such as streetscape maintenance, public space services, cleaning, waste interfaces, parks operations, and other field activities.

• Provide visible leadership to promote a proactive safety culture, strong field discipline, and consistent worker welfare expectations across city‑facing service delivery.

2. Field Safety Governance, Assurance & Risk Control

• Establish and oversee field assurance activities, including inspections, verifications, audits, and leadership safety tours across public realm sites, depots, service routes, and operational interfaces.

• Oversee high‑risk city operations activities and ensure critical risks are identified, assessed, controlled, and escalated where required, including work near live traffic, pedestrians, utilities, mobile plant, and public events.

• Monitor HS&WW performance trends, non‑conformances, and recurring public realm risks, and direct timely corrective and preventive actions.

3. Public Realm Interface & Public Safety Oversight

• Oversee HS&WW controls at city operations interfaces involving residents, visitors, contractors, road users, pedestrians, cyclists, and adjacent businesses or assets.

• Ensure that traffic management, pedestrian diversions, access control, segregation, barriers, signage, and temporary control arrangements are suitable, implemented, and maintained in public‑facing work areas.

• Provide assurance that city operations activities are planned and executed in a manner that protects workers and the public while minimising disruption to public realm services.

4. Contractor Governance & Permit‑to‑Work Oversight

• Lead HS&WW oversight of contractors and subcontractors delivering city operations and public realm services, including maintenance, cleaning, landscape, waste, and other field‑based activities.

• Ensure compliance with permit‑to‑work requirements, risk assessments, method statements, control of work arrangements, and approved operating procedures for public‑facing and service‑critical activities.

• Escalate contractor HS&WW performance concerns, drive corrective actions, and support contractor capability improvement where required across public realm operations.

5. Worker Welfare Leadership & Compliance

• Lead the oversight of worker welfare standards across city operations, including welfare facilities, rest arrangements, hydration, heat stress controls, sanitation, welfare access during remote or route‑based work, and fair treatment expectations.

• Ensure worker welfare risks, complaints, or non‑compliances are identified, investigated, escalated, and addressed in accordance with governance requirements, particularly for outdoor and public‑facing teams.

• Coordinate welfare inspections, audits, and improvement actions to maintain compliance and support worker wellbeing across public realm operations.

6. Incident Management & Investigation Leadership

• Lead or oversee the response to HS&WW incidents, significant near misses, service‑related safety events, and unsafe occurrences across city operations and the public realm.

• Direct investigations to determine immediate, underlying, and systemic causes, including events involving public interface, vehicle or plant interaction, crowd exposure, or contractor performance.

• Ensure corrective and preventive actions are implemented, tracked, and verified for effectiveness, and that lessons learned are embedded across city operations teams.

7. Emergency Preparedness & Operational Resilience

• Oversee emergency preparedness arrangements for city operations, including response plans, emergency communications, drills, and readiness checks for public realm incidents and service disruptions.

• Ensure operational teams and contractors understand their roles during emergencies and that critical response interfaces with security, traffic, event, and municipal stakeholders are tested and effective.

• Support operational resilience by identifying preparedness gaps and driving improvements to response capability, public protection, and recovery arrangements across city services.

8. Reporting, Performance Management & Data Insights

• Oversee the collection, accuracy, and analysis of HS&WW data across city operations, including inspections, incidents, audits, observations, public interface risks, and corrective actions.

• Develop and provide timely management reporting, performance dashboards, and insight‑based recommendations to senior stakeholders on public realm and city operations safety performance.

• Use trend analysis and operational data to prioritise interventions, improve field safety performance, and inform decision‑making across city services and public‑facing operations.

9. Leadership, Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach, and develop HS&WW team members and field safety personnel to strengthen capability, consistency, and accountability across city operations and public realm teams.

• Work closely with city operations leaders, public realm delivery teams, contractors, and assurance functions to improve HS&WW performance and embed lessons learned.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, standardisation of field safety practices, and the sharing of best practice across the City Operations Field Safety Unit.

Authority & Decision Rights

Authority to stop unsafe work and require escalation where critical HS&WW risks or worker welfare concerns are identified.

• Authority to direct corrective actions, raise non‑conformances, and recommend suspension or restriction of activities where minimum standards are not met.

• Authority to escalate significant HS&WW issues, contractor performance concerns, and strategic recommendations to senior Operations and HS&WW leadership.

Key Relationships

• Director / Head of HS&WW – City Operations

• City Operations Directors, Public Realm Managers, and Field Delivery Teams

• Contractors, Subcontractors, and Service Providers supporting public realm operations

• Security, Traffic Management, Emergency Response, Assurance, and Risk Functions

• Municipal, regulatory, and enterprise HS&WW stakeholders (as required)

Requirements

• Degree in Engineering, Occupational Health & Safety, or a related technical discipline; postgraduate qualification is advantageous for senior manager level.

• Recognised professional HS&WW or safety certification.

• Significant experience in HS&WW leadership roles within city operations, public realm, municipal services, transport, utilities, or other public‑facing field environments.

• Strong knowledge of control of work, contractor safety management, public interface risk management, incident investigation, worker welfare, emergency preparedness, and operational assurance.

• Demonstrated leadership capability in managing teams, influencing stakeholders, and driving measurable HS&WW performance improvement in complex, public‑facing operational settings.

This is a leadership and field‑facing city operations role, combining strategic oversight with visible engagement across streets, parks, public spaces, and service interfaces to ensure HS&WW controls are effective, practical, and consistently applied across the public realm.