Health and Safety Advisor

About DFT Operator

Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government's public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 8,500 services a day and delivers over 640 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000people joined the railway family in the last year

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), Southeastern, South Western Railway (SWR), c2c, Greater Anglia and WM Trains.

We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.

Primary Purpose of Job:

Contribute to successful health & safety management and strategy implementation at DFTO through providing advice and support across the organisation and leading on key health & safety projects.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Oversee the management of health & safety arrangements for DFTO's internal staff, so that roles, responsibilities and obligations are clearly defined and understood by colleagues and effective measures are in place to keep staff safe.
2. Contribute, supporting the Group HS&S Director, to the development of evidence-based policies that support our TOCs to deliver improved health and safety performance
3. Organise and develop central DfTO H&S policies that set the framework for our staff to stay safe and healthy whilst at work
4. Lead the development of health and safety risk assessments that underpin the DfTO health and safety arrangements that evidence that our policies are correctly developed
5. Organise and manage key health & safety data , monitoring the effectiveness and adoption of DfTO health and safety policies.
6. Make suitable recommendations to DfTO leaders to enable them to effectively implement the health and safety arrangements that keep staff safe.
7. Work with Network Rail to implement the Network Rail accident reporting system into DfTO.
8. Maintain and update the accident reporting system to produce progress reports, so that stakeholders have timely and reliable information.
9. Produce management information and support governance and reporting processes on behalf of the Group HSSS&S Director.
10. Identify process gaps and propose improvements within DfTO health and safety system, so that efficiency and compliance are enhanced.
11. Contribute to lessons-learned reviews and lead case-specific reviews after safety projects or incidents, so that future processes are improved.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Technical Qualifications:

Must be a member of the Institute of Occupational Health and safety (IOSH) at Certified (CertIOSH) level or above

Significant experience in the successful management of HSEA issues within industry, and a strong understanding of how management systems operate

• Experience of undertaking health & safety risk assessments
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for drafting reports and risk assessments.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to liaise effectively with internal and external colleagues as well as experts when required.
• Background in health and safety.

Desirable

• Rail knowledge is useful but not essential .
• NEBOSH diploma or equivalent
• Knowledge of Behavioural Change techniques
• Knowledge of risk assessment systems and processes
• Working knowledge of rules, Regulations and standards applicable to workplace health and safety.

Vacancy Details:

Duration: Fixed Term contract/secondment until October 2027Location: Hybrid London Waterloo / LeedsSalary: £39,154 - £47,096
Closing date: 8th June 2026

DFTO Benefits:

Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days and rising to an additional day per year of service completed within the first 5 completed years up to a maximum of 5 additional (30 days)

DC Pension Scheme: 10% Employer contribution, 5% Employee contribution

Opportunities to learn and network across the wider industry

Additional Information

Disclaimer: Candidates applying for this position on a secondment basis must inform their line manager prior to submitting their application. This is to ensure transparency and facilitate any necessary discussions regarding workload and responsibilities.

About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance.

Contact: If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments, please contact jason.blakemore

Please do not email any CV's to us, your application must be made by clicking the 'Apply' button.