Health and Safety Facilitator

About the Role

We're excited to be recruiting a Health & Safety Facilitator in our state-of-the-art site in Ellesmere Port (Overpool)!

The site has been recently renovated and upgraded with three best-in-class converting lines, and we have volumes of future potential.

If you're passionate about making workplaces safer, smarter, and more engaged, this is the role for you.

Job Opportunity

Here's what you'll be doing:

Engaging & Educating

Providing coaching and mentoring to managers and supervisors on their H&S responsibilities, and share considerations with the wider operational team regarding lean manufacturing and CI initiatives. You will identify training needs, maintaining digital records, and deliver inhouse training and presentations, educating and inspiring your colleagues.

You will be the central point of contact for H&S related matters, and encourage employees to participate in risk assessments, incident investigations, and safety initiatives.

Your colleagues will benefit from your sharing of useful H&S updates, lessons learned from incidents, and best practices.

Risk Management

You will facilitate and support the completion of internal risk assessments (general, specific, COSHH, DSE, manual handling, fire, machinery safety) for operations and activities on site, including paper tissue converting processes (e.g., slitting, winding, packaging, material handling). 

Management of Change

You will lead and facilitate H&S aspects of Management of Change process, ensuring risks are assessed and controlled for all significant changes, including the introduction of new production lines, machinery, processes and raw materials.

Incident Management

We will utilise your knowledge and expertise in leading thorough incident investigations, identifying root causes and recommending preventative actions, as well as reporting incidents in a timely manner to internal and external bodies (e.g. RIDDOR where applicable), relying on data records. 

Compliance and Auditing

You will ensure the Ellesmere Port site remains compliant with all statutory health and safety requirements, actively referencing the legal register. In addition, we'll need you to assist with internal and external H&S audits, preparing for (and responding to) findings. 

Essential Skills

What you'll bring to Northwood:

We require NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety as a minimum.

You will hopefully be an Accredited or Approved IOSH Working and Managing Safely Trainer, Train the Trainer, and/or have experience and confidence in conducting team/individual training.

Experience

We're looking for colleagues from the FMCG industry, either Food or another fast-paced/high-speed production environment, with experience in:

• Implementing and maintaining H&S management systems.
• Conducting risk assessments and incident investigations.
• Experience managing legal registers and overseeing outsourced specialist risk assessments (e.g., DSEAR, Water Hygiene, Fire).
• Experience in managing health and safety aspects of change, including new equipment installations, production line modifications, and involvement in CDM projects. 
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing principles and their integration with health and safety. 

Skills we're looking for

• Excellent communication, with the ability to influence and engage at all levels.
• Strong approach to translating technical H&S information into accessible language for various audiences.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven approach.
• Thorough understanding of UK Health and Safety legislation, weaving this into daily practice.
• Ability to champion and drive the effective adoption of digital tools and safety culture across the workforce.

We would ideally like to see:

• Certified or Chartered Membership of a professional body (e.g. IOSH)
• We'd ideally like to see NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety (or equivalent).
• Experience with ISO 45001 implementation and auditing
• SMETA Sedex Sustainability 7.0 Management standards
• Knowledge of environmental management systems (e.g. ISO 14001)
• First Aid at Work qualified

About Company

Northwood is a family-owned group of associated companies that provide the manufacturing, supply and transportation of paper hygiene and wiping products for both the away-from-home and consumer market.

Our mission is to be the market-leading partner of choice in the away from home tissue industry. One of only a small handful of companies in the UK market that is fully vertically integrated; Northwood is involved at each point in the supply chain, from raw material supply, tissue and towel manufacturing, end-user product converting, storage and transportation.

Our remit is huge, with a portfolio of products covering two key systems brands, professional wiping, commodity, consumer paper and private label. We sell into a distribution network spanning the UK, Ireland and Europe, which in turn service markets such as healthcare, hospitality, hotels, engineering, janitorial, catering and education.

We are a highly successful, award-winning and ambitious business that has grown from a humble paper sales business to a market leader employing over 800 colleagues, across 11 sites in the UK and Spain.  

We differentiate ourselves by excelling in product quality alongside market-leading service and sales support.