Safety Specialist – City of Vancouver

Safety Specialist

Requisition ID: 26233 

Company
Located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Vancouver has a commitment to becoming a City of Reconciliation. Vancouver consistently ranks as one of the world’s most liveable cities and is working towards being the greenest city in the world. Named among Canada’s Top 100 Employers, BC’s Top Employers, and Canada’s Greenest Employers, the City of Vancouver seeks colleagues who can help shape and embody our core commitments to sustainability, decolonization, equity and outstanding quality of life for all residents.

Consider joining our committed team of staff and being part of an innovative, inclusive and rewarding workplace.

Main Purpose and Function
The Occupational Safety Specialist partners with business leaders to ensure they have the information needed to respond to reported safety concerns, proactively communicate safety issues and empower leaders and employees to contribute to continuous safety improvements in the workplace. With a customer service focus, incumbents co-own safety within their assigned portfolios and are responsible for coaching leaders and monitoring operations for risk reduction through eliminating hazards or implementing controls and identifying potential compliance challenges.

The incumbent will report to the Manager of Health and Safety. This position requires interaction with a diverse group of people including; employees, managers, supervisors, union staff,

WorkSafeBC, BC Municipal Safety Association, vendors and other internal or external stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be someone passionate about creating and promoting a safety culture, through their strong set of safety skills, knowledge and experience.

Specific Duties/Responsibilities

• Approach issues with hazard identification and risk assessment mindset
• Promote and facilitate the hierarchy of controls for hazards and risks
• Facilitate communication and cooperation among stakeholders for complex safety issues
• Develop and implement safety programs and procedures
• Audit and inspect work sites
• Lead or manage accident / incident investigations and ensure corrective actions are completed
• Keep up with the best practices and legislative changes
• Monitor environmental quality factors such as air/noise/heat
• Implement and monitor compliance with new or existing corporate or departmental safety programs
• When deemed necessary, halt all work being performed until a safety issue is resolved
• Manage Refusals of Unsafe Work per the BC OH&S Regulation and corporate procedures
• Assess needs and provide safety related training, liaising with Operations
• Coordinate, deliver or monitor orientations for new or transferred staff and/or contractors and consultants, as needed
• Facilitate the review, writing, editing and promoting City safety programs
• Identify the need for new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), facilitate the creation with supervisors and staff, write and/or update SOPs
• Create and analyze statistics and metrics related to OH&S to inform leadership
• Lead emergency scene management for work related incidents
• Facilitate effective Safety Committee meetings
• Identify, assess and address OH&S issues as they are raised with the management team, staff and safety committees
• Develop and complete action plans relating to findings and corrective actions in inspections, audits, safety committee meetings, management meetings and investigations
• Create communication documents to highlight important OH&S information to management, supervisors and staff and staff
• Liaise with WSBC staff on inspections, incident investigations and consultation
• Keep Manager, Organizational Safety, apprised of emerging issues and critical incidents
• Other duties/responsibilities as assigned

Qualifications
Education and Experience:

• Degree, Diploma or Certificate (combined with experience) in Occupational Health and/or Safety or, an equivalent combination of education, training and experience
• Professional Designation (or working towards): CRSP, ROH or CIH preferred
• Three or more years of experience leading an operations team in Occupational Health and Safety
• Experience working in the public sector operations or a unionized environment is an asset
• Experience with Sharepoint designing and editing an asset

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Considerable regulatory knowledge and demonstrated practical application of occupational health and safety policies and programs in a unionized operations environment
• Knowledge of coaching, mentoring and performance management practices
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including technical writing, facilitating meetings, giving presentations and the ability to influence and promote teamwork and build relationships with a broad range of stakeholders
• Strong management and facilitation skills to plan and manage the health and safety programs and manage safety investigations
• Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and in SAP and Hansen
• Ability to manage change and assist people with adapting to change at all levels of the Organization
• Ability to compile, draft and maintain correspondence, spreadsheets, reports, presentations and minutes
• Ability to work well under pressure, handle multiple tasks and changing priorities with tight deadlines
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team environment
• An aptitude to provide an outstanding experience for clients
• Proven decision making and problem solving skills
• Ability to perform functions of the position with minimal supervision
• Strong multi-tasking, time-management, negotiation and communication (verbal and written) skills
• Strong diplomacy skills with an ability to be flexible and also give and take direction well
• Excellent documentation and time management skills
• May be assigned to and /or rotated through various City operations and locations
• Must be capable of a moderate level of physical activity such as climbing stairs and ladders, crawling into crawlspaces, carrying safety equipment)

Driver’s License and Record Checks Requirements:

• Valid driver’s license (recognized in BC)

Business Unit/Department: Human Resources (1020) 
Affiliation: Exempt 
Employment Type: Regular Full Time 
Position Start Date: June 2021 

Application Close: May 24, 2021

At the City of Vancouver, we are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that represents the community we so proudly serve. Indigenous applicants, people of colour, all genders, LGBT2Q+ and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.  Accommodations will be provided upon request during the selection process.Learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

To be considered for this exciting and impactful career opportunity with a generous benefits package, please apply on our careers site.

Apply here