Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing

UniSC is seeking an accomplished and influential Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing to provide enterprise leadership across health, safety, wellbeing and injury management. Reporting to the Chief People Officer and as a key member of the P&C leadership team, you will lead a specialist function with significant reach across UniSC's diverse, multi-site environment.

With responsibility for UniSC's HSW strategy and operating framework, you will work closely with University Executive and senior leaders to shape strategy, strengthen governance and manage complex and emerging risk. You will bring together strategic leadership and operational expertise, ensuring health, safety and wellbeing are embedded in organisational decision-making, planning and everyday practice.

This is a significant leadership opportunity to shape the next evolution of HSW at UniSC. You will influence across academic, professional and operational environments, build organisational capability and lead a specialist team to deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements in safety, wellbeing and organisational performance.

You will:

• Lead enterprise HSW strategy and direction, strengthening a proactive and mature safety culture across a complex, multi-site University.
• Lead and develop a specialist HSW team, building capability, accountability and high performance across health, safety, wellbeing and injury management.
• Advise and influence Executive and senior leaders, bringing sound judgement and expertise to complex health, safety, risk and organisational matters.
• Strengthen governance, systems and assurance, ensuring contemporary frameworks and practices effectively manage risk and regulatory obligations.
• Drive organisational capability and performance, using evidence, insight and meaningful measures to identify priorities and improve outcomes.
• Build shared ownership for HSW, creating trusted partnerships and embedding health, safety and wellbeing across how UniSC leads and operates.

About you:

You are an accomplished Health, Safety and Wellbeing leader with the experience, credibility and strategic capability to lead HSW at enterprise scale. You have led a significant HSW function within a large, multi-site or similarly complex organisation, bringing depth across strategy, governance, operational risk, compliance, wellbeing and culture.

You are comfortable operating at every level, advising executives and governance groups on complex and emerging risks while remaining connected to operational realities. You bring sound judgement, contemporary HSW expertise and the ability to turn strategy and leading practice into practical, sustainable outcomes.

An authentic and influential people leader, you build high-performing specialist teams and trusted partnerships across diverse environments. You know that great HSW leadership goes beyond compliance, building capability, influencing culture and creating shared ownership for a safe, healthy and thriving workplace.

You will possess:

• Relevant qualifications, or equivalent combination of qualifications and extensive senior experience, in Workplace Health and Safety, Occupational Health, Organisational Psychology, Human Resources or a related discipline.
• Substantial senior leadership experience in Health, Safety and Wellbeing within a large, complex and multi-site organisation, with the breadth and depth to lead an enterprise-wide function.
• A strong track record of shaping and delivering contemporary HSW strategies, frameworks and systems that strengthen organisational performance, culture and capability.
• Deep expertise across safety leadership, risk, governance, compliance and assurance, with the judgement to navigate complex and emerging issues.
• Demonstrated success in shifting safety culture and building organisational ownership, translating strategy and evidence into practical and sustainable change.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing specialist teams, building capability, accountability and performance.
• The credibility, presence and influencing capability to operate effectively with senior executives, governance bodies and diverse stakeholders across a complex organisation.

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful, University-wide impact while leading the continued evolution of UniSC's health, safety and wellbeing function.

UniSC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, including those with disabilities, women in STEM, First Nations Peoples, and individuals of diverse cultures, genders, abilities, and experiences.