Join Us as Group Head of Health and Safety
Are you a highly qualified health and safety professional ready to lead at scale and make a tangible impact?
The Bedford College Group is seeking a Group Head of Health and Safety to shape, lead and embed a culture of safety, compliance and wellbeing across a diverse, multi-site organisation.
This is a pivotal leadership role within a complex educational environment. Our provision spans high-risk, specialist and technical areas including construction, engineering, motor vehicle, agriculture and land-based studies, hair and beauty, science laboratories and workshops, alongside traditional classroom settings. This breadth creates a unique and varied risk profile, requiring an experienced and credible professional to lead with confidence.
In this role, you will:
1. Provide strategic leadership and expert advice to senior leaders and stakeholders across the Group
2. Act as the Group’s named Competent Person, ensuring full compliance with statutory requirements and sector best practice
3. Develop, implement and continuously improve Group-wide health and safety policies, systems and frameworks
4. Lead on risk management across a diverse operational landscape, ensuring robust controls in both low- and high-risk environments
5. Drive a positive, proactive and learning-led safety culture, influencing behaviour at all levels
What we’re looking for:
6. A Level 6 (or equivalent) Health and Safety qualification (essential)
7. Professional membership of IOSH (CMIOSH or working towards)
8. Significant experience leading health and safety within a complex, multi-site and operationally diverse organisation
9. Demonstrable experience managing high-risk environments such as construction, engineering, manufacturing, agriculture or similar
10. Strong leadership, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to operate at strategic and operational levels
Location:
Whilst this post is based at our Cauldwell Street Campus in Bedford, the role has a group-wide remit, requiring travel across our campuses in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to lead health and safety across one of the region’s largest and most diverse education providers, supporting over 15,000 students and a wide range of specialist curriculum areas.
You will play a critical role in protecting and enabling our learners, staff and communities, ensuring that safety underpins everything we do.
Our Values
Successful candidates must demonstrate alignment to our VISION values:
11. Valuing Teamwork – We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes
12. Improving Continuously – We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others
13. Student Centred – At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student
14. Inclusive – We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other
15. Open and Caring – We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other
16. Nurturing Education Excellence – We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions
Safeguarding
The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to a thorough vetting process, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Terms and Conditions
17. 37 hours per week (1.0 FTE)
18. 35 days annual leave per annum, plus bank holidays
19. Local Government Pension Scheme
20. Retail and leisure discounts
Interviews are scheduled to take place on 30th April 2026