Safety, Health and Wellbeing Senior Advisor
City Campus, with regular travel to Woolston Campus and Timaru Campus
Permanent, Full time
* Work collaboratively in a well-established team with a strong reputation
* Help shape a safe, resilient culture across a progressive tertiary education provider
* Generalist safety health and wellbeing role in complex public sector
Mō Tēnei Tūranga Mahi – About the Role
We’re looking for an experienced Safety, Health and Wellbeing practitioner who enjoys partnering with leaders and helping them lift capability in a practical, people centred way.
As our Safety, Health and Wellbeing Senior Advisor, you will deliver operational guidance and support to managers and teams, with a strong focus on enhancing the safety and wellbeing of kaimahi (staff), ākonga (learners) and wider organisation. You will work closely with a designated portfolio, partnering with leaders to understand current practice, identify opportunities to improve, and build capability, resilience and compliance.
This is a generalist role with plenty of variety. You will contribute across culture and engagement, critical risk management, learning and continuous improvement, reporting and assurance, investigations and coaching. You will also work alongside the Associate Director Safety, Health and Wellbeing and collaborate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
What you’ll be doing
In this role you will:
* Partner with senior leaders, working groups and worker representatives to implement and continually improve SHW strategy and performance
* Coach leaders and teams to grow confidence and capability in SHW systems, tools and responsibilities
* Support critical risk management, including risk registers, controls, assurance and reporting
* Lead and supporting incident investigations and learning reviews, and embedding lessons learned
* Contribute to audits, inspections, monitoring programmes and continuous improvement activity
* Prepare and contribute to performance reporting and data driven insights
* Mentor and guide Safety, Health and Wellbeing Advisors and support the wider People and Culture team
Ngā Pūkenga Me Ngā Wheako – Skills and Experience
We are looking for someone who is confident, approachable and able to influence at senior levels. You will balance technical SHW expertise with practical advice that helps leaders take action.
You’ll bring
* Experience as a Senior Advisor Safety, Health and Wellbeing, or 3+ years as an Advisor who is ready to take the next step
* A proven track record as a trusted business partner to senior leaders, supporting their journey to lift SHW capability and culture
* Strong working knowledge of SHW legislation, standards and modern practice, and the ability to translate this into practical action
* Tertiary qualification in workplace health and safety or a relevant discipline, ideally at postgraduate or graduate diploma level
* Professional accreditation with NZISM, NZOHNA or HASANZ (or working towards)
* Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience in reporting and engaging diverse audiences
* A current driver licence and comfort with regular travel between campuses
* Experience supporting audits, investigations and critical risk programmes in a complex organisation.
* Experience working with compliance in the public sector or tertiary education would be beneficial
Mō Mātou – About us
Ara Institute of Canterbury is a vibrant and progressive tertiary institute providing world-class, tertiary-level education throughout the Canterbury and Waitaki region. Our talented employees, innovative business collaborators and supportive community partners are passionate about the role they play in our learners' success.
Ara is committed to giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and delivering services in a manner that responds with excellence to the needs of Māori learners and their whānau, as well as the aspirations of iwi and Māori communities throughout our catchment (including Māori employers). To deliver effectively on this commitment, Ara recognises the need for a culturally competent and confident workforce vertically and horizontally across our organisation.
Tono Ināianei - Apply now
We accept applications via our online application system. For any other queries, please email Recruitment@Ara.ac.nz.
Rā Katinga - Applications close – 11:55pm Sunday 15 March 2026 (note, we may commence interviews before the closing date)
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