Health and Safety Practitioner
Application Deadline: 2 January 2026
Department: Health and Safety
Employment Type: Permanent
Location: East Sussex - Lewes
Reporting To: Health and Safety Manager
Compensation: £33,951 / year
Description
Location: Lewes
Salary: £33,951 per annum plus £1,000 essential car user allowance
Hours: 37 hours per week
What you'll be doing: We're proud of our strong health and safety culture, and we're looking for a proactive and knowledgeable Health & Safety Practitioner to join our Operational Support team. This role now includes Moving & Handling responsibilities, reflecting our commitment to safe, person-centred care.
In this role, you'll:
* Support the review and implementation of health and safety policies, procedures, risk assessments, and moving & handling profiles.
* Provide expert advice to staff and managers on safe systems of work, emergency procedures, and control measures.
* Deliver engaging training in health and safety and moving & handling keeping materials up to date with legislation and best practice.
* Conduct internal health & safety audits to identify hazards and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
* Monitor and analyse incidents, assigning severity ratings and ensuring effective investigations are carried out, contribute to Serious Incident Reviews and report RIDDOR events as required.
* Collaborate with internal teams and external bodies (including the HSE) to maintain compliance and drive continuous improvement.
* Promote a proactive safety culture by involving staff and communicating key information clearly and effectively.
This role involves travel across Brighton & Hove and East and West Sussex, so a driving licence and access to a car are essential.
We welcome applications from candidates with experience in roles such as Health and Safety Advisor, Officer, or Specialist—especially those with a background in incident management, audits, manual handling, training delivery, or risk assessment—who are passionate about creating safe, supportive environments for our staff, clients, and tenants.
Perks and benefits:
* Health cost cash-back scheme: access to our health insurance scheme which covers dental, optical, physical therapies and other medical treatments with the option to add greater levels of cover.
* Interest-free loans: assistance with larger costs that arise such as tenancy deposits, season travel tickets or buying a car.
* Access to the Easit Network: discounts and incentives on train, bus and car journeys such as 15% off eligible daily and season rail tickets.
* Blue Light card: access to discount services for the social care sector with savings across thousands of online shops, restaurants, and high-street vendors.
* Free advice and counselling service: confidential emotional support and practical guidance from our independent telephone service.
* 25 days paid holiday plus bank holidays.
Knowledge, skills & experience
What you'll need for the role:
* Strong knowledge of health and safety regulations and incident managementt
* Ability to conduct suitable and sufficient risk assessments
* Excellent communication skills with the ability to provide clear guidance across teams
* An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which will be paid for by Southdown
* A full driving licence is essential along with access to your own vehicle or a vehicle insured for you
What would be nice:
* A Health & Safety qualification or equivalent experience.
Training: Our award winning in house training team will help you to gain valuable qualifications, continually develop your skills and build a great career with the largest provider of housing, care and support in Sussex.
How to apply:
Please click on the 'Apply Now' button and fill out our simple one-page application form.
Please note, if we receive a large number of applications then this position may close before the advertised application closing date. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.