Health and safety advisor

Closing date for applications: 7th December 2025

Salary: £38,000-£40,000 dependent on experience

Department: Theatre operations

Responsible to: Head of estates & services

Contract: Full-time, fixed term – 12 months

Location: Flexible mix of home working and from The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Bring your health and safety expertise to a leading London theatre, guiding best practice, strengthening systems, and supporting a safe working environment for both creative and operational teams.

The health & safety advisor sits within the theatre operations team. In their role they will provide guidance and advice, conduct inspections, identify hazards and document management improvements, as well as ensure that we have good contractor management processes and good record keeping in place. They will help to ensure there is a holistic approach to health & safety across the Old Vic.


Responsibilities

Health & safety (H&S)

• Providing support to the head of estates & services in the management of health, safety, and compliance across The Old Vic
• Ensuring that H&S policies, practices, and procedures are adhered to (and documented) across all areas
• Ensuring thorough and appropriate safety records are maintained and anything of concern is promptly reported to the head of estates & services
• Developing strong relationships and influencing behaviours across all areas of the Old Vic to facilitate the promotion of health and safety awareness and drive best practice
• Leading on the management of Blue Lemon [the Old Vic’s H&S management system], including ensuring accuracy of data and facilitating training across the organisation
• Maintaining an overview of the training regime and record keeping for essential life, safety and security critical systems, from a H&S & compliance perspective
• Working with The Old Vic’s external advisors to arrange and facilitate regular health and safety audits and fire risk assessments of all sites, ensuring that any key changes are reviewed and re-assessed between audits
• Carrying out health and safety workplace inspections and audits within all areas of the organisation and prioritising action to be taken to resolve any outstanding issues
• Supporting managers in implementing action plans in response to external audits
• Undertaking Old Vic wide projects as appropriate to enhance our systems and procedures e.g. accident report systems, risk assessment software, etc.
• Challenging accepted views of health and safety within the business regarding to working practice, processes and methodologies
• Seeking to apply a consistent approach to health, safety, and fire across all areas of the business whilst still remaining mindful of the creative process - a flexible approach is important
• Carrying out training as required, including new starter H&S inductions
• Supporting teams in writing up and reviewing risk assessments, prioritising remedial actions and monitoring their implementation to minimise risk to employees, visitors and assets
• Investigating and documenting accidents, incidents and dangerous occurrences and providing meaningful statistics and advice to management
• Providing advice, guidance, and assistance to all managers in the implementation of policies and systems in order to ensure the achievement of required standards and working practices. Where possible, introducing initiatives that will enhance health and safety standards and awareness
• Attending the health & safety committee meetings
• Coordinating and minuting the health & safety steering group meetings
• Ensuring that minutes and actions arising from health & safety steering group meetings are circulated to members and risks are escalated to the head of estates & services or operations director as required
• Attending technical H&S meetings
• Developing and promoting a positive culture across the organisation in relation to Health and Safety

Compliance

• Working with colleagues across the organisation to ensure that all life safety systems are maintained and inspected regularly in line with relevant guidance to minimise the risk of any business interruption, and ensuring any changes in legislation are met
• Having ownership of the onboarding and record-keeping process for contractors, ensuring that these are kept up to date and that all staff are aware of their responsibilities when engaging contractors to work on site
• Alongside colleagues in the technical department, managing the Theatre’s permit to work procedures

Building security

• Working with the operations administration team to ensure that there are good records for all keys, alarm fobs and security passes issued to staff – and overseeing the upkeep of the key safe log
• Prioritising the safety and security of everyone in the building

Capital building projects

• Supporting the head of estates & services and the operations director, overseeing the planning, development and implementation of all fire, safety, security and compliance elements of capital building projects, ensuring that changes made during works do not compromise the plans and interfaces with the current building and strategies
• Inputting on the site-wide strategies for fire, safety, security, and compliance, liaising with relevant contractors and consultants to review cause and effect and establish a hierarchy of control between the relevant strategies
• Assisting the head of estates & services with operational planning in relation to health, safety & compliance, in preparation for completion of capital building projects

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre's management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.


Knowledge, skills & experience

• Hold an IOSH (or Tech IOSH) qualification
• Demonstrable experience in a similar role with strong awareness of health and safety procedures and practices and a strong understanding of compliance
• Experience of dealing with a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, colleagues, and contractors
• Ability to work with a diverse range of people in a confident and professional manner
• A flexible attitude with the ability to adapt accordingly to the role
• Demonstrable ability to use initiative to provide options and solutions for a fast-paced, changing, often reactive, service
• Action oriented, with the ability to take the initiative and deliver results
• Sensitivity in dealing with confidential information
• Excellent IT skills

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.