Senior Health, Safety and Resilience Advisor

Whānau Āwhina Plunket is Aotearoa's largest provider of support services for the health and wellbeing of tamariki under five and their whānau. We are proud to visit more than 80% of newborn babies across Aotearoa, and to walk alongside pēpē, tamariki and their whānau during their earliest years.

The opportunity | Te whiwhingamahi

This is the senior specialist role within Plunket's Safety and Compliance function. You will own the operational layer of our health and safety system: the part that turns policy and framework into practice on the ground, and verifies that it is actually working.

Working alongside the Head of Safety and Compliance, you will provide senior technical expertise, coaching and assurance across the safety management system, critical risk and control verification, contractor and property safety, health monitoring, business continuity, emergency management, and health and safety legislative compliance.

This is a self-directed role for an experienced practitioner who can design and run systems independently, coach leaders across the organisation, and hold the technical line without close

supervision. It gives Plunket senior depth and continuity, so we are not reliant on a single person for our safety and resilience capability.

In this role you will:

• Design, operate and continuously improve Plunket's health and safety management system as an integrated whole, aligned to ISO 45001 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
  

• Establish and maintain our critical risk programme, with clear controls and named control owners for risks such as lone and remote working, driving, and psychosocial harm.
  

• Run critical control verification, so leaders can confirm in the field that controls are present and working, not simply that a form has been completed.
  

• Lead learning-focused investigations of significant incidents and turn findings into improvements that are tracked to completion.
  

• Own contractor safety and overlapping duties, and partner with our Commercial and Property team on building-related safety obligations.
  

• Develop and maintain business continuity, emergency and evacuation planning, aligned toCIMS, and keep it tested and current.
  

• Own health and safety legislative compliance and keep our obligations content accurate and well evidenced (ComplyWith).
  

• Coach and build the capability of leaders and managers to own their health and safety responsibilities, rather than doing it for them.
  

• In your first year, deliver a gap assessment of the safety management system with a prioritised remediation plan.

   

This role lets you combine deep health and safety expertise with genuine social impact, keeping our people safe and well so they can support tamariki and whānau across Aotearoa.

About you | Mōu

You are an experienced health and safety practitioner who enjoys turning policy and framework into practice and then checking that it works. You can design and run systems on your own, coach leaders across an organisation, and hold the technical line without close supervision.

You do not need to meet every point below to apply. If you can do most of the essentials and the work interests you, we would like to hear from you.

You will bring (the essentials):

• A relevant tertiary qualification in health and safety, risk management or a related field, or equivalent experience.
  

• Substantial medium-to-senior experience, around five years or more, designing and operating a health and safety management system in a complex, multi-site organisation.
  

• Deep working knowledge of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and its regulations, including overlapping duties, officer due diligence and worker participation.
  

• Demonstrated experience in critical risk management and critical control verification.
  

• Proven experience in contractor management and prequalification.
  

• A demonstrated ability to coach and influence leaders and managers, and to build organisational capability.
  

• The ability to work independently and drive activity through ambiguity and on incomplete information.

   

It would also help, and we can support you to grow these:

• Experience in business continuity and emergency preparedness.
  

• Experience in property or facilities safety compliance.
  

• Familiarity with obligations management tools.
  

• Knowledge of the ISO 45001 and ISO 45003 frameworks.
  

• Experience in the health sector, an NGO, or a not-for-profit.
  

Just as importantly, you will use sound judgement, influence and coach without relying on authority, and check that controls work in practice rather than on paper.

An understanding of, or a willingness to grow your knowledge of, TeTiriti o Waitangi and pro-equity principles will be important in this role.

What we offer | Ngāhua mahi o Whānau Āwhina

• Access to a range of wellness benefits, including a Fitness Passport and two Wellhealth days a year to proactively look after your wellbeing.
  

• Flexible working arrangements, and support for ongoing learning and development.
  

• The opportunity to shape Plunket's health, safety and resilience capability, with senior autonomy and real influence.
  

• Purpose led work, where your expertise helps keep our people safe and well so they can support communities across Aotearoa.
  

Our values of Māia, Tūhono, Manaaki and Māhaki guide how we work together. We are committed to creating a culturally safe and inclusive environment where everyone can contribute, learn and thrive.

How to apply | Me pēheatetukutono

Applications must be made online and close on 5th October 2026. We will consider applications as they are received and may close this advert early if we find a suitable candidate, so it is best to apply sooner rather than later.

For any specific questions, contact our HR team on hr@plunket.org.nz.

If you need any adjustment to take part in our recruitment process, or would like this information in another format, let us know at hr@plunket.org.nz. Asking will not count against you.

Setting the path of wellness in our communities for the early years, for generations to come.

Whānau Āwhina Plunket is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of pēpi, tamariki and their whānau. We take a pro-equity approach, giving life to the Treaty principles of tino rangatiratanga, partnership, active protection, equity and options in our work.

Position description Apply now

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