Health, Safety & Sustainability Manager

Full-time (35 hours), permanent, based in Edinburgh

Salary £45,712 (pay award pending) plus generous holiday entitlement, Civil Service pension and other benefits.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a world-renowned institution dedicated to plant science, horticulture, and education. Our diverse and complex estate includes listed heritage buildings, herbarium, laboratories, and glasshouse structures, as well as being a popular visitor attraction and events venue. With approximately one million visitors per year, we are committed to ensuring the highest standards of health, safety, and sustainability across all our sites.

As the Health, Safety & Sustainability Manager, you will play a pivotal role in leading and ensuring compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations. You will develop and implement strategies, programs, policies, and procedures to enhance collaboration, accountability, and responsibility within the workplace. This position is based at RBGE’s Edinburgh site and requires travel to our regional gardens in Dunoon, Port Logan, and Peebles.

Key responsibilities include providing strategic leadership to foster a positive health and safety culture using performance metrics, serving as the Subject Matter Expert in health, safety, and sustainability while managing a team and collaborating with Trade Union representatives, and ensuring compliance with legislation through the development of RBGE’s Health and Safety Management program. The role also involves investigating incidents and implementing corrective actions, overseeing fire safety and emergency preparedness, leading sustainability efforts such as waste reduction and energy efficiency, and managing carbon reporting, including utility billing reconciliation and annual carbon accounts.

We are looking for someone who has strong communication and interpersonal skills, excellent problem-solving abilities, and proficiency in safety management e-systems, proven track record in leading health, safety, and sustainability initiatives within a complex organisation and a strong understanding of health and safety legislation, environmental management practices, and sustainability initiatives. You should have a NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety or equivalent. An environmental management qualification (e.g., IEMA, ISO 14001 certification) is desirable. 

To apply please email recruitment@rbge.org.uk with:

• Your CV
• A covering letter outlining the skills, knowledge and experience you’d bring to the post
• An electronically completed equal opportunities questionnaire: available on our website

Closing date: midday (BST) on 12 June 2025

Interview date: w/c 23 June 2025

Recruitment information: A job description and person specification can be downloaded from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh website via the above 'Apply' button.

If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been shortlisted. No recruitment agencies please.

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