Health & Safety Advisor

We’re a values-driven, charitable organisation on a mission to make a real difference in Sunderland. Every day, we provide more than 60,000 people with a place they’re proud to call home.

Our vision is clear: everyone deserves a good-quality home they can afford. We invest millions of pounds each year to keep our homes safe and decent, while also playing a part in tackling the UK housing crisis by building hundreds of modern, energy-efficient homes for rent right here in Sunderland.

If you share our passion for creating thriving communities and want to be part of something that truly matters, we’d love for you to join us and help achieve our vision.

If you have any accessibility needs or require adjustments, please let us know—we’re here to support you.

We may close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if we receive a large number of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.

Salary :

£44,969.00

Job Description:

Health and Safety Advisor

Make a real difference by helping colleagues work safely, confidently and well.

Job purpose

Are you passionate about creating safer, healthier workplaces and helping people confidently put health and safety into practice?

We’re looking for knowledgeable and approachable Health and Safety Advisors to join our Health, Safety, Risk and Assurance team.

You’ll provide practical advice, guidance and support to colleagues and managers across Gentoo, helping us meet our legal responsibilities and continually improve our health and safety performance. You’ll play an important role in promoting a positive safety culture where colleagues feel informed, supported and empowered to make good decisions.

This is a varied and visible role. You’ll work closely with teams across the organisation, visit our offices, depots and operational sites, and support the delivery of our wider health and safety strategy.

We believe in the power of collaboration and flexibility, so you can expect to spend time at our Sunderland office, across our operational locations and working flexibly where the role allows.

You’ll enjoy a 36-hour working week, Monday to Friday, with an early finish on Fridays and a great work-life balance.

We’re also proud to be Great Place to Work® certified and recognised as one of the UK’s Top 50 Best Workplaces™ 2026.

A full UK driving licence is required for this role.

What you’ll be doing

As one of our Health and Safety Advisors, you’ll:

Provide clear, practical health and safety advice to managers and colleagues across Gentoo.

Support the development and delivery of our health and safety strategy and management system.

Build strong relationships with operational teams, helping them manage risks and improve safety within their services.

Carry out audits, inspections, site visits and health and safety conversations, providing constructive advice and challenge where needed.

Support colleagues to complete effective risk assessments and put appropriate control measures in place.

Help identify emerging risks, trends and opportunities for improvement.

Support investigations into incidents and recommend practical actions to prevent them from happening again.

Develop and deliver engaging health and safety training, briefings and awareness sessions.

Work collaboratively with colleagues, contractors, trade union safety representatives and other stakeholders.

Promote positive health and safety behaviours through coaching, engagement and everyday conversations.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for candidates who can make health and safety clear, practical and relevant. You’ll be comfortable working with people at every level, offering support while also providing constructive challenge when needed.

Essential

You’ll need:

Strong knowledge of current health and safety legislation and recognised best practice.

A NEBOSH Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety Management.

A NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent qualification, or a willingness to work towards one.

Experience providing practical health and safety advice to operational teams.

Experience of audits, inspections, investigations and assurance activities.

Experience delivering health and safety training, inductions, briefings or engagement activities.

The ability to influence managers and colleagues and encourage positive safety behaviours.

Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify trends and develop practical solutions.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

The confidence to communicate complex health and safety matters clearly to different audiences.

A full UK driving licence.

The role requires knowledge of property-related safety matters, including gas, fire, asbestos, legionella and mechanical and electrical safety. An understanding of the relationship between workplace safety, landlord responsibilities, customer safety and consumer regulation will also be important.

Desirable

We’d also love you to have:

Experience working within social housing, property or another regulated environment.

Experience delivering face-fit testing or managing respiratory protective equipment programmes.

We may begin interviews before the closing date, so we encourage you to apply early.

We may close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if we receive sufficient applications.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.

Some of our great benefits include:

31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with an option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year.

Early finish on Fridays

Flexible and hybrid working.

Free Health Cash Plan, with cashback for dental, optical, physio, wellbeing therapies and more, with some free child cover.

Access to private healthcare through the Health Cash Plan.

Competitive Aviva pension scheme - Gentoo will contribute up to 10% based on your personal contribution.

Salary sacrifice electric vehicle scheme

Enhanced family-friendly leave

Car mileage allowance if you use your personal vehicle for business purposes.

Life assurance cover to the value of 3 times your annual salary