HR Officer - Safety (Central ON)
Overview
Reporting to the Manager of Health, Safety and Wellness, the HR Officer – Safety’s role is to provide in-person day to day oversight of the safety and wellness program in Central Ontario. This is accomplished through consultative guidance on Health and Safety compliance issues including, inspection, investigation, hazard identification, hazard assessment and risk mitigation with respect to chemical use, laboratories and related activities: e.g. biohazards, hazardous waste management, machine guarding, and fire safety. The HR Officer – Safety is expected to liaise with various governmental agencies and assist all levels of Lakehead personnel with operational implementation of policy and procedure to ensure that all campus activities are in compliance with the established laws, acts, regulations and standards.
Responsibilities
- Support safety program with administrative, regulatory liaison and compliance; including
- Institutional responsibilities – audit and compliance, and incident reporting
- Central ON Campus responsibilities – biosafety governance, regulatory interface, management and committee leadership, fire safety and code adherence, advanced advisory, localized standards maintenance, operational safety management, investigations and incident response, local regulatory liaison, hazardous materials oversight.
- Lead training and program administration including both institutional and local campus responsibilities:
- Institutional responsibilities – training site administration, records management, requirements mapping, training outreach.
- Central ON Campus responsibilities – training coordination, curriculum coordination, strategic outreach, site specific resource maintenance.
- Support physical inspections and technical support.
- Institutional responsibilities – records integrity compliance and inventory systems technical support.
- Central ON Campus responsibilities – regulatory compliance framework, technical auditing, routine inspection, JHSC inspections, fire hazard mitigation, committee coordination and technical expertise, incident investigation and maintain hazard notification systems.
- Lead emergency preparedness and incident response.
- Institutional responsibilities – regulatory incident reporting, corrective action management.
- Central ON Campus responsibilities – Incident management and administrative support, emergency procedure architecture, specialized incident response, fire safety logistics and readiness and on-site emergency planning.
- Support accommodation and ergonomic needs including medical accommodation administration, ergonomic evaluations, technical resource distribution, and functional workplace advisement.
Qualifications
- A university degree in Science, Engineering
- At least 3 years in safety within an academic or public sector environment, plus practical lab experience.
- Detailed knowledge of the OHSA, Ontario Fire Code; advanced computing skills; and the ability to resolve disputes and negotiate solutions to complex problems.
- Risk assessment and mitigation, root cause analysis skills/training are required.
- Detailed knowledge of a wide variety of regulations including Human Pathogens and Toxins Act, Occupational Health & Safety Act, Ontario Fire Code, WHMIS regulations and all other related regulations are essential to perform duties adequately.
- Excellent communication skills are required to provide accurate advice on health and safety matters at all levels of the organization.
- Acuity to prioritize health and safety hazards to aid in their resolution.
Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. This is in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements.
Lakehead University has a goal to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as measured by increasing representation of underrepresented groups among applicants, candidates, and hires. Experience working with Indigenous or racialized communities, and/or members of other equity-deserving groups, is a strong asset. A lived experience or worked experience of any of these issues is preferred.
We appreciate your interest; Lakehead University is committed to supporting an accessible environment. Applicants requiring accommodation during the interview process should contact the Office of Human Resources at (807) 343-8010 ext. 8334 or human.resources@lakeheadu.ca to make appropriate arrangements.