Come work as an Occupational Health & Safety Advisor with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

Reporting to the Manager, Safety and Prevention, the Occupational Health & Safety Advisor acts as a resource providing consultation, research and support on Health & Safety issues for the Workplace Health Team and for managers, supervisors and staff. Responsible for collaborating with other Occupational Health & Safety Advisors in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of an authority wide Safety program. Promotes a safety culture to eliminate occupational injuries and illness.

The Occupational Health & Safety Advisor is dedicated to support Medical Residents at VCH. This is a critical role that ensures the health, safety and well-being of over 1,500 residents annually. This specialized Advisor acts as a necessary liaison between the People Safety team and Medical Residents throughout the province by managing workplace incidents and ensuring compliance with WorkSafe BC regulations. 

As an Occupational Health & Safety Advisor with Vancouver Coastal Health you will:

• Build and test workflows and processes.
• Support fit testing, investigation and other work as assigned.
• Engage staff, managers and senior leaders in the analysis of staff safety data and support them in the development of action plans to address issues.
• Prevent and reduce the occurrence of workplace injuries by supporting effective investigation of accidents/injuries, and providing analysis and interpretation of unusual conditions/safety concerns and recommendations to prevent future occurrences (education, discipline, etc).
• Participate on the entity management team as the safety champion providing updates regarding the corporate safety program, performance at the local level and consistently promote the belief that health and safety results in quality and safe patient care and improved organizational performance.
• Monitor performance regarding compliance with the VCH safety program and provide reports and recommendations to area Chief Operating Officer and senior leaders regarding their entities achievement of safety standards (incidents, inspections, WSBC orders, etc.)
• Review safety reports and achievement of indicators with entity managers, and in areas where concerns are identified, assist managers to develop action plans to address those issues.
• Ensure ongoing active manager and staff involvement in the maintenance and development of safety systems in their areas and in collaboration with Joint OH&S Committee, managers, directors and executives, develop the local response to VCH safety climate surveys.
• Represent VCH’s interests in dealing with regulatory agencies such as Worksafe BC and liaises with area specific WSBC officers.
• Promote safety awareness through on-going education and training throughout the health authority including work site inspections and accident investigations to enable staff to safely carry out their responsibilities.
• Provide input into the development of VCH-wide OH&S policies and programs to support the achievement of organizational safety and wellness goals and develop procedures based on these policies and programs that meet the requirements and logistics of the local areas serviced.
• Develop programs in collaboration with key stakeholders that focus on prevention to eliminate or effectively control risks identified in the health care setting in accordance with regulations.
• Advise the local joint occupational Health and Safety committees, and assist them to fulfill their role as determined under the Workers Compensation Act and Regulations.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

Graduation from a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Health & Safety, or related field, from a recognized institution plus five (5) years’ professional Occupational Health & Safety experience in a unionized healthcare environment, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Knowledge & Abilities

Skills:
• facilitation
• education and training
• verbal and written communication and engagement
• systems thinking
• influence
• current computer literacy in Excel, Power Point, Word
Knowledge:
• applicable legislation and regulations
• workplace health
• hazardous materials
• Canadian Radiation Safety
• WSBC claims process

As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

Why Join Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH):

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and 'going first' when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers and Canada's Top Employers for Young People in 2025.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for this posting.


***Employees of VCH must apply online via the Internal Career Portal on CareerHub, you are currently viewing the External Career Portal. Refer to the https://my.vch.ca/working-here/job-postings site for instructions on how to view internal job postings and how to apply as an employee. Current VCH employees who apply to this posting using this external site will be considered as an external candidate. Seniority will not apply.***

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.