Overview
The Head, Health and Safety Branch leads and oversees the OPCW’s occupational health and safety function, responsible for the identification, prevention, and mitigation of health and safety risks and implementation of safeguards for OPCW personnel.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the development of Occupation Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy.
- Develop and implement medical, occupational HS, mental health and psychosocial risk management policies and standards.
- Establish organisational psychosocial risk framework.
- Manage pre-employment, routine, and exit medical and psychological screenings.
- Lead and implement medical programmes for staff exposed to hazardous environments or chemical risks.
- Analyse HS data to identify priority areas and provide strategic advice to senior management.
- Offer guidance on emerging occupational health and safety risks.
- Lead HS preventive health programmes.
- Lead and review the occupational HS risk assessment framework.
- Strengthen the availability of HS information and expertise.
- Provide strategic leadership and supervisory oversight of HSB.
- Advise on occupational health cases.
- Design reports and regularly present findings and observations to senior management.
- Draft memorandums on sensitive staff cases.
- Identify policy and procedural gaps and lead the development of guidance documentation and revisions.
- Develop the OPCW’s HS budget and monitor its effective implementation.
- Provide HS guidance to deployed staff.
- Set HS standards for inspections.
- Conduct mission-specific medical and psychological risk assessments.
- Develop critical incident management protocol.
- Liaise closely with the relevant Divisions.
- Advise the Inspectorate Division.
- Supplement the clinical services of the medical section.
- Provide medical consultation and confidential counselling to staff.
Required Experience
- Minimum 10 years of progressive clinical experience, with background in family medicine and/or occupational health with advanced degree.
- Demonstrated management experience in leading and resolving complex occupational health and safety cases within a multi-cultural organisation.
- Proven experience in designing reports, identifying trends and presenting solutions to management.
- Desirable: Experience in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) medicine and/or occupational medicine in the chemical industry.
- Desirable: Knowledge or experience with the Dutch healthcare system.
- Desirable: International experience or experience within a military environment.
- Desirable: International experience with UN or other INGOs.
- Desirable: Field knowledge and previous deployment on highly sensitive or critical missions.
- Desirable: Familiarity with medical software.
Qualifications
- An advanced university level degree in medicine with current registration as a registered medical practitioner.
- Postgraduate qualification in occupational health.
- A first level university degree in combination with qualifying experience (Minimum 12 years) may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Desirable: Advanced training in Mass Casualty Management or in the field of chemical weapons.
