Independent Member, Safety Committee

The role of the Independent member is to provide the Safety Committee and the Movement with knowledge and experience for making key decisions. The role is pro bono, but reasonable expense will be paid in accordance with The Scout Association (TSA)’s Expenses Policy. The appointed candidate should expect to spend the equivalent of a day per quarter on The Scout Association’s work after the induction phase - this is based on preparation for and attendance at the scheduled Safety Committee meetings (four in each year, with the intention that two are held online and two face to face).

The Safety Committee reports directly to the Board of Trustees which has overall legal responsibility for TSA. The committee is Chaired by an external appointee who is a Trustee of the board. The safety committee comprises independent members with Health & Safety expertise across a range of sectors and members from the movement. The purpose of the committee is to hold to account those with responsibility for delivery of Health & Safety across Scouting.

Main responsibilities

The remit of the Committee is to support the Board of Trustees to fulfil its responsibilities in relation to Safety by: 

1.               providing vision and direction for consideration and endorsement by the Board (as required), by identifying and contributing to the development of safety policies, procedures and guidance; 

2.               ensuring that youth members, adult volunteers, parents and staff are engaged in contributing to the development of safety policies; 

3.               developing and overseeing a performance framework to ensure that safety policies, procedures and practice are monitored to provide assurance to the Board (relating to members, staff and service users) and use this management information to inform and drive improvements; monitoring the local and national implementation of safety policies and procedures to ensure practice is effective and consistently applied; 

4.               ensuring that appropriate connections are made with other areas of the Association’s work that may have an impact on safety (for example Adult Training by using incident data to highlight areas of success or concern); 

5.               ensuring that members receive appropriate support and communication to aid understanding of their responsibilities to enable Safe Scouting; 

6.               leading the process for Fatal Accident and/or Near Miss inquiries from commissioning through to completion; 

7.               reviewing and overseeing actions from inquiry reports (this should be in conjunction with the respective staff functions, particularly where there is specific policy, procedure and/or practice changes that need to be recommended for consideration by the Strategy and Delivery Committee and/or Board (as required); 

8.               identifying possible areas of development for the Association’s safety activities, taking into account relevant national agendas and learning from reviews whether this be external or internal to the Association. 

The person

Past or present membership of The Scout Association would be an advantage but is not an essential requirement.

What is essential is a commitment to the vision and values of Scouting and the ability to challenge the Association’s policies and practices positively.

We welcome applications from individuals with experience in a wide range of sectors, not just those from traditionally high-hazard industries. We are committed to diversity and actively seeking applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, in particular, Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.

Skills

Primary Technical Skills (Core)

1.     Competence: Experience of application of safety principles, regulations, and best practices within hazardous environments.

2.     Legal Compliance: Clear understanding of legal obligations related to health and safety in the workplace and how this translates across to Scouting to assure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

3.     Application of Health and Safety Regulations: Experience of applying health and safety regulations and standards to ensure compliance. This should be combined with an understanding and ability to identify relevant health and safety regulations and standards applicable to the volunteering sector.

4.     Risk Assessment and Audit and Assurance: Experience of identifying potential hazards, assessment, developing strategies to mitigate risk and audit and assurance in a work environment, including risk assessment methodologies and strategies.

Analytical Skills (Essential)

5.     Analytical Skills: Capacity to analyse data related to safety performance, incident reports, and trends to identify areas for improvement.

6.     Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to identify safety issues, evaluate alternative solutions, and implement effective corrective actions.

7.     Continuous Learning and Professional Development: Commitment to staying updated on industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in safety management.

Enabling Skills (Desirable)

8.     Management Skills: Experience of leading safety initiatives and managing safety teams to influence organisational safety culture to prioritise safety – demonstrating an understanding of business operations and aligning safety practices with organisational goals.

9.     Communication and Influencing Skills: Experience of effectively conveying safety protocols, policies, and procedures to employees to influence behaviour, management, and regulatory authorities, showing the ability to lead by example and inspire others to prioritise safety.

10.  Interpersonal Skills: Understands the need for building positive relationships with stakeholders, including volunteers and employees, management, regulatory agencies, and community members to improve safety culture.

Secondary Technical Skills (Desirable)

11.  Safety Training and Education: Experience of developing and or delivering effective safety training programmes to employees at all levels within an organization.

12.  Accident Investigation: Skill in investigating workplace accidents and incidents to determine root causes and prevent future occurrences.

13.  Emergency Preparedness and Response: Knowledge of emergency procedures and the ability to develop and implement emergency response plans.

Experience

• Experience of hazardous environments
• Experience of working in safety as a safety practitioner/holds a safety qualification
• Experience of leadership to achieve safety culture change within a complex organisation
• Expertise welcomed in mental health/wellbeing, human factors or occupational health
• Expertise welcomed in the application of strategic health protection principles (e.g. public health, food safety, and other health related safety issues)
• Experience from an activity-based sector (e.g. outdoor and adventurous activities) welcomed
• Experience of working or volunteering with charitable or youth organisations welcomed
• An understanding of governance structures and the role of boards and their sub-committees would be an advantage with experience of providing strategic advice and guidance at this level