Head of Workplace Health and Safety
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What you'll do
- Setting and delivering the Group WHS strategy across the University and its Controlled Entities, strengthening safety culture and enabling continuous improvement.
- Ensuring due diligence and compliance with the NSW WHS Act, Regulations and Codes of Practice.
- Guiding and developing a team of eight WHS, injury management, emergency management and hazardous materials specialists.
- Owning the University's WHS framework (policies, procedures, training, systems, reporting and performance management) to protect physical and psychological health and safety.
- Delivering complex, cross-functional WHS programs and projects, managing scope, risk and stakeholder alignment.
- Managing the WHS operating budget.
- Advising senior leaders on WHS and rehabilitation matters, balancing better-practice approaches with statutory obligations and operational realities.
- Overseeing injury management, workers compensation, return to work and early intervention, including external provider relationships, to improve outcomes and reduce harm and cost.
- Overseeing WHS consultation and governance and translating WHS analytics into clear reporting for University Council, committees and boards.
- Managing regulator engagement and reporting (for example SafeWork NSW), and required registrations and permits with CASA, the ATO and the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
What they're looking for
- Relevant tertiary qualifications or equivalent WHS credentials, together with extensive WHS experience.
- Current, practical knowledge of WHS legislation, regulations, codes and standards.
- Demonstrated WHS leadership in higher education, research, health or science.
- Senior experience overseeing a WHS function in a large, complex organisation, including embedding better-practice safety culture and a mature safety management system that addresses both physical and psychosocial risk.
- Proven results improving safety culture through effective governance, systems, controls and assurance.
- Capability to build and scale a high-performing WHS team and portfolio, balancing high-volume delivery with competing demands.
- Highly developed change leadership, influencing and consultation skills, with experience delivering organisation-wide safety transformation and aligning stakeholders with competing priorities.
- A Senior First Aid Certificate is required for this role.
Summarised by NextRaise from the employer’s description, which follows in full below.
Full description from employer
- Salary up to $185,000 plus 17% superannuation
- Full-time continuing role (HEW Level 10, Band 1)
- Macquarie University, Wallumattagal Campus, North Ryde
A rare breadth of WHS: research, health, science and higher education on a single campus
Macquarie University is looking for an experienced work health and safety professional to lead our central WHS function. As Head of Workplace Health and Safety, you will guide the framework, systems and team that keep more than 10,000 staff, students, contractors and visitors physically and psychologically safe across a busy campus that includes research laboratories, teaching spaces, hospital and health facilities, commercial entities and outdoor operations.
This is a genuinely broad portfolio. You will set the WHS strategy for the University and its Controlled Entities, oversee injury management and workers compensation, act as the trusted adviser to senior leaders on complex safety matters, and translate WHS performance data into clear reporting for University Council, committees and boards. It is a role where governance rigour and practical, people-centred judgement matter in equal measure.
Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer and working within the Group Risk portfolio, you will join a team that is trusted, well supported and closely connected to executive decision-making. If you enjoy improving systems, developing capable teams and seeing the real-world results of a mature safety culture, this is an opportunity to make a visible contribution at scale.
About the Role
Working as part of the Group Risk portfolio within the Office of the Vice-President, Finance and Resources, you will oversee the University's WHS Program, Injury Management and Return to Work Program, and workers compensation insurance and claims management.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Setting and delivering the Group WHS strategy across the University and its Controlled Entities, strengthening safety culture and enabling continuous improvement.
- Ensuring due diligence and compliance with the NSW WHS Act, Regulations and Codes of Practice.
- Guiding and developing a team of eight WHS, injury management, emergency management and hazardous materials specialists.
- Owning the University's WHS framework (policies, procedures, training, systems, reporting and performance management) to protect physical and psychological health and safety.
- Delivering complex, cross-functional WHS programs and projects, managing scope, risk and stakeholder alignment.
- Managing the WHS operating budget.
- Advising senior leaders on WHS and rehabilitation matters, balancing better-practice approaches with statutory obligations and operational realities.
- Overseeing injury management, workers compensation, return to work and early intervention, including external provider relationships, to improve outcomes and reduce harm and cost.
- Overseeing WHS consultation and governance and translating WHS analytics into clear reporting for University Council, committees and boards.
- Managing regulator engagement and reporting (for example SafeWork NSW), and required registrations and permits with CASA, the ATO and the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Please note that work hours may vary from time to time to accommodate business needs, such as after-hours incident response or notification of regulators.
About Us
Macquarie University is a place of vibrant and connected communities, where new ideas are welcomed and where people are encouraged to see things differently. Ranked among Australia's leading universities for research and teaching, we sit on a single, park-like campus in Sydney's north that brings together researchers, students, health services, commercial partners and a thriving precinct.
The Vice-President, Finance and Resources portfolio provides executive oversight of central functions including Finance, Procurement, Property, Group Risk, and the U@MQ and MQSL controlled entities. Within that portfolio, the Group Risk portfolio helps the University and its entities achieve their goals through risk mitigation strategies that respond to rapid change in the higher education sector and the wider statutory environment. Its remit spans risk strategy, enterprise and operational risk, business integrity and travel risk, emergency and crisis management, business continuity and resilience, general insurance and claims management, work health and safety, and injury management and workers compensation.
About You (Selection Criteria)
You are a senior WHS practitioner who has built and sustained mature safety management systems in large, complex organisations. You combine current technical knowledge with the credibility to influence executives and the interpersonal skills to bring diverse stakeholder groups with you. You are comfortable moving between governance and reporting, high-volume operational delivery and hands-on advice, and you take real satisfaction in helping people get home safely and return to work well.
- Relevant tertiary qualifications or equivalent WHS credentials, together with extensive WHS experience.
- Current, practical knowledge of WHS legislation, regulations, codes and standards.
- Demonstrated WHS leadership in higher education, research, health or science.
- Senior experience overseeing a WHS function in a large, complex organisation, including embedding better-practice safety culture and a mature safety management system that addresses both physical and psychosocial risk.
- Proven results improving safety culture through effective governance, systems, controls and assurance.
- Capability to build and scale a high-performing WHS team and portfolio, balancing high-volume delivery with competing demands.
- Highly developed change leadership, influencing and consultation skills, with experience delivering organisation-wide safety transformation and aligning stakeholders with competing priorities.
A Senior First Aid Certificate is required for this role.
How to Apply
To be considered, please apply online with your CV and a cover letter outlining how your experience aligns with the selection criteria (above).
Applications Close: 11 October 2026
We reserve the right to progress or decline an application prior to the application closing date.
For enquiries, or a confidential conversation about the role please contact Kylie McKiernan, Chief Risk Officer at kylie.mckiernan@mq.edu.au or Sarah Bate, Head of Talent Acquisition at sarah.bate@mq.edu.au
Why Join Us?
Macquarie is a university engaged with the real and often complex problems and opportunities that define our lives. Since our foundation over 60 years ago, we have aspired to be a different type of university. Over the years, we have grown to become the centre of a vibrant local and global community. Connect with us today.
We rank amongst the top employers in the Australian Workplace Employers Index. Explore the fantastic benefits available to you when you become part of the team at Macquarie University.
- Flexible, hybrid work arrangements
- 17% Superannuation
- Subsidised onsite parking options
- Extensive training and professional development programs
- Onsite childcare facilities to support working parents
- Onsite vacation care during school holidays
- Discounted health insurance
- Subsidised membership at our Sport & Aquatic Centre
- Access to an Employee Assistance Program for free and confidential support
- Convenient onsite GP, imaging, and physiotherapy clinics
Pre-Employment Checks
Macquarie University cultivates a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity. Prior to completion of an offer of employment, preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for.
Your employment is conditional upon the completion and maintenance of all role-required pre-employment or background checks in terms satisfactory to the University.
If you're already part of the Macquarie Group (MQ University, U@MQ, MQ Health, MGSM), you'll need to apply through your employee Workday account. To apply for this job: Login to Workday and go to the Careers App > Find Jobs.
Applications Close:
11/10/2026 11:59 PM
A Place Where You Belong
At Macquarie, we believe diversity makes us stronger, inclusion drives our success, and belonging inspires us to do our best work. We are proud to foster a community where different backgrounds, identities, and experiences are valued, and where our people are empowered to thrive through supportive leadership, shared responsibility, and a deep commitment to genuine care and respect for our community. Find out more about our vision for a truly inclusive workplace in our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Framework.
Flexible Work
At Macquarie, we believe by providing flexibility in when, where and how work is done, we can support our staff to manage their personal commitments, while optimising their work performance and contributions to the University. See how we lead in flexible work to enable an outcome focused and inclusive workplace. To learn more about our culture and hiring process, visit our Jobs at Macquarie page.
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