HEALTH & SAFETY OFFICER 1

City of Toronto • Toronto, ON

6d • CA$89,337 - CA$132,880 • Onsite

About The Position

Parks and Recreation is one of the City of Toronto's most visible and impactful divisions, shaping the quality of life of millions of residents and visitors every year. As stewards of one of North America's largest and most diverse parks and recreation systems, we create inclusive spaces, experiences, and opportunities that strengthen communities, support health and well-being, advance environmental sustainability, and contribute to Toronto's social and economic prosperity. From vibrant community centres and recreation programs to parks, trails, sports fields, pools, and natural spaces, our work touches every neighbourhood across the city. We are committed to ensuring all residents have equitable access to high-quality public spaces and recreation opportunities that reflect the needs of a growing, diverse, and evolving city.
Join a purpose-driven team that helps keep one of Toronto's largest and most dynamic service divisions safe, healthy, and resilient. Within Parks and Recreation, the Health and Safety team provides leadership in occupational health and safety, workplace incident prevention, health and safety programs, policies, and safe work practices that support thousands of employees across diverse operations. As a Health & Safety Officer 1, you will partner with management and staff to advance a strong safety culture, provide expert guidance, and develop effective programs and solutions that reduce risk, prevent injury, and support health and safety excellence across the division.

Requirements

• Post-secondary education or certificate (e.g. Canadian Registered Safety Professionals Certification "CRSP" or Canadian Registered Safety Technician Examination “CRST”) in Occupational Health & Safety, or an equivalent combination of education and considerable professional experience.
• Considerable experience providing consultation, guidance and direction to management and staff regarding compliance, accountability, and best practices relevant to occupational health and safety in a social service unionized environment.
• Considerable experience in the development and delivery of health and safety programs and training, including conducting needs assessments.
• Experience conducting research and analysis, assessing compliance, preparing and implementing recommendations, and writing operational policy and guidelines consistent with relevant health & safety legislation.
• Knowledge of applicable legislation (Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, etc.), applicable collective agreements, HR policies & practices, etc.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to motivate, and provide work direction to staff, communicate effectively and resolve conflict with all levels of the organization, with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to exercise discretion and judgement and work independently while demonstrating a high degree of initiative and creativity.
• Excellent facilitation and relationship management skills and the ability to lead committees and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to prepare reports, recommendations, work plans, etc.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to conduct assessments and evaluations with the ability to make recommendations based on findings and research.
• Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple projects and competing priorities.
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity, equity and inclusion and contributing to an inclusive working environment.
• Ability to use M365 Office Suite (i.e., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and other software packages relevant to supporting the Division's core requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Possession of valid Ontario Class Driver's License and access to a motor vehicle, or another reliable means of transportation to travel within Toronto for business purposes, is considered an asset.

Responsibilities

• Provides management and staff working in the division with expert advice, guidance and consultation on matters related to health and safety.
• Responsible for implementing corporate health and safety initiatives, in the areas of occupational health and safety policies, procedures and programs, consistent with all relevant legislation.
• Participates in Ministry of Labour Inspections, investigations and reports in conjunction with the People & Equity’s Health and Safety Consultant and appropriate Joint Health & Safety Committee members.
• Ensures the division meets all Ministry of Labour compliance requirements within the mandated timeframes with People & Equity’s Health and Safety staff, provides recommendations on corrective actions to achieve continued compliance with applicable sections of health and safety legislation including work refusals, critical injury investigations, collective agreements and return to work programs.
• Prepares, maintains and submits up to date documentation, as required by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD).
• Develops and implements health and safety initiatives for all divisional work locations, through site-specific consultation with the appropriate joint health and safety representatives.
• Leads relevant divisional Working Groups and supports relevant corporate Working Groups; supports the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committees (JOHSC) as required.
• Develops and coordinates on behalf of the division the Terms of Reference for Multi-Workplace Joint Health and Safety Committee which is submitted to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD).
• Assists and supports divisional supervisors and managers in accident investigation and documentation to determine the root cause and support the development of preventative measures.
• Creates and facilitates regular communication for the division that outlines health and safety updates, strategies, trends, and successes.
• Creates, implements and maintains a compliance framework that ensures the division meets all health and safety obligations.
• Leads health and safety audits for all divisional direct service locations; reports findings and recommends improvements.
• Conduct job demand analysis and workplace assessments to identify the physical, cognitive, and environmental requirements of positions.
• Provide recommendations that support injury prevention, accommodation, return-to-work planning, and compliance with occupational health and safety standards.
• Initiates, builds and maintains relationships with internal and external partners to develop, facilitate and promote occupational health and safety.
• Designs, implements, maintains and evaluates performance related to health and safety initiatives.
• Analyze health and safety statistics, then prepare and present in-depth reports on this incident analysis for management and staff.
• Develops and maintains divisional policies and procedures related to health and safety.
• Develops workplace incident/injury reporting, investigating and return to work standards for the division.
• Identifies and analyzes health and safety training needs and, through leadership and consultation, develops, designs and delivers training and education programs to meet divisional, organizational and legislative requirements.
• Develops and implements detailed plans and recommends policies/procedures regarding program specific requirements.
• Conducts research into assigned areas ensuring that such research considers developments within the field, corporate policies and practices, legislation and initiatives by other levels of government.
• Provides input into and administers assigned budget, ensuring that expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget limitations.
• Provide information and support in relation to ergonomic workspaces and adaptive equipment in partnership with the Corporate Ergonomic Unit.

Benefits

• The City is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to creating a workplace culture of inclusiveness that reflects the diverse residents that we serve.
• The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
• Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs.
• Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree