Senior Officer, Occupational Health and Safety
City : Ottawa
Category : Full time
Industry : Higher Education
Employer : University of Ottawa
Follow us on LinkedIn
Job Type:
EmployeeDuration in Months (for fixed-term jobs):
N/AJob Family:
Environmental Health and Safety# of Open Positions:
1Faculty/Service - Department:
Health, Safety & Risk Management, Faculty of ScienceCampus:
Main CampusUnion Affiliation:
SSUODate Posted:
May 08, 2025Applications must be received BEFORE:
May 19, 2025Hours per week:
35Salary Grade:
SSUO Grade 08Salary Range:
$64,865.00 - $81,935.00About the Faculty of Science:Welcome to the Faculty of Science, a great place to learn, to explore, to question, to discover — opening your mind and pushing boundaries. It’s an exciting time to be part of a rewarding career in life sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. You will have access to world-class facilities, including our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Complex, our extensive Biosciences Complex and our cutting-edge Advanced Research Complex, that are the envy of many universities. We have strong links with a multitude of government and private research centres, providing countless opportunities and experiences.
We have become a true centre of excellence, earning recognition across Canada and abroad for our prowess in teaching and in our laboratories, where our researchers are addressing some of the most important and relevant scientific questions of our time. Our past is a testimonial to our passion, so will be our future. Will you be part of it?
Position Purpose
Assures continued compliance with federal, provincial, municipal and university regulations, policies and guidelines governing health and safety, risk management, environmental management, hazardous-materials management and emergency planning. Performs periodic inspections within the faculty for related programs.
In this role, your responsibilities will include:
Assists the Manager with the implementation of the University’s occupational health, safety, and environmental management systems to assure compliance with federal, provincial and municipal regulations.
Maintains the Faculty emergency preparedness and response plan. Validates plan through collaborative testing methods and communicates to internal stakeholders.
Monitors the effective implementation of related policies, programs, procedures, and guidelines appropriate to the faculty operations and activities.
Identifies, assesses and recommends mitigation strategies for occupational health and safety risks. Assists in providing expert assistance and advice in resolving existing or potentially hazardous and/or non-compliant situations.
Maintains regular liaison with supervisors and principal investigators to ensure they have a good understanding of their accountabilities and responsibilities, and to ensure that concerns are addressed in an appropriate and timely manner.
Works in collaboration with OCRO and the Joint Health and Safety Committee. Compiles data and prepares trend reports on related programs (e.g., accidents and incidents, assists with workplace inspections, and assures timely follow-up of deficiencies).
What you will bring:
Post secondary education in Science, Engineering, Environmental Science or Health and Safety
2 Years’ experience working in a research laboratory environment
Professional certification (e.g., CRST) an asset
Experience in the interpretation of technical documents and standards, and their applicability in a specialized and complex research-based laboratory environment
Experience in implementing Risk Management, Environmental or Health and Safety programs
Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse population and foster a collaborative work environment
Excellent coordination and communication skills to effectively negotiate and appropriately influence the safety behavior of individual lab workers, principal investigators, and lab research groups
Ability to prioritize workload and work in a stressful environment
Ability to assist with lab scale chemical emergencies and spill remediation
Ability to lift and carry containers which may weigh up to 30 kg
Bilingualism (spoken and written)
#LI-Onsite
Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:
Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.
The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.
If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.
Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.