Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing

About East Midlands Railway (EMR)

We are proud to be One Team at East Midlands Railway (EMR). We are passionate about keeping people safe, delighting our customers and doing the right thing. With over 2,600 employees, our people are the reason we are so successful, and our Occupational Health and Wellbeing Team make a crucial contribution to this. Ten times accredited as a Top Employer, we value our people and are dedicated to making sure that everybody feels empowered to bring their authentic self to work.

At EMR we want to proactively embrace diversity across our workforce and recognise that we are under-represented in terms of ethnic minority groups. We’re therefore taking positive steps to promote a positive and inclusive culture; we welcome applications from those that identify with these groups to better represent our communities.

At EMR, we keep people safe by providing a healthy working environment where our 2,600 employees can thrive. Our commitment to physical, mental and social wellbeing underpins everything we do. To support this vision, we are looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing to lead our strategy and services.

As our Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing, you will lead the development and delivery of a modern, evidence-based strategy that promotes, maintains and improves the health and wellbeing of our workforce. You will ensure our services meet regulatory requirements, clinical governance standards and industry best practice, while maximising workforce availability and resilience.

This is a pivotal leadership role with influence across the business, working closely with senior stakeholders, clinical specialists and third-party partners to shape a proactive, high-quality health and wellbeing offer.

This role is based at our brand-new Occupational Health and Wellbeing centre on Pride Park in Derby.

Responsibilities of the Role

• Lead and develop the Occupational Health & Wellbeing department, working with clinical leads to deliver high-quality, timely services that meet regulatory, governance and clinical standards. Ensure effective performance management, appraisal and training across the team.
• Collaborate with Heads of Service Delivery, Safety and HR to enhance and adapt our wellbeing and occupational health services to support organisational priorities. This includes sickness absence, medically restricted workers, driver licensing and other safety-critical standards, regulatory needs, and responses to National Agendas. Oversee the planning, implementation and evaluation of related programmes and initiatives.
• Provide expert occupational health advice to the organisation, ensuring the business is fully informed of changes to statutory or advisory requirements that may impact compliance or operations. Work with internal colleagues and suppliers to maintain robust compliance.
• Maintain and elevate service quality, including developing and managing audit processes and quality monitoring systems to achieve and retain SEQOHS (or equivalent) accreditation.
• Manage departmental budgets, ensuring strong financial control, alignment with company processes and efficient use of resources. Balance high-quality service delivery with value for money.
• Oversee third-party occupational health providers, including medical officers, physiotherapy services, Drug & Alcohol testing partners and Employee Assistance Programme suppliers. Support procurement, contract management and ongoing service delivery to ensure quality and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensure all health and wellbeing services are evidence-based, supported by accurate and timely management information, collected and processed in line with GDPR.
• Engage with RSSB and relevant industry working groups, contributing to research, policy development and shared best practice across the sector.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree-level qualification, ideally in Occupational Health (preferred but not essential), with the ability to interpret complex information and make informed decisions.
• Significant occupational health management experience, including leadership of multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong people-management skills, with the ability to motivate, set direction and deliver results through others.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of explaining complex or sensitive matters to diverse audiences including clinicians, regulators, trade unions, senior leaders and employees.
• Up-to-date knowledge of relevant quality standards, particularly SEQOHS.
• Strong IT skills, including proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and standard business applications.
• Proven negotiation and third-party contract management experience.
• Confidence in representing and influencing on behalf of the organisation at all levels, both internally and externally.

What We Offer

• An excellent defined benefit pension scheme
• 32 days’ holiday per year, rising to 34 after 2 years
• Flexible working hours
• Free First-Class duty travel on the EMR network
• Free First-Class leisure travel on the EMR network and Train Operating Companies under Transport UK & LNER
• 75% discount on national leisure travel (inc partner and dependants)
• Friends and Family discounted tickets on the EMR network
• Various training opportunities
• Employee benefits portal with access to generous discounts, Cycle 2 Work Scheme …and many more!

To apply complete the online application and upload your CV. As we operate a blind screening process, please remove all personal information including your name from your CV.

Interviews will provisionally be held in the w/c 13th July 2026.