The Department of Justice and Community Safety in Victoria is seeking a Principal Lead, Safety to provide a critical role within Safety, Wellbeing and Compliance.

Reporting to the Senior Director, the Principal Lead Safety is solely accountable for leading the Safety function across the department. This role is dedicated exclusively to safety, with a clear mandate to guide the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the department's safety strategy.

You will provide high-level strategic advice to ensure that safety is embedded as a core value and fully aligned with departmental objectives. As both a strategic and hands-on leader, you will proactively coach and mentor leaders and employees to strengthen their understanding, ownership, and engagement in all aspects of safety—physical and psychosocial. Your focus will be on identifying and controlling workplace risks through a preventative and informed safety culture.

This position calls for a seasoned safety leader with deep expertise in health and safety regulations, particularly within complex and high-risk environments. With a sole focus on safety, this role will drive meaningful cultural change, elevate psychological and physical safety standards, and foster continuous improvement to embed a safety-first mindset throughout the department.

A relocation allowance is available to eligible candidates.

Some of your duties will include:

Lead high level discussions with internal and external stakeholders to improve safety performance outcomes through proactive risk management, targeted safety initiatives, and the promotion of a strong safety culture which will ultimately contribute to a reduction in workplace incidents and a measurable decrease in workers compensation claims and premium.

Provide authoritative advice to ensure that Safety operations and programs are guided and informed by best practice standards.

Pro-actively work collaboratively with the broader Safety, Wellbeing and Compliance team members to operationalise the departments Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will have:

Comprehensive expert knowledge, understanding and experience in the application of OHS legislation, codes of practice and regulations and the Dangerous Goods and Hazardous Substances legislation and regulations.

Extensive industry experience in occupational health and safety management systems.

Demonstrated experience in the identification OHS risks and developing, implementing and evaluating preventative strategies.

Demonstrated experience in consulting with managers and staff to provide key outcomes in health and safety, change management and related workplace improvement initiatives.

Demonstrated experience in contributing to cultural change in health, safety, and wellbeing.

Highly developed communication skills with the ability to influence and lead.

Significant people management experience in strategic safety leadership roles.

Demonstrated success operationalising safety strategies in large, complex, high risk businesses.

Composure, resilience, sound judgement and the ability to navigate organisational complexity.

Qualifications/requirements

A suitably qualified person, with a degree in occupational/workplace health and safety is highly desirable.

A full and current driver's license is required due to the need to work across different locations.