Health & Safety Advisor - Distillation

What makes this a great opportunity?

Health and Safety Advisor – Distillation

Our vision for health and safety across Scotland is to create a proactive safety culture that protects people, the environment and our assets, and goes beyond compliance. Our belief is that achieving safety success requires prioritising people. Our aim is to create an employee led, autonomous and integrated culture of excellence, with trust, engagement and continuous learning at its core.

Role Mission 

Reporting to the Senior Health and Safety Manager, the role holder will be accountable for the implementation of the safety strategy across five Scotch whisky distilleries and one London gin distillery. The Health and Safety Advisor will also support the Central Maturation and Packaging functions, as required.

The role holder will support the introduction and standardisation of best practice across UK sites, helping to create a centre of excellence and realise our ambition of becoming the most admired premium spirits company.

• You will be a key member of a dynamic and enthusiastic health and safety team, with an innovative and collaborative approach to safety management.
• As part of the Brand House structure, Scotch is a strategically important area for Suntory Global Spirits. With Suntory’s long term commitment and patient investment approach, the role holder will play a key part in shaping and strengthening our safety culture as the Scottish operation builds for the future.
• As part of a global organisation, the role holder will also be a member of the Global Health and Safety community, with opportunities to collaborate and share learning with industry leaders across the world.

Role Responsibilities

Key Success Criteria & Outcomes for this role:

• Partner with key operational leaders to ensure safety is fully integrated into all aspects of the business, using continuous improvement methodologies to reduce risk.
• Implement a comprehensive Health and Safety programme aligned with contemporary approaches to safety, with a strong focus on engagement and the development of a positive safety culture.
• Build the necessary skills and knowledge within the organisation to effectively identify, assess and manage health and safety risks
• Conduct regular audits and reviews of Health and Safety policies and procedures to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions where required.
• Develop and deliver practical, engaging Health and Safety training for employees and contractors.
• Act as the primary point of contact for Health and Safety matters, including liaison with external parties such as the fire service and the HSE.
• Support local management in the investigation, learning and resolution of Health and Safety events and incidents.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders, including employees, contractors and external partners.
• Improve communication of safety management system requirements, ensuring they are clearly understood and effectively implemented by operational teams.
• Coach, lead, encourage and support a dedicated and enthusiastic team of safety representatives, empowering them to act as safety champions and deliver tangible improvements across sites.
• Support, review and continuously improve workplace risk assessments, reducing the overall risk profile of the business through a strong focus on operational learning.
• Use the TRACC continuous improvement methodology to drive safety culture improvement, acting as the Health and Safety best practice lead.

Key Competencies and Leadership Attributes

Leadership Attributes

• Values and actively seeks diverse perspectives to inform decision‑making.
• Demonstrates strong coaching, facilitation and influencing skills.
• Adapts leadership style and personal behaviours to suit different situations and audiences.
• A resilient leader, able to operate effectively across different cultures and organisational contexts.
• A strong team player who builds effective partnerships and fosters a shared sense of purpose.

Suntory Leadership Spirit

The role is expected to role‑model the Suntory Leadership Spirit, including:

Better Together – working collaboratively across functions and sites.
Commitment to Growth – developing self, others and the organisation.
Future‑oriented – anticipating challenges and shaping sustainable solutions.
Gemba‑focused – staying connected to operational reality and learning from the workplace.
Yatte Minahare – demonstrating courage, ownership and a willingness to challenge the status quo.

Role‑Specific Competencies

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex issues clearly.
• Strategic thinking and planning capability, balanced with practical execution.
• Effective stakeholder management across operational, functional and leadership teams.
• Strong critical and logical thinking skills to support sound decision‑making.
• High attention to detail and strong organisational skills.
• Effective workload planning and prioritisation in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

Education

• Ideally educated to degree level, or with extensive relevant operational experience gained in complex, high hazard environments.

Professional Qualifications

• NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent.
• Chartered or Graduate membership of IOSH (CertIOSH or above).

Experience

• A minimum of three years’ experience in a Health and Safety role, preferably within a COMAH‑regulated or similarly high‑risk business.

Key Technical Competencies and Experience

• A strong understanding of contemporary, people‑centred approaches to health and safety, including Human and Organisational Performance (HOP), human factors and behavioural science.
• A sound understanding of process safety principles, with the ability to identify and improve controls for major accident hazards and support continuous improvement in process safety performance.
• Demonstrable experience of building trust and engagement to develop a proactive safety culture across multi‑site operations.
• A visible, approachable and inclusive style, with the credibility to influence at all levels of the organisation and work effectively alongside operational teams.
• Experience acting as a trusted advisor to line management, supporting practical decision making while maintaining high safety standards.
• Proven experience of managing relationships with regulatory and certification bodies, including audits, inspections and associated reporting (e.g. HSE, SEPA).
• Experience of working within a matrix organisation, balancing local site needs with central and global requirements.
• Comfortable challenging unsafe behaviours and decisions constructively, while supporting and coaching leaders to do the right thing.
• Strong experience of contractor management, including a practical working knowledge of CDM requirements.
• Experience operating in a highly regulated production environment, with a strong appreciation of operational realities and constraints.
• Familiarity with systems‑based, learning‑focused approaches to problem solving, with an emphasis on learning rather than blame.