Darklab Work Health and Safety Manager

Darklab is looking for a Work Health and Safety Manager to be part of their core executive team. The executive team supports the wider Darklab team on a year-round program of creative and operational activity, spanning our growing hospitality and venues precinct, art projects, and other core business operations. Each June, our team scales up significantly to deliver the Dark Mofo festival, which brings together hundreds of employees and a vast program of art, performance, music, and large-scale public events - sometimes high-risk, but always interesting and unique.

This role will work closely with all areas of the organisation to enable ambitious and sometimes unconventional work to be delivered safely. This includes close collaboration with the CEO and Creative Director, the Artistic Director, and the Marketing and Business Director as part of the executive team.

We’re looking for a skilled Health and Safety Lead to help us build and sustain a strong culture of safety and wellbeing. The role involves providing sound technical advice and imaginative, practical solutions; developing safety management systems; creating training resources; and supporting auditing across all business areas, both during steady operations and in the fast-paced, high-risk environment of festival season.

**The Gig**:

- Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of a newly developed Safety Management System (SMS) across all Darklab operations, including festivals, theatres, and hospitality venues.
- Work hands-on and independently, reporting to the Creative Director and CEO, while collaborating closely with the executive team and Mona’s WHS function.
- Develop and embed practical safety procedures and tools in consultation with creative, production, and operational teams.
- Deliver tailored WHS training and inductions for diverse worker groups, including artists, hospitality staff, and technical crew.
- Support and guide risk assessments, especially for high-risk and unconventional activities or installations.
- Manage incident response and reporting, ensuring thorough investigations and implementing improvement measures.
- Conduct audits and inspections to monitor compliance with SMS and WHS legislation.
- Engage effectively with internal teams, contractors, and artists to champion a strong, practical safety culture.
- Influence and empower managers and teams to take ownership of WHS through strong communication and collaboration.

**The you**:
- Tertiary qualifications in WHS or a related discipline (preferred minimum requirement - Diploma)- Professional certification (AIHS certified professional preferred)- Minimum 10 years’ experience in a senior WHS advisory or management role.- Demonstrated success implementing and embedding a Safety Management System.- Experience working in high-risk, complex, and non-traditional environments (e.g., live events, construction, arts).- Contemporary knowledge of relevant legislative and compliance requirements, with the ability to research and upskill to address knowledge gaps- Outstanding interpersonal and influencing skills, particularly in environments with a high-risk tolerance.- The ability to clearly communicate complex concepts in a simple way- Experience in designing and delivering training is a bonus.- Familiarity with psychosocial hazard management and inclusive consultation practices.- Have an engaging and people-focused approach who builds relationships and credibility- Demonstrated experience in:

- Performing risk assessments, physical and psychosocial hazard identification, and management.
- Leading incident investigations and debriefing.
- Providing practical Health and Safety advice that can be easily understood and acted upon.
- Creating simple and effective user-focused documentation.
- The use of Safety Management Systems and in producing data to contribute to effective reporting.- Willing and able to traverse different physical landscapes indoors and outdoors and withstand limited exposure to noise and strobing lights (e.g. music concerts, art installations).
- Current drivers licence

This is an ongoing permanent full-time role (38 hours per week). While we understand the desire for flexibility at work, this role is primarily hands-on and practical, and therefore will require you to be primarily onsite to collaborate with the teams on the ground.

Does this sound like you? Then we'd love to get to know you. Please submit your CV and answer the screening questions specifically outlining why you'd be a great fit for this role.