Health, Safety and Disability Management Advisor

Health, Safety and Disability Management Advisor
Municipality of North Cowichan

The Municipality of North Cowichan (population 31,900) is located in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Southern Vancouver Island, between Nanaimo and Victoria. Our communities of Chemainus, Crofton, Maple Bay and the South End are home to a multitude of artistic, cultural and outdoor recreational activities. The Municipality provides a stable and varied work environment, competitive pay and benefits.

We are seeking a collaborative and results-oriented health and safety professional who is passionate about creating safe, healthy workplaces and delivering meaningful support to employees throughout their recovery and return-to-work journey. This is an exciting opportunity to take a lead role in shaping and advancing health and safety practices across the Municipality, supporting a diverse workforce that includes Public Works, Utilities, Parks, Recreation, Facilities, Fire Rescue, Municipal Hall, and municipal employees working within the RCMP Detachment. If you are a proactive and self-motivated professional who enjoys influencing positive organizational outcomes, building strong relationships, and making a tangible difference, we look forward to receiving your application.

Reporting to the Director, People and Culture, this position provides organization-wide leadership in the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Municipality's health and safety, disability management, and return-to-work programs. As the Municipality's subject matter expert in occupational health and safety legislation, regulatory compliance, policies, procedures, and best practices, the incumbent will provide trusted advice and guidance to leaders, employees, Joint Health and Safety Committees, and People and Culture colleagues.

Working in close partnership with the HR Advisor team, the successful candidate will champion a culture of safety, wellness, prevention, and early intervention across all departments while supporting compliant, timely, and compassionate disability management and return-to-work outcomes. Through strong collaboration, sound judgement, and a people-centered approach, the incumbent will help ensure employees receive the support they need while advancing organizational health, safety, and operational excellence.

Core responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leading disability management cases from initial absence through return to work, including reviewing medical information (including functional abilities and restrictions), developing and monitoring accommodation and return-to-work plans, and working with employees, managers, unions, health care providers, and disability benefit providers.
• Fostering, leading, and promoting a safe work environment, ensuring the effective implementation of occupational health and safety programs within the People and Culture team and in partnership with the management team, including but not limited to:
• Providing direction and advice to all levels of management
• Communicating changes and ensures new guidelines are implemented and understood by all relevant parties.
• Taking a lead role in internal occupational health and safety reviews and audits, and leading change management to enhance a safety-first culture.
• Investigating and reporting workplace incidents and/or health and safety issues. Preparing submissions and responses to WorkSafeBC orders or requests for compliance.
• Employee health and safety, and the development of appropriate training, records management and programs to support employee safety;
• Compliance with WorkSafeBC legislation, regulations and guidelines;
• Development, review and implementation of occupational health and safety policies, procedures and practices as necessary to ensure consistent corporate applications and best practices; and
• Management of joint occupational health and safety committees.
• Acting as the Municipality's primary contact and representative with case managers, rehabilitation specialists, and other representatives of the Workers Compensation Board (WorkSafe BC) while coordinating claims management and rehabilitation services; including leading or responding to WorkSafeBC claim reviews and appeals.
• Effectively communicating with employees, managers, union representatives, and external contacts in a manner that builds trust, credibility and rapport.
• Proactively collaborating with colleagues within the People and Culture department.
• Developing and managing the corporate records management system for safety related training, incident investigations, and disability management to identify trends and make recommendations to improve safety performance. This includes managing, maintaining, and reporting on key metrics.
• Building relationships with municipal, public sector and private sector health and safety specialists to further knowledge of best practices, participating with relevant committees and associations such as the BC Municipal Safety Association, and sitting on the SVIARS board representing the municipality.
• Supporting activation of the municipal Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in emergency situations. This position may be called upon and assigned a role and/or tasks to support the EOC.
• Performing other related duties as directed.

Required Skills, Qualifications and Abilities:

• The successful candidate should possess a degree/diploma in Human Resources with a focus on Disability Management or Occupational Health and Safety with demonstrated Human Resources experience plus three (3) years of related experience in a local or regional government setting; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• A minimum of three (3) years of progressively more responsible occupational and non-occupational Disability Management experience, preferably in a complex, multi-union environment, supplemented with a solid comprehension of OH&S or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Maintenance of a designation or membership such as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP), Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST), Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP), or other similar designation or membership.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external contacts under circumstances that may be highly sensitive and adversarial; expert relationship building skills; excellent critical thinking and decision-making skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to provide leadership skills to recommend and implement change are essential.
• Knowledge of case management principles, WorkSafe BC regulations and claims adjudication processes, BC Human Rights Code, and industry best practices.
• Proven ability to think analytically and provide advice in alignment with applicable legislation, case law, collective agreements, employer policies and benefit programs.
• Proficiency in using software applications such as spreadsheet, database management, presentation and word processing programs.

A competitive salary and comprehensive benefit package is offered. This position is excluded from union membership.

The Municipality supports employee training and development opportunities. Upon approval, and under the employer's current policy, fees covered may include tuition, registration, and other applicable fees related to the training. The Municipality also supports reimbursement for professional fees that are directly related to the position, such as professional designation or membership fees.

The position may participate in the Remote Work Policy, subject to approvals in accordance with the policy.

Candidates being considered will be required to undergo a comprehensive evaluation of skills, qualifications and abilities. The successful candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a police information check and/or an enhanced reliability security clearance as a condition of employment, which may include a vulnerable sector check and a comprehensive criminal record check.

To Apply:
Visit the Municipality of North Cowichan Career Portal at to apply for this position.

Please note that all candidates must apply via the Career Portal; we do not accept resumes via email or hard copy.

Application Deadline:
4:30 p.m. Friday, October 2, 2026

For more information, or to apply now, you must go to the website below. Please DO NOT email your resume to us as we only accept applications through our website.