Occupational Health Nurse Advisor - Force Contact - 12-Month Secondment/FTC
Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.
About the Role
We are seeking an Occupational Health Nurse Advisor to join our great in-house Occupational Health and Wellbeing team. It is a great opportunity for a Registered Nurse to join the team and support the service we provide to both the officers and staff of West Midlands Police for 12 months.
The successful candidate(s) will work as part of a multi-disciplinary clinical team including Force Medical Advisors, Occupational Health Nurse Advisors, Trauma Therapists, Occupational Health Practice Nurses, and Occupational Health Technicians. Independent assessment of an individual’s fitness for role is the main part of this role, following the standards, policies, and guidance to reach a safe, effective and efficient decision.
A robust induction plan will provide the successful candidate with all the necessary support and advice in the early stages of employment with West Midlands Police, and following on from that induction there will be plenty of opportunity to learn and grow as an Occupational Health professional, whether that is through contribution to/participation in the development of wider service provision, and/or policy and standards.
Key Responsibilities
As Occupational Health Nurse Advisor, you’ll:
- Support the full remit of Occupational Health activities, including Management Referral consultations, Occupational Vaccinations, Health Surveillance, Fitness for Work/Task assessments, and pre-employment assessments.
- Provide clear, balanced (pragmatically balancing clinical risk against organisational/operational requirements), and accurate management advice/guidance relating to all Occupational Health matters, to colleagues, senior managers, and other key stakeholders within the organisation.
- Provide advice/guidance to assist with improving absence rates, promoting effective and sustainable return-to-work plans at the earliest opportunity.
- Supporting Line Managers to appropriately support/manage their team members, where appropriate this will include retaining officers and staff in the workplace.
- Provide advice/guidance to assist with improving the retention of officers and staff, promoting, maintaining and improving the physical and mental wellbeing of all West Midlands Police colleagues.
- Support initiatives to promote safety, wellbeing, sickness absence reduction and/or reduction of restrictions (as appropriate), providing advice on work related health issues to support line managers/the executive retain operational effectiveness, and efficiencies for the communities that WMP serves.
- Supporting the collection of data to identify health trends, inform proactive/strategic wellbeing interventions, and opportunity for continuous improvement of the service delivery.
- Support with the development of strategies for Occupational Health activities, to ensure the delivery of a holistic, preventative Occupational Health provision. - Ensuring that safe, effective, high quality, efficient, and consistent services are always delivered against agreed performance targets, Force policy and statutory legislation.
- Support with the development of policies for Occupational Health activities to achieve delivery of a holistic, preventative Occupational Health provision. - Ensuring that safe, effective, high quality, efficient, and consistent services are always delivered against agreed performance targets, Force policy and statutory legislation.
- Support business contingency plans effectively and efficiently to ensure service is maintained during periods of transition and disruption.
Who we're looking for
- You have at least 3 years’ post registration experience.
- You are enthusiastic, organised, a good communicator, with a positive and flexible approach to work.
- We are particularly interested in applications from Registered Nurses - Mental Health (RNMH) for this vacancy.
Why join us
At West Midlands Police (WMP), we are committed to creating an environment that invests in, values, and improves the health and wellbeing of our people. The role of the occupational health unit is pivotal in delivering this commitment to achieve and attain a workplace culture where the wellbeing of our people is reflected in all that we do. With that in mind, the in-house Occupational Health and Wellbeing department at West Midlands Police is going through a period of change. The department welcomed a new Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing in December 2024 which has led to some changes, as a result we have some roles to offer which will enable us to improve the multi-disciplinary services we provide for a Force which is the second largest in the country with over 7,500 officers and 3,500 police staff.
Probationary Policy (Current WMP Staff):
Under the Probation Policy, if you are currently in your probation period, “during your probationary period you will not be permitted to apply for alternative police staff roles within the Force unless there are exceptional circumstances. In such cases, you would require the support of your line manager prior to applying for alternative roles, and if successful, your probationary period will start over.”-Policies - Probation Period (Police Staff) (wmpad.local)
Selection Process
The selection process for this role will consist of the following elements:
- Initial application
- Shortlisting
- In-person interview
Closing date: Thursday 17th September 2026, 23:59 (Subject to change due to volume of applications)
Interview date: W/C Monday 28th September 2026
Important Information
Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Management Vetting and Security Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.
Medical: Appointment to this role will be dependent upon you successfully passing medical checks, which may if required include a drugs and hearing test.
Additional Information
Location: Park Lane – Central Operations Hub
Hours: Monday to Friday, 08:00-16:00, Onsite
Benefits Statement
By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:
- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities and access to a very competitive pension scheme.
- Enhanced annual leave in addition to public holiday entitlements.
- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities.
- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs
- Comprehensive benefits including pension, Blue Light Card, and employee assistance programme.
West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment, we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview. It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.
"Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities"