New divisional staff structure at IOSH

20 December 2010

A new divisional staff structure will be implemented at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) from 1 January 2011, in a drive to prepare the world’s largest professional occupational safety and health body for future growth.

During the past 12 months, external consultants have worked alongside the Institution to thoroughly review the way it is run. IOSH wants the best possible structure to grow internationally, to continue to provide advice and information to our members, and ultimately to make the world of work a safer place.

As a result of the review, a new Executive Director Team (EDT) has been created. Four executive directors – executive director of corporate services Colin Gore, executive director of policy Luise Vassie, executive director of membership Hazel Harvey and executive director of commercial Caroline Holden - will each lead a new division of IOSH and report directly to Rob Strange, its chief executive.

Colin said:“I am delighted to be taking on this new role. I have an excellent team behind me and I’m confident that together we can help IOSH go from strength to strength in 2011.

“It is paramount, especially in these tough financial times, that IOSH is managed efficiently and effectively. As executive director of corporate services, I will be looking at how we can give our members value for money. They deserve nothing less.”

Luise’s new division takes in IOSH’s communications department.

She said: “I’m delighted to take on a more strategic and general management role within IOSH.

“It is an exciting move for IOSH and I personally look forward to bringing together the talents and skills of the communication and policy and technical department under one division.

“I’m a firm believer in the saying ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts’ and together, we will push forward, making sure IOSH continues to be seen as the authoritative voice of the occupational safety and health profession.”

Hazel said: “My overall aim within the division will be to develop IOSH’s membership and build on relationships with existing members worldwide. I will be working with my team, to ensure that members have the best resources available to them, and to make sure they are receiving the best value for money from their membership.

“As IOSH continues to grow internationally, we will strive to meet the cultural needs of branches in different countries, with the goal of making IOSH a truly international organisation for health and safety professionals.”

Caroline said: “Achieving commercial success for IOSH is one of my main goals for the future.

“I am looking forward to maximising commercial opportunities for IOSH, through a market driven strategic approach. It is my aim, that products and services will be delivered in a customer driven way and, that the profit made is re-invested in initiatives that create a safer world of work.”

The new senior team will play a more strategic role within IOSH, assisting the chief executive in implementing IOSH’s strategy, staff development within each division and delivery of operational outputs.

Following their appointment, Colin, Luise, Hazel and Caroline will work alongside Rob Strange to review all existing activities and departments within IOSH, with the view that they will each form part of one of the four new divisions. Each executive director will then be responsible for producing and developing business plans for their own division.

At present IOSH has a senior management team (SMT), which will remain and continue to provide rich experience and expertise within the Institution - helping it to grow stronger.

Rob Strange said: “This is a positive move for IOSH, making the organisation stronger and allowing it to expand globally in the coming years. The Institution has grown substantially over the past decade and to make sure we have a steady growth in the future, reorganisation is essential.

“It’s a well-known fact that all good organisations review themselves regularly – it’s good for business and allows an organisation to develop further. IOSH has a lot to offer members and by re-thinking the internal structure we will be able to reach out to occupational health and safety professionals worldwide and continue to provide them quality advice, guidance and training in their fields.”

At present, IOSH has more than 38,000 members globally and for it to expand further internationally, reaching more occupational health and safety professionals worldwide, it is important the right infrastructure is in place.