Free Position Description (WHS Coordinator) Template

Purpose of the Free Position Description (WHS Coordinator) Template

Hiring a Work Health and Safety (WHS) Coordinator is a significant step in formalising your organisation's commitment to safety. A well-structured position description is the foundation of a successful recruitment process.

This Free Position Description (WHS Coordinator) Template provides a clear, professional framework for outlining the role's duties, responsibilities, and required qualifications. It helps attract suitable candidates by setting clear expectations from the outset and serves as a valuable tool for performance management and role clarity long after the hiring process is complete.

A WHS Coordinator is pivotal in driving and maintaining workplace safety initiatives. Their responsibilities often include coordinating safety meetings, conducting risk assessments, managing incident reports, and promoting a positive safety culture.

This template helps you articulate how the coordinator will contribute to the broader objectives of your WHS management systems, ensuring their activities are integrated and effective.

How to use the Free Position Description (WHS Coordinator) Template

Our template is provided in both DOCX and PDF formats for your convenience. The DOCX version is fully editable, allowing you to tailor the content to the specific requirements of your workplace.

It includes sections covering key responsibilities, skills and qualifications, key performance indicators (KPIs), and reporting lines. The document is structured based on common Australian WHS practices and provides a solid starting point for defining the role within your organisation.

Important: It is crucial that you customise this template to reflect your workplace's unique operational risks, organisational structure, and safety objectives. We have provided a comprehensive framework, but legal and practical effectiveness depends on its specific application.

If you require assistance in tailoring this document or defining the strategic needs of the role, consider engaging professional WHS consulting services.

When to use this Position Description

This template is designed for use in several common business scenarios. You should use it when you are creating a new WHS Coordinator position to ensure you capture all essential functions from the beginning.

It is also ideal when replacing an existing coordinator, as it provides an opportunity to review and update the role based on evolving business needs and regulatory changes. Furthermore, if you are formalising the WHS duties of an existing employee who has taken on safety responsibilities, this document helps to clarify their new scope of work, authority, and accountability.

Key situations for use include:

• Recruiting for a newly created WHS role.
• Backfilling a vacant WHS Coordinator position.
• Formalising the safety responsibilities of a current team member.
• Conducting an annual review of an existing WHS Coordinator's role and responsibilities.

Who should use it

This Position Description template is primarily intended for use by those responsible for hiring and managing personnel. This includes Human Resources (HR) managers, recruitment specialists, and business owners or directors, particularly in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that may not have a large, dedicated WHS department.

Operations managers and department heads who will directly supervise the WHS Coordinator will also find it essential for defining reporting lines and performance expectations.

The document clarifies the coordinator's mandate to interact with all levels of the organisation, from senior leadership to frontline workers. Properly defining these interactions is a key outcome of a thorough WHS compliance auditing process, which often reviews the clarity of safety roles.

By establishing these parameters upfront, you empower the coordinator to perform their duties effectively. For more ready-to-use documents, feel free to browse our complete free WHS resources library.