We’re launching the Diocesan Health and Safety Management Plan at Synod so we thought it would be good to interview Andrew Black, the Diocesan Safety Officer, to find out a bit more about him and what he does.

Tell us a bit about your role
My role has been focused on implementing an online Health and Safety system throughout the Diocese, with relevant policies and procedures. This initially involved identifying, adopting, and then customising a generic online system, Risk Manager, to align with the culture of our movement. Over the past year I have been rolling this out to parishes in addition to taking a generic Health and Safety Manual and transforming it into our movement’s Health and Safety Management Plan document. My work with mission units and diocesan ministries is focused on two main capabilities:

1. The ability of a parish to easily record and manage incidents, accidents and near misses; and

2. The development of Parish Safety Plans (where hazards have been identified and their risks controlled). I have developed templates in Risk Manager for Site Safety Plans, Ministry Specific Safety Plans, and Work Site Safety Plans.

How did you end up working at the Anglican Centre?
I came to work at the Anglican Centre has a result of my association with Nick and Philippa Young. Philippa and I have fronted the Featherston Community Carols event for several years and my wife, Fiona runs the Wairarapa Fruit and Vege Co-op with Nick. When Nick heard I was looking for work he pulled me into the Anglican Centre to help with a few projects including some property, and health and safety related tasks (he was Diocesan Manager at the time). I was part of the three-person Anglican Asbestos Team that conducted asbestos management surveys for over 230 buildings across the Diocese. When the asbestos project was finished, I moved into my current role with the task of finding and implementing an online health and safety for the whole diocese.

What roles have you done prior to your current role?
I would describe myself as a generalist with transferable skills that have allowed me to dive into an area and develop a quick working knowledge. In other words, I don’t have any paper qualifications but somehow end up in specialist roles. I have been a Special Events Coordinator, a Work Study Consultant, a Technical Support Consultant, an Implementation Consultant, a Trainer, a Call Centre Manager, a Software Product Specialist and a Financial Report Writing Specialist.

What are you currently working on?
I have just completed the Diocesan Health and Safety Management Plan, which has been approved by our governance bodies. We expect to make this available to Mission Units after Synod. I am also starting to take on some of the property team’s insurance-related work. 

When should parishes call you?
You can contact me about Health and Safety issues, including advice on using Risk Manager. I work Monday to Thursday, and I am usually contactable during normal office hours.

When any Notifiable Event occurs (serious incidents), please contact Ben Pringle directly.

Is there anything else we should know?
I am a guitar playing worship leader and an average golfer. My wife, Fiona, and I are now empty nesters. Our six children are scattered across New Zealand and Australia, and we have four mokopuna – two in Wellington and two in Brisbane.

Contact Andrew: andrewb@anglicanmovement.nz or 027 936 1566.