Head of Health, Safety and Compliance, Cobalt Housing
Managing around 6,000 homes across North Liverpool, Cobalt needed stronger oversight across landlord compliance, building safety, corporate health and safety and facilities management. The appointment would create a single senior point of accountability for safety, strengthen assurance to the Executive Team and Board and support a more systematic approach to managing risk.
The Challenge
Bringing safety responsibilities together created an opportunity to strengthen how Cobalt identified, managed and reported risk across the organisation. The new post would oversee the big six areas of landlord compliance, follow-on actions, fire safety, building safety systems, corporate health and safety and facilities management. It also needed to improve the quality of the information sitting behind assurance, reducing reliance on manual workarounds and giving senior leaders greater confidence in what the data was telling them.
Cobalt's growing direct labour workforce added another dimension. Greater in-house delivery meant greater responsibility for safe systems of work, audits, toolbox talks, learning and everyday safety behaviours. The consequence of weak leadership here was significant. Cobalt needed someone prepared to interrogate the evidence, escalate concerns when required and make safety part of operational decision-making rather than allowing it to become a reporting exercise.
The Solution
Neemar built the search around the assurance Cobalt needed from the role, rather than treating health and safety as a narrow technical discipline. Candidates were tested across building safety, landlord compliance, corporate health and safety, facilities management and governance. Particular attention was given to their experience of fire safety investment, building safety systems, compliance data and follow-on works.
Just as important was how they operated when assurance was challenged. Neemar explored candidates' ability to question information, communicate risk clearly to senior leaders and Boards and influence operational teams without creating distance between safety policy and frontline delivery. Leadership capability carried significant weight. The successful candidate needed to establish expectations, develop colleagues and build accountability across teams that did not report directly into the function.
Neemar's established relationship with Cobalt also provided useful context. Having supported the organisation with executive, senior leadership and Non-Executive appointments over the previous two years, we understood its pace and expectations. That helped distinguish technical specialists from leaders capable of making safety everyone's responsibility.
The Outcome
Cobalt appointed Susan Newton as Head of Health, Safety and Compliance. Susan brought more than 20 years of experience spanning health and safety, building safety, compliance and governance. Her previous work included fire safety investment, building safety cases, compliance systems, risk reporting and direct assurance to senior leaders and Boards.
Susan had also led multidisciplinary teams and developed internal capability across several safety-critical functions. This combination mattered for Cobalt. The organisation was not looking for someone simply to monitor compliance. It needed a leader able to strengthen the systems, behaviours and management disciplines that sit behind effective assurance. Her appointment gave Cobalt dedicated senior leadership across a portfolio where clear accountability and reliable evidence are fundamental to organisational confidence.
The Impact
Susan's appointment created a single senior point of leadership across health and safety, building compliance and facilities management. For Cobalt, the commercial value lies in stronger control of risks that can have serious consequences for customers, colleagues, organisational performance and Board confidence. The role also provides important leadership infrastructure as Cobalt grows its in-house delivery model. Stronger systems, clearer accountability and better safety leadership should allow the organisation to expand delivery without allowing assurance to fall behind operational growth.
Candidate Feedback
“The team at Neemar recently handled my application for a position as a Head of Health, Safety and Compliance. The whole process went very smoothly. I was kept fully informed at all stages and provided some handy guides and feedback to assist me during the interview stages. Something must have worked as I was delighted to be successful in my application and I would definitely approach Neemar should I be looking for a future role”.
Client Testimonial
“Neemar provided an excellent recruitment service, helping us successfully appoint two senior Property Services roles. They quickly understood our brief, offered constructive challenge and presented high-quality candidates who were well aligned to both the roles and our expectations”.
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