Occupational Health Expert

Occupational Health Expert (22302)

The European Patent Office (EPO) is committed to providing a fit-for-purpose occupational health service that both promotes employee health and well-being and addresses the individual health needs of our staff. With a strong and well-skilled in-house team, Occupational Health and Well-Being Services played a key support role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to establish the EPO's new normal. Now, in addition to co-ordinating the hybrid delivery of occupational health and well-being services, we are gearing up for future challenges and driving transformation to further increase service efficiency and effectiveness by optimising service provider management, reviewing rules and modernising processes and tools in line with our occupational health and safety management system (ISO 45001).

The Occupational Health and Well-Being Services team is part of the EPO's People Services and Well-Being directorate and has between 15 and 20 staff members. A team manager leads the team of health experts and the front office, driving the transformation process. The team works closely with external occupational physicians and is supported by other external professionals.

We are now looking for an experienced and motivated occupational health expert to support the team in delivering day-to-day occupational health services and liaise with key internal stakeholders. Come join us!

With us you will:

evaluate the health needs of individual employees, ensuring they receive adequate professional support to help them stay in or return to work and optimise their health and well-being

provide advice and guidance to staff, their line managers and HR business partners across the EPO during periods of extended sick leave and on work reintegration measures

liaise with and provide proficient handover to occupational physicians when required, as defined by the rules and processes relating to absence for sickness

apply evidence-based practices and techniques to achieve positive health outcomes at individual and organisational level, including engaging with internal and external specialists and utilising available resources and well-being services

work with the occupational physicians and other health experts to develop, implement and embed clinical processes and pathways, e.g. for reintegration, clinical emergencies and triage, initial medical assessments and clinical audits

co-ordinate the delivery of health promotion interventions and projects, working with key stakeholders and external providers to develop a suitable annual programme of events to promote a healthy work-life balance and minimise absence from work

organise and maintain occupational health clinic locations, covering aspects such as equipment, supplies and administration, while working to budgetary requirements

promote understanding of biopsychosocial factors relating to occupational health, safety, well being and support

carry out additional co-ordination, reporting and communication in daily occupational health operations (internal/external team) or co-ordinate an area of specialisation such as ergonomics, mental health or health statistics with various stakeholders, etc.; when required, coach and mentor other team members

actively contribute to developing, implementing and embedding occupational health strategy, policies and procedures, analysing relevant statistics and drafting reports and proposals

ensure workflows, processes and practices in Occupational Health and Well-Being Services are carried out to the highest data protection standards and in compliance with medical confidentiality requirements and the EPO's occupational health and safety management system and ISO 45001

work with the team manager and Procurement and Vendor Management to ensure that contracts with external providers are managed effectively and efficiently to ensure internal clinical operations are not disrupted during the transformation process

design and deliver training programmes and awareness campaigns to staff and managers

Apply if you have:

experience as a registered/qualified occupational health nurse or equivalent

a diploma of completed studies at master's level or – in exceptional cases – equivalent professional experience (occupational health nursing)

a minimum of three years' relevant post-qualification experience in an applied occupational health setting, preferably in an international, corporate or similar team-based environment

excellent verbal and written communication skills

proficiency and experience in complex case management, telemedicine and remote case management, detailed report-writing

the ability to influence and impact positive health outcomes and passion for learning

adaptability, and the ability to work effectively as part of a team, and perform workload management

digital fluency and experience working with digitalised health governance tools (e.g. Cority)

experience with working with external service provider and budget management

Our minimum requirements for this post

Diploma of completed studies at master's level or – in exceptional cases – equivalent professional experience

Generally, an excellent knowledge (at least C1) of one official language (English, French and German) and ability to understand the other two; alternatively, excellent knowledge (at least C1) of at least one official language (in such cases, the willingness to learn the missing language(s) and to reach level B2 within a set time frame would be required)

Citizenship of one of the member states of the European Patent Organisation

Process

Candidates are kindly asked to upload an updated CV and outline their motivation in the designated application field (character limit 4000). If so wished, the motivation letter can also be uploaded as a Word or pdf attachment under "Application document" in SuccessFactors. In this case, please indicate in the designated field "Please refer to attached motivation letter".

The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of qualifications, competencies, professional experience and language knowledge, supplemented as appropriate by interviews, tests and/or a personality questionnaire.

A reserve list may be constituted, should more candidates than required at this time be considered suitable following the selection procedure. Such reserve lists are valid for 18 months and reserve list candidates may be contacted, should a vacancy with substantially the same profile arise during that period.

More information on how we recruit can be found on our EPO jobs and careers site.

Key information

Job group: 4

Grade: G7 to G10 (net (basic) monthly salary* for this vacancy: EUR 6 921 to 9 801, depending on experience and location)

Duration of appointment: Five years, with the possibility of extension

Career path: Technical

Location: The Hague

Application deadline: 7 September 2025

Interviews planned for: Weeks commencing on 15 September 2025

* after deduction of EPO-internal tax and before deduction of staff contributions to the social security and pension schemes.