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Integrated Management Coordinator/Consultant

An Integrated Management System (IMS) covers quality, environment, safety, and health. These can be summarised as various acronyms meaning the same thing – QUENSH, HSQE, QHSE etc., with mature organisations dropping the topics and adopting the term ‘Compliance’ or ‘Business Management System’. This recognises that QUENSH subjects are inter-related and should not be viewed in isolation.

An IMS Consultant or Coordinator helps organisations establish, implement, maintain, and improve their IMSs. Where a person is employed directly, it is good practice to use the role titles of ‘Lead’ or ‘Coordinator’, to indicate that compliance is the responsibility of all employees.

Consultancy organisations, which may be small to large in size, employ consultants to work with external clients. Companies may directly employ an individual, or team of individuals, in the role.

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The information in our job profiles aims to give a general overview of the role and a guideline to what it involves. The content is not intended to be exhaustive and roles will vary depending on the organisation and sector. The salary ranges are a guide only, as these are dependent on the size and location of the organisation.

Entry level range
£22k – £30k
Early career range
£27.5k – £45k
Experienced range
£40k – £70k
Senior leadership range
£60k – £100k

An IMS may be certified to the standards ISO9001 Quality, ISO14001 Environmental, and ISO45001 Health & Safety, usually by the same accredited certification body. An effective IMS reduces by a third the duplication that separate systems create, as IMSs correspond with how businesses operate and how processes are integrated e.g., one set of management system documents, one audit, one management review, etc. The disadvantage of an IMS is that sometimes one of the subjects – health & safety, quality, or environment, can take precedence over another.

 

How does this role align to the green agenda?

Sustainability is based on three pillars of social, economic, and environmental performance, and an IMS assists in supporting these three pillars:

  • Social aspects cover employment, training and development, health & safety, and employment law compliance (Human Resources).
  • Environment covers environmental issues – pollution prevention, resource efficiency, sustainable sourcing, net-zero transition, and the product life-cycle etc.
  • Quality is about products and services being fit-for-purpose, right first time, and meeting the requirements of all interested parties, not just the paying customer. Quality is therefore directly related to resource efficiency, and the tools that Quality Managers use can deliver better-controlled work environments.
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Skills and capabilities

Technical knowledge

  • Management System Standards ISO9001 Quality, ISO14001 Environmental, and ISO45001 Health & Safety
  • Safety, health, environmental, and product legislation relating to the sector(s) worked in
  • Quality improvement tools – 5S, Kaisan etc.
  • Health & Safety risk assessment techniques
  • Environmental aspects appraisal, and basic life cycle analysis
  • Competent computer skills with knowledge of main software packages
  • Knowledge of auditing and assessment techniques

Transferable skills

  • Effective communication
  • Attention to detail and prioritising
  • Influencing skills and the ability to use own judgement to inform decision making
  • Critical thinking
  • Analytical thinking
  • Planning
  • Ability to deal with challenging situations
  • Presenting
  • Relationship development.

A day in the life

An IMS Consultant / Coordinator’s day-to-day activity will vary according to their employer. In a small business or start-up there may not be an existing management system. Or, in a larger organisation there may be a system that no longer delivers against objectives. Alternatively, there may be separate stand-alone systems that would benefit from combining or integrating. In all these examples, the IMS Consultant / Coordinator will be tasked with reviewing practices, potentially introducing new systems and leading change. Communicating about planned changes, potentially training colleagues, and influencing how business leaders operate can all be included in the remit of the role.

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Typical duties and responsibilities might include:
  • Conducting a business risk assessment alongside the leadership team
  • Identifying opportunities for improvement and developing a programme to implement these
  • Writing and circulating policies, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)and work instructions
  • Auditing, reviewing, and continually improving the management system

Those working for an organisation with an established compliance and management system may find their role is focused on coordination rather than consultation. Seeing organisations grow and develop is an exciting element of the role.

Depending on the client / organisation, work can vary in location and involve travel around the UK or internationally. Those working independently or for a consultancy that uses associates rather than employees will find their work can be very flexible.

Entry routes

Potential career progression

An IMS career brings a great deal of variety, as it requires a multi-disciplinary approach across all areas of QUENSH.

Become an ISO Certification Body Auditor, or an Industry Scheme Auditor, so you get to visit a wide range of different organisations. Becoming a Lead Auditor gives you experience of managing a team of auditors.

Move into an Associate, Senior, or Principal Consultant position within a consultancy business, or a managerial or directorial role in a business.

Potential to set up your own consultancy business.

Become an IMS Trainer.

Relevant sectors

An IMS Consultant / Coordinator can work across all sectors.

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Learn about the green agenda across different sectors

Information kindly supplied by:
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The QUENSH Consultancy Limited

Provider of advice, training and assistance on Quality, Environment, Safety and Health (QUENSH) management issues, and IMS consultancy support.

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IEMA is the membership body for environment and sustainability professionals