Occupational Health Leadership Competency Framework

Occupational health (OH) professionals play a vital role in enabling healthier, safer, and more productive working lives. Leadership within the profession has traditionally centred on clinical and technical expertise, and while these foundations remain essential, the evolving landscape of work and health requires a broader, more dynamic set of capabilities. We need confident, forward-thinking leaders who can influence, innovate, and shape the future of OH.

The SOM Occupational Health Leadership Competency Framework was created to support this ambition. It provides a clear, practical, and aspirational guide to leadership development across the profession. By strengthening leadership capability at all levels, we can improve the quality and impact of OH services and prepare the OH workforce for future challenges.

The framework responds to a national and global imperative: to strengthen the contribution of OH in addressing workforce health, economic productivity, and health inequalities. As the UK and other nations face rising levels of work-related ill health and economic inactivity, effective OH leadership is essential to delivering high-impact, evidence-based services.

• Occupational Health Leadership Competency Framework (JPEG, 94 Kb, 724x1024)