VP of Global Health, Safety and Environment

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The VP of Global Health, Safety and Environment is responsible for defining, implementing, and overseeing our entire global HSE strategy, which directly impacts our licence to operate, our brand reputation, and the lives of our people. You'll sit right at the executive table, translating complex regulatory landscapes and operational risks into clear, actionable policies that our global business units can actually follow. When this role is done well, we see a tangible reduction in incidents, a stronger safety culture, and fewer regulatory headaches – frankly, it means people go home safe every day. When it's not, we're looking at serious incidents, hefty fines, reputational damage, and, worst of all, potential fatalities or environmental disasters. The challenge is balancing aggressive business growth with unwavering safety standards, often across diverse cultures and regulatory environments. The reward is knowing you're genuinely protecting lives and the planet, while enabling sustainable business success.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Direct reports: Roughly 25-100+ individuals, including regional HSE Directors and Managers
• Matrix relationships: Global Head of HSE, Group HSE Director, Chief Safety & Environmental Officer,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• CEO and Executive Leadership Team
• Board of Directors (particularly the Audit and Risk Committees)
• Chief Operations Officer (COO) and all Business Unit Presidents
• Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
• General Counsel and Legal team
• Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

External:

• Government regulatory bodies (e.g., HSE, EPA, OSHA, local equivalents)
• Investors and ESG rating agencies (e.g., Sustainalytics, MSCI)
• Major customers and supply chain partners
• Industry associations and peer groups
• Local communities and environmental advocacy groups

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role is absolutely critical for our long-term viability and reputation. You'll shape our global operational standards, influence capital investment decisions for safety improvements, and directly impact our ability to attract and retain talent. A strong HSE programme, driven by you, can reduce insurance premiums, avoid costly downtime, and protect our brand from environmental scandals. Frankly, you're a major contributor to our enterprise risk management strategy and overall sustainability agenda.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Global DART Rate Reduction
2. Desc: Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate across all global operations. This tells us how severe our injuries are, not just how many.
3. Target: Achieve a 15% reduction in the global DART rate over a 3-year period.
4. Freq: Quarterly and Annually
5. Example: If our current global DART rate is 0.8, we'd aim for 0.68 by the end of year three. This isn't just a number; it means fewer serious injuries for our people.
6. Metric: Workers' Compensation Premium Reduction
7. Desc: The direct financial impact of improved safety performance on our insurance costs.
8. Target: Deliver a 5% reduction in annual workers' compensation insurance premiums, year-on-year, through demonstrated safety improvements.
9. Freq: Annually (at renewal)
10. Example: If our annual premiums are currently £5M, a 5% reduction would save us £250K. This shows a direct ROI for safety investments, which frankly, helps with those budget conversations.
11. Metric: ESG Rating Improvement (HSE Component)
12. Desc: Our external standing in terms of environmental, social, and governance performance, specifically the HSE aspects.
13. Target: Improve the company's score in a key ESG rating (e.g., Sustainalytics, MSCI) from 'Average' to 'Industry Leader' range within 2 years.
14. Freq: Annually (upon rating publication)
15. Example: Moving from a 'Medium Risk' to 'Low Risk' category in Sustainalytics, or improving our overall MSCI ESG rating by 1-2 points. This matters to investors and our reputation.
16. Metric: Global EHS Platform Deployment
17. Desc: The successful rollout and adoption of our enterprise-wide EHS management software across all sites.
18. Target: Successfully deploy the global EHS software platform across all 50+ sites on time and within 10% of the allocated budget.
19. Freq: Monthly (project progress), Annually (budget vs. actual)
20. Example: Completing the rollout to all sites by Q4 2026 with total project costs not exceeding £2.2M on a £2M budget. This is a massive operational lift, requiring significant influence.
21. Metric: Critical Risk Control Effectiveness
22. Desc: The percentage of critical safety controls (e.g., lockout-tagout, confined space entry permits) that are verified as effective during audits.
23. Target: Achieve 95%+ effectiveness rating for all identified critical risk controls across the global business.
24. Freq: Quarterly (via audit programme)
25. Example: During Q2 audits, 97% of sites demonstrated that their Permit-to-Work system for hot work was correctly followed and documented. This moves us beyond just policies to actual on-the-ground control.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Board and Executive Confidence
2. Desc: The degree to which the Board and Executive Leadership Team trust your strategic direction and reporting on HSE matters.
3. Evidence: You'll be proactively consulted on major strategic decisions (e.g., M&A, new market entry) for HSE implications. Your quarterly Board presentations will be seen as transparent, credible, and insightful, leading to constructive dialogue rather than reactive questioning. They'll seek your counsel on complex risk issues and rely on your judgement.
4. Metric: Proactive Regulatory Engagement
5. Desc: Our ability to anticipate and influence regulatory changes, and maintain a positive, transparent relationship with key regulatory bodies globally.
6. Evidence: We'll see fewer unexpected regulatory inspections or enforcement actions. You'll be representing the company in industry forums, helping shape future regulations. When regulators do engage, our responses will be swift, comprehensive, and demonstrate a genuine commitment to compliance, not just ticking boxes. We're seen as a responsible operator, not just a compliant one.
7. Metric: Global Safety Culture Maturity
8. Desc: The observable shift towards a truly proactive, 'hearts and minds' safety culture across all regions.
9. Evidence: Increased near-miss reporting rates (a good sign, actually, as it shows trust), higher participation in Behaviour-Based Safety programmes, and unsolicited positive feedback from frontline employees about safety improvements. You'll hear leaders at all levels talking about safety as an operational imperative, not just an HSE department responsibility. We're moving away from the 'Safety Cop' stigma.
10. Metric: Strategic Integration of HSE
11. Desc: How well HSE considerations are embedded into broader business strategy, not just treated as an add-on.
12. Evidence: HSE will be a standing agenda item in executive business reviews. Capital expenditure requests will routinely include HSE impact assessments. New product development or market entry strategies will integrate HSE from the outset, rather than as an afterthought. You'll be seen as a business enabler, not a blocker.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Decisive Under Pressure
• Manifestation: When a major incident hits—think a fatality, a significant environmental spill, or a widespread regulatory breach—you're the calmest person in the room. You can take incomplete, often conflicting information and make the call to shut down a facility, evacuate personnel, or issue a public statement, knowing the immense financial and reputational consequences. You'll back your team when they exercise their Stop Work Authority, no questions asked.
• Benefit: In a crisis, hesitation can turn a bad situation into a catastrophe. This role demands someone who can prioritise life and environment over short-term production targets, make tough calls, and then own them. The consequences of indecision here are simply too high.
• Trait: Pragmatic Influencer
• Manifestation: You don't just quote ISO standards or regulatory clauses. Instead, you build a compelling business case for a £500K capital investment in new safety equipment by linking it directly to reduced insurance premiums, improved uptime, and better employee morale. You're a master at building coalitions with Operations, Engineering, and Finance leaders, getting them to see HSE initiatives as operational improvements, not just compliance costs. You're not afraid to challenge the status quo but do it in a way that brings people along, rather than alienating them.
• Benefit: Truth is, HSE rarely owns the big operational budgets. Your success hinges entirely on your ability to persuade and influence executive peers and senior leaders to invest significant time, money, and resources into safety and environmental programmes. Without that ability, even the best strategy is just words on paper.
• Trait: Unflinching Accountability
• Manifestation: When something goes wrong, and it inevitably will in a global business of our size, you stand before the CEO, the Board, or a regulator, taking ownership of the failure. You'll present a credible, robust plan for corrective action without deflecting blame or making excuses. You ensure that we learn from every incident and that those lessons are embedded globally. You're the one who says, 'The buck stops here,' and genuinely means it.
• Benefit: Trust is the most important currency for a safety leader at this level. When things go sideways, the entire organisation, and frankly, the outside world, looks to you. Demonstrating genuine, transparent accountability builds the credibility needed to drive meaningful, lasting cultural change and rebuild trust where it might have been lost.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Empathetic
• Desc: You can connect with an injured employee or their family with genuine compassion, understanding the human impact of incidents. This helps build trust and encourages open reporting, which is vital for learning.
• Trait: Resilient
• Desc: You'll bounce back from significant setbacks – a major incident, a tough regulatory audit, or a budget cut. You maintain optimism and focus despite facing resistance or dealing with traumatic events, knowing that the mission is too important to give up.
• Trait: Systems Thinker
• Desc: You see the interconnectedness of processes, people, equipment, and environment. This means you can identify latent risks and systemic failures, rather than just blaming individuals, which is key to preventing recurrence.
• Trait: Inherent Skepticism
• Desc: You don't take 'it's always been done this way' or 'that's just how we do things here' as an answer. You probe, question, and dig deeper to uncover hidden hazards, ensuring we're always challenging assumptions and looking for better ways to operate safely.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Protecting People and Planet
2. Daily: You'll wake up every day driven by the deep-seated belief that every employee deserves to go home safe and that our operations should not harm the environment. This isn't just a job; it's a moral imperative. You'll find satisfaction in seeing global incident rates decline and our environmental footprint shrink.
3. Motivator: Strategic Impact and Organisational Transformation
4. Daily: You're motivated by the opportunity to shape the very fabric of a large, complex organisation. This means setting the long-term vision, influencing executive peers, and driving cultural change that permeates every level of the business. You're building something lasting.
5. Motivator: Solving Complex, High-Stakes Problems
6. Daily: You thrive on tackling truly difficult challenges – like integrating HSE into a complex M&A deal, navigating conflicting international regulations, or responding to a major crisis. These aren't easy problems, but the impact of solving them is immense.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this role isn't for everyone. You'll often feel like the 'Safety Cop,' constantly fighting the perception that your job is to say 'no' and slow down production, rather than enabling the business to operate safely and sustainably. You'll face relentless budget battles, having to justify every pound for safety improvements against revenue-generating projects, often with an intangible ROI until after an incident occurs. There's the exhausting, never-ending effort to make safety a deeply held value versus a mere checklist. You'll experience post-incident whiplash, where the entire organisation is laser-focused on safety for a few months, only for attention and resources to wane. The immense personal and professional pressure of knowing that a failure in your programmes or systems could lead to a fatality, a life-altering injury, or a major environmental disaster is a constant weight. And yes, you'll spend time translating 500-page government regulations into something a frontline supervisor can actually understand and implement. If you need constant positive feedback, or if you struggle with long-term, incremental change, you'll find this incredibly frustrating.

Common Frustrations

1. The 'Safety Cop' stigma – constantly battling the perception that HSE is a blocker, not an enabler.
2. Budget battles – justifying safety investments against revenue-generating projects, often with an ROI only visible after an incident.
3. Culture vs. Compliance – the relentless effort to shift from 'what we have to do' to 'how we work'.
4. Post-incident whiplash – intense focus after an event, followed by a gradual decline in attention and resources.
5. The weight of 'What If' – the constant pressure of knowing your decisions could prevent catastrophic harm.
6. Translating complex regulations into actionable, understandable procedures for a global workforce.
7. Dealing with 'pencil-whipping' – people signing off on checks without actually doing them, a cardinal sin.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A quiet, predictable work environment – crises happen, often at inconvenient times.
2. Immediate, tangible gratification for every initiative – cultural change is slow and hard-won.
3. A role where you're universally loved – you'll often have to deliver unpopular messages or enforce tough decisions.
4. A purely technical role – this is heavily about leadership, influence, and business acumen.
5. A static role – the regulatory landscape and business needs are constantly evolving.

ADHD Positives

1. The fast-paced, high-stakes nature of incident response and crisis management can be highly engaging and stimulating, tapping into hyperfocus when it matters most.
2. The need to quickly synthesise complex information and make rapid decisions in an emergency can play to strengths in dynamic problem-solving.
3. The variety of challenges – from strategic planning to regulatory interpretation to on-site investigations – means less routine and more novelty.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. The extensive documentation, detailed policy writing, and meticulous audit trail requirements might be challenging. We can provide templates, AI-assisted drafting tools, and administrative support for these tasks.
2. Managing a large, geographically dispersed team and complex global projects requires strong organisational skills. We encourage the use of project management software, clear goal setting, and regular check-ins to keep things on track.
3. The need for long-term strategic planning and consistent follow-through on multi-year programmes might require structured planning tools and accountability partners.

Dyslexia Positives

1. The strategic, conceptual thinking required to build global HSE frameworks and anticipate future risks can be a strong suit.
2. Excellent verbal communication skills, especially in presenting to the Board or negotiating with regulators, are highly valued.
3. The ability to see the 'big picture' and identify systemic patterns in incident data, rather than getting bogged down in individual words, can be a significant advantage.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. The sheer volume of written policies, reports, and regulatory documents can be daunting. We use text-to-speech software, provide access to proofreading tools, and encourage verbal briefings where appropriate.
2. Detailed report writing, especially for Board packs or regulatory submissions, needs to be precise. We offer dedicated editorial support and encourage the use of structured outlines and visual aids.
3. Ensuring clarity in written communications across diverse global teams is crucial. We promote clear, concise language and visual communication tools.

Autism Positives

1. A strong adherence to rules, logic, and established protocols (like the Hierarchy of Controls or Permit-to-Work systems) is absolutely essential in HSE and can be a significant strength.
2. The ability to deep-dive into complex regulatory texts and identify precise requirements, or to meticulously analyse incident data for patterns, is highly valued.
3. A direct and honest communication style, especially when delivering difficult safety messages or holding others accountable, is crucial in this role.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. The role involves extensive, nuanced social interaction, from influencing executives to engaging with frontline workers and external regulators. We support structured communication frameworks, clear agendas for meetings, and provide coaching on social dynamics.
2. Unexpected changes, crises, and the need to adapt quickly to new information can be challenging. We aim for clear communication of changes and provide support structures during high-stress periods.
3. Navigating organisational politics and unspoken social cues can be difficult. We foster a culture of direct feedback and clarity, and provide mentors who can help interpret complex social situations.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Director/VP (16-20 years)
2. Responsibilities: Define and drive the enterprise-wide HSE strategy, vision, and governance framework, ensuring it aligns with our business objectives and future growth plans. This isn't just about compliance; it's about shaping how we operate globally.
3. Accountable for the overall global HSE performance, including all leading and lagging indicators. You'll own the narrative for the Board and external stakeholders, providing transparent and credible reporting.
4. Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing global HSE team, including regional Directors and specialist functions. This means attracting top talent, fostering their development, and ensuring consistent application of standards across diverse cultures.
5. Oversee and approve the global HSE budget (P&L typically £2M-£10M+), making strategic investment decisions for technology, training, and capital projects that enhance safety and environmental performance.
6. Represent the organisation at Board-level meetings (e.g., Audit & Risk Committee), presenting on HSE performance, strategic initiatives, and enterprise risks. Be prepared for tough questions and to defend your strategy.
7. Lead the HSE integration strategy for all M&A activities, ensuring that new acquisitions quickly adopt our safety culture and standards, and that environmental liabilities are thoroughly assessed and managed. This is often complex and time-sensitive.
8. Establish and maintain proactive relationships with key regulatory bodies and industry associations globally, influencing policy where possible and ensuring our organisation is seen as a responsible leader. This involves a lot of diplomacy and foresight.
9. Develop and embed a 'Stop Work Authority' culture across the entire organisation, empowering every employee to halt unsafe work without fear of reprisal. This is a critical cultural shift you'll champion.
10. Drive the continuous improvement of our global EHS management systems (e.g., ISO 45001, ISO 14001), ensuring they're robust, effective, and regularly audited. This is the backbone of our operational discipline.
11. Lead the organisation's response to major incidents or environmental emergencies, acting as the primary executive contact and ensuring effective crisis management, communication, and robust root cause analysis. This is where your decisive leadership really counts.
12. Supervision: You're fully autonomous on execution, reporting directly to the CEO or COO with monthly strategic alignment meetings. The Board will review your performance quarterly. You're expected to set your own agenda and drive outcomes without close supervision.
13. Decision: You'll have full strategic authority within your domain, including P&L responsibility for £2M-£10M+ annual budget. This includes approving major capital expenditures for HSE improvements, making hiring and firing decisions for your direct reports, and signing off on significant regulatory submissions. M&A involvement means you'll have a critical voice in deal assessments and integration plans. Board-level decisions will require your presentation and recommendation, but ultimate approval rests with the Board.
14. Success: Success looks like a demonstrable, sustained reduction in global incident rates (DART, TRIR), a significant improvement in our ESG ratings, and a strong, proactive safety culture that's evident at all levels. You'll have built a highly capable global HSE team, and your executive peers and the Board will trust your judgement implicitly. When a major incident occurs, the response will be swift, effective, and transparent, mitigating impacts and protecting our reputation. Ultimately, you'll have embedded HSE as a core business value, not just a compliance function.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Global HSE Strategy & Policy
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Defines and sets global policy; presents to CEO/Board for endorsement; full authority for implementation.
• Type: Global HSE Budget Allocation
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Owns and approves P&L up to £10M+ for global HSE function; strategic capital allocation for major projects.
• Type: Major Incident Response (e.g., fatality, significant environmental spill)
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Leads executive crisis response team; authorises site shutdowns, external communications, and major corrective actions.
• Type: M&A HSE Due Diligence & Integration
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Directs and approves all HSE due diligence; defines and oversees integration plans for acquired entities.
• Type: Regulatory Engagement & Fines
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Authorises responses to major regulatory enforcement actions; approves settlement proposals; represents company in high-level discussions.
• Type: Global HSE Team Structure & Senior Hires
• Entry: N/A
• Mid: N/A
• Senior: Defines global organisational design for HSE; approves all Director-level and above hires within the function.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

At this level, we're not just looking for technical skills; we need someone who can lead, influence, and think strategically across a complex global organisation. These are the underlying capabilities that make a truly effective VP of Global HSE.

• Category: Strategic Leadership & Influence
• Skills: Executive Presence: The ability to command respect and communicate with authority and credibility to the C-suite, Board, and external regulators.
• Change Leadership: Driving significant cultural and operational shifts across a global organisation, often against resistance, to embed HSE as a core value.
• Global Vision Setting: Developing a multi-year HSE strategy that aligns with business objectives, anticipates future risks, and drives sustainable performance.
• Negotiation & Persuasion: Securing buy-in and resources from diverse stakeholders (Operations, Finance, HR) for HSE initiatives, often with competing priorities.
• Organisational Design: Structuring and optimising a global HSE function to effectively support business units and deliver strategic objectives.
• Category: Complex Problem-Solving & Decision Making
• Skills: Crisis Management: Leading the executive response to major incidents (e.g., fatality, environmental disaster), making rapid, high-stakes decisions under immense pressure.
• Systemic Root Cause Analysis: Going beyond immediate causes to identify deep-seated organisational and cultural factors contributing to incidents (Swiss Cheese Model).
• Risk Appetite Definition: Working with the Board and executive team to define the organisation's acceptable level of HSE risk and translate it into actionable frameworks.
• Trade-off Analysis: Evaluating complex scenarios involving safety, environmental impact, cost, and operational efficiency to make optimal decisions.
• Anticipatory Thinking: Proactively identifying emerging risks (e.g., new technologies, climate change impacts, geopolitical shifts) and developing mitigation strategies.
• Category: Communication & Stakeholder Management
• Skills: Board-Level Reporting: Crafting and delivering concise, impactful presentations to the Board of Directors on HSE performance, strategy, and risks.
• Regulatory Diplomacy: Building and maintaining constructive relationships with senior regulatory officials globally, often navigating complex legal and political landscapes.
• Cross-Cultural Communication: Effectively communicating HSE policies and values across diverse national cultures and languages, ensuring universal understanding and adoption.
• Executive Storytelling: Translating complex technical HSE data and risks into compelling narratives that resonate with non-technical executive audiences.
• Media Relations (Crisis): Managing external communications during major incidents, working with PR teams to protect reputation and ensure transparency.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

You'll need deep, strategic expertise in the core disciplines of HSE, combined with the ability to architect and oversee the technical tools and systems that support our global programme.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: Global Management Systems & Standards
• Desc: Defining and implementing enterprise-wide management systems based on ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety), ISO 14001 (Environmental), and ISO 50001 (Energy Management). This means leading certification efforts, ensuring global consistency, and driving continuous improvement.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Systematic Risk Assessment & Control
• Desc: Architecting and overseeing the application of advanced methodologies like HAZOP, FMEA, BowTie Analysis, and Job Safety Analysis (JSA) across all global operations. You'll ensure critical risks are identified, assessed, and controlled to ALARP principles.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• Desc: Auditing the quality of high-potential incident investigations globally, identifying systemic failure modes across the enterprise, and ensuring lessons learned are effectively shared and embedded. Mastery of techniques like Causal Factor Tree Analysis and the Swiss Cheese Model.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS) & Culture Change
• Desc: Designing and leading the implementation of global BBS programmes that focus on observing and influencing employee behaviours as a leading indicator. You'll drive the cultural shift from compliance-driven to values-based safety.
• Level: Expert
• Skill: Industrial Hygiene (IH) & Exposure Monitoring Strategy
• Desc: Setting global strategy for anticipating, recognising, evaluating, and controlling workplace health hazards (chemical, physical, biological). This includes overseeing exposure monitoring programmes and ensuring compliance with Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs).
• Level: Advanced
• Skill: Sustainability & ESG Reporting
• Desc: Integrating HSE metrics into the broader corporate sustainability strategy and reporting frameworks like GRI, SASB, and TCFD. You'll own the HSE/ESG data narrative for investors and external ratings agencies.
• Level: Expert

Digital Tools

• Tool: EHS Management Platform (e.g., Enablon, Intelex, Cority, Gensuite)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Leading the platform selection/RFP process, defining enterprise data architecture, negotiating contracts, and presenting platform ROI to the C-suite. You're the executive sponsor, ensuring it delivers strategic value.
• Tool: Incident Investigation Software (e.g., TapRooT®, 5-Whys module in EHS platform)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Auditing the quality of high-potential incident investigations across the global business, identifying systemic failure modes, and ensuring consistent application of RCA methodologies. You're ensuring the tools drive learning, not just reporting.
• Tool: Chemical & SDS Management (e.g., Sphera, VelocityEHS)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Setting global chemical management policy, overseeing strategy for REACH/RoHS compliance, and managing the enterprise platform relationship. You're ensuring we have a unified, compliant approach to chemicals globally.
• Tool: Data Visualization / BI (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Defining the global HSE data strategy, designing executive-level dashboards that link HSE performance to operational and financial metrics, and ensuring data integrity for Board reporting. You're turning data into actionable intelligence.
• Tool: Board Reporting Software (e.g., Diligent, BoardVantage)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Owning the HSE/ESG section of the board pack, presenting performance and strategy directly to the Board or a sub-committee. You're ensuring our executive communications are clear, compelling, and compliant.
• Tool: Learning Management System (LMS) (e.g., Cornerstone OnDemand, SAP Litmos)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Setting the global HSE training strategy and budget, selecting enterprise-wide training content providers and platforms. You're ensuring our workforce has the knowledge to stay safe and compliant.
• Tool: GRC Platform (e.g., ServiceNow GRC, Archer)
• Level: Strategic/Architect
• Usage: Defining HSE risk appetite and control frameworks within the GRC system, reporting on enterprise-level HSE risks to the CRO and Board. You're integrating HSE into our broader enterprise risk management.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Global Regulatory Landscape
• Desc: Deep, current understanding of major international HSE regulations (e.g., EU Directives, OSHA, EPA, REACH, national labour laws) and the ability to interpret their impact on our global operations. This isn't just knowing the rules, it's understanding the intent and future direction.
• Area: Process Safety Management (PSM)
• Desc: Strategic oversight of PSM programmes for high-hazard operations, including elements like MOC, PTW, P&IDs, and PHA. You'll ensure robust systems are in place to prevent catastrophic incidents.
• Area: Environmental Management & Sustainability
• Desc: Expertise in environmental compliance (e.g., air emissions, wastewater discharge, waste management), climate change risk assessment, and circular economy principles. You'll drive our environmental stewardship agenda.
• Area: Occupational Health & Wellbeing
• Desc: Strategic understanding of occupational health programmes, mental wellbeing initiatives, and ergonomic principles. You'll ensure a holistic approach to employee health beyond just physical safety.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems)
• Usage: You'll define the global strategy for ISO 45001 implementation and certification, ensuring consistent application across all business units and driving continuous improvement of our safety management system.
• Reg: ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems)
• Usage: You'll lead the global strategy for ISO 14001 certification, ensuring our environmental impacts are systematically identified, controlled, and improved upon, contributing to our sustainability goals.
• Reg: REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)
• Usage: You'll oversee our global strategy for chemical management and compliance with REACH and similar regulations, ensuring our products and operations meet stringent chemical safety standards.
• Reg: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) & EU OSH Directives
• Usage: You'll ensure global compliance with key occupational safety and health regulations, translating their principles into our global standards and policies, and overseeing audit programmes to verify effectiveness.
• Reg: GRI, SASB, TCFD (Sustainability Reporting Frameworks)
• Usage: You'll be responsible for integrating our HSE performance data into these frameworks, ensuring transparent and credible reporting to investors and other stakeholders on our sustainability journey.

Essential Prerequisites

• Extensive experience (12+ years) leading large-scale HSE programmes across multiple countries or business units.
• A proven track record of influencing executive leadership and Board members on HSE strategy and investment.
• Demonstrable experience managing a significant P&L (minimum £1M+) and making strategic resource allocation decisions.
• Deep expertise in developing and implementing enterprise-level HSE management systems (e.g., ISO 45001, 14001).
• Experience leading crisis management for major incidents (e.g., fatalities, significant environmental releases).
• A history of building, developing, and leading diverse, geographically dispersed HSE teams.
• Strong understanding of enterprise risk management principles and how HSE integrates into overall business risk.

Career Pathway Context

Before stepping into this VP role, you'd typically have spent several years as a Director of HSE for a major business unit or a specific global domain. You'd have already proven your ability to set strategy, manage a substantial team, and influence senior leaders within a significant part of an organisation. This role is about taking that experience and scaling it to a truly global, enterprise-wide level, with direct accountability to the C-suite and Board.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: Climate Risk Management & Adaptation
• Why: Climate change isn't just an environmental issue; it's a significant business risk. Extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and new carbon regulations will directly impact our operations and require strategic adaptation. Investors and regulators are demanding robust plans.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'TCFD Reporting & Scenario Analysis', 'description': 'Understanding and applying the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, including conducting climate scenario analysis to assess physical and transition risks and opportunities.'}, {'concept_name': 'Carbon Footprinting & Decarbonisation Pathways', 'description': 'Strategic oversight of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions measurement and the development of credible, science-based targets for decarbonisation across our global value chain.'}, {'concept_name': 'Climate Resilience & Adaptation Planning', 'description': 'Developing strategies to protect our assets, supply chains, and workforce from the physical impacts of climate change (e.g., floods, heatwaves, resource scarcity).'}, {'concept_name': 'Nature-Based Solutions', 'description': 'Exploring and integrating natural solutions (e.g., wetland restoration, reforestation) into environmental management strategies to enhance resilience and biodiversity.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Attend an executive briefing on TCFD and climate risk management. Read the latest IPCC report summary.
• Next 6 months: Engage with our Finance and Investor Relations teams to understand current ESG reporting and identify gaps in climate disclosures.
• Next 12 months: Commission a preliminary climate risk assessment for our most vulnerable global sites. Develop a draft decarbonisation roadmap.
• Next 18 months: Present a comprehensive climate risk management strategy and adaptation plan to the Board.
• QuickWin: Start by integrating climate risk discussions into your existing enterprise risk management framework. Identify one or two key physical risks (e.g., water scarcity in a region) and begin assessing their potential operational impact.
• Skill: AI-Driven HSE Strategy & Governance
• Why: AI is rapidly transforming how we identify risks, manage incidents, and predict future hazards. As VP, you'll need to move beyond simply using AI tools to strategically governing their deployment, ensuring ethical use, data privacy, and effective integration into our global HSE framework. It's about leveraging AI for strategic advantage.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Ethical AI & Bias Mitigation', 'description': 'Understanding the ethical implications of AI in HSE (e.g., worker surveillance, predictive bias) and establishing governance to ensure fair, transparent, and responsible use.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data Privacy & Cybersecurity in AI', 'description': 'Ensuring that worker data used in AI models is protected, compliant with GDPR and other regulations, and secure from cyber threats.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI Model Validation & Oversight', 'description': 'Establishing processes for validating the accuracy and reliability of AI-driven risk predictions or incident analyses, ensuring human oversight and accountability remain paramount.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI Integration Roadmap', 'description': 'Developing a strategic roadmap for how AI will be systematically integrated into our global EHS management platforms and operational processes over the next 3-5 years.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Partner with our IT and Legal teams to understand our current AI governance policies. Identify a pilot project for AI in HSE (e.g., automated trend analysis).
• Next 6 months: Develop a draft 'Principles for Ethical AI in HSE' document for internal review. Engage with external experts or industry groups on best practices.
• Next 12 months: Oversee the successful implementation and validation of an AI-driven HSE solution. Establish metrics for its effectiveness and ethical compliance.
• Next 18 months: Present a comprehensive AI strategy for HSE to the Executive Leadership Team, outlining benefits, risks, and governance.
• QuickWin: Start by championing the use of AI for routine data analysis and report generation within your team. This builds familiarity and demonstrates immediate value, paving the way for more strategic applications.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced Digital Twin & IoT Integration for HSE
• Why: The convergence of digital twins and IoT sensors offers unprecedented real-time visibility into operational risks, environmental performance, and worker safety. As VP, you'll need to strategically leverage these technologies to create predictive, rather than reactive, HSE programmes.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Real-time Risk Monitoring', 'description': 'Understanding how IoT sensors (e.g., gas detectors, vibration monitors, wearables) can feed data into digital twins to provide real-time risk assessments and alerts.'}, {'concept_name': 'Predictive Maintenance & Safety', 'description': 'Leveraging digital twin data to predict equipment failures that could lead to incidents, and integrating this with maintenance schedules to prevent harm.'}, {'concept_name': 'Immersive Training & Simulation', 'description': 'Using digital twins for virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) based safety training, allowing workers to practice high-risk scenarios in a safe, simulated environment.'}, {'concept_name': 'Environmental Performance Optimisation', 'description': 'Using digital twins to model and optimise energy consumption, waste generation, and emissions in real-time across facilities.'}]
• Prepare: This quarter: Research leading companies using digital twins/IoT for HSE. Identify potential pilot sites within our operations.
• Next 6 months: Engage with our Engineering and IT teams to understand existing digital twin capabilities and potential integration points.
• Next 12 months: Develop a business case for a pilot digital twin/IoT project focused on a specific high-risk area (e.g., confined space entry, chemical handling).
• Next 18 months: Oversee the pilot project, evaluating its impact on safety and operational efficiency, and develop a roadmap for broader deployment.
• QuickWin: Start by exploring existing IoT data streams within our operations (e.g., from machinery, building management systems) and brainstorm how that data could be used for proactive safety insights.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: A Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Alts: Extensive (20+ years) and demonstrable experience in senior global HSE leadership roles, coupled with relevant professional certifications, could be considered in lieu of a specific degree.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: A Master's degree (e.g., MBA, MSc in Environmental Management, MSc in Occupational Health & Safety) or equivalent advanced professional qualification.
• Alts: N/A

Experience Requirements

You'll need roughly 16-20 years of progressive experience in Health, Safety, and Environment roles, with at least 8-10 years spent in senior leadership positions (Director level or above) overseeing global or multi-regional operations. This must include direct experience managing large teams (25+ people, including managers), significant P&L responsibility (£2M+), and regular interaction with C-suite executives and Board members. We're looking for someone who has genuinely driven cultural change and managed complex regulatory environments across diverse geographies. Experience in M&A integration from an HSE perspective is a definite plus.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: Lead Auditor (ISO 45001/14001)
• Prod: IRCA or equivalent accredited body
• Usage: Demonstrates expertise in auditing and improving management systems, which is critical for global governance.
• Cert: Environmental Professional (EP) or Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)
• Prod: Various professional bodies (e.g., IEMA, CIWEM)
• Usage: Shows a strong commitment and expertise in environmental management, which is a key pillar of this role.
• Cert: Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Prod: Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Usage: Useful for managing complex global HSE programmes and technology deployments, ensuring they stay on track and within budget.

Recommended Activities

• Active participation in global HSE industry forums and associations (e.g., NSC, IOSH, IEMA, ASSE). This keeps you current and connected.
• Regularly attending executive leadership development programmes focused on strategy, finance, and organisational change. HSE at this level is a business function.
• Engaging with external consultants and thought leaders on emerging HSE risks and technologies (e.g., AI in safety, climate resilience).
• Mentoring junior HSE professionals within and outside the organisation. Giving back is important, and it sharpens your own leadership skills.
• Publishing articles or speaking at conferences on global HSE best practices or emerging trends. This builds our reputation and yours.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: Director of HSE (Large Business Unit or Global Domain)
• Time: 3-5 years as a Director
• Path: Head of Regional HSE (e.g., EMEA, APAC)
• Time: 4-6 years as a Regional Head
• Path: Senior HSE Consultant (Global Advisory Firm)
• Time: 5-8 years in a senior advisory role

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: Chief Sustainability & Risk Officer (CSRO)
• Time: 3-5 years in current VP role
• Pathway: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Time: 5-7 years in current VP role

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Chief Sustainability & Risk Officer (CSRO)
• Time: 5-10 years
• Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Time: 7-12 years
• Title: Non-Executive Director (NED) / Board Member
• Time: 10-15 years
• Title: Global HSE Advisor / Expert (Consulting)
• Time: 10-15 years

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.