The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Regional Occupational Health Lead (Level 4)
3-5 yearsSkills to master
- Architecting and auditing OH programmes across multiple sites within a large region, managing regional compliance, influencing site leadership, and developing a small team of direct reports.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully reduced DART rates across your region by a significant margin.
- Consistently delivered 95%+ on-time completion of all required medical surveillance activities.
- Received strong feedback from regional business leaders on your ability to influence and drive health initiatives.
- Successfully mentored 2-3 junior OH professionals who have gone on to take on more responsibility.
- 2
Occupational Health Manager (Level 5)
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Managing the OH function for a large country or business unit, including managing significant budgets (£500K-£2M), building and leading a team of 10-25 (including managers), and setting country- or business unit-specific OH strategy.
You're ready to move on when
- Owned the P&L for your OH function, demonstrating measurable ROI on health programmes.
- Successfully designed and implemented major OH programmes (e.g., new EAP, comprehensive IH strategy) for your area.
- Built a high-performing team with clear succession plans and strong employee engagement.
- Consistently presented compelling OH performance and risk reports to country/business unit leadership.