United Kingdom · Compliance, quality and safety · Director/VP (16-20 years)

Global Director of Health & Safety

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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  • Experience bandDirector/VP (16-20 years)
  • Reports toChief Health, Safety & Environment Officer (CHSEO)
  • UK framework levelUsually a director, accountable for a division and its numbers

Also advertised as Global Head of EHS · VP of Health, Safety & Environment · Group H&S Director

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

Qualifi Level 7 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management Qualifi Ltd · Level 7 · covers 1 of 12 standards
CMI Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Management and Leadership Chartered Management Institute · Level 5 · covers 4 of 12 standards
City & Guilds Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management City & Guilds Limited · Level 5 · covers 2 of 12 standards
City & Guilds Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management City & Guilds Limited · Level 5 · covers 2 of 12 standards
City & Guilds Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice City & Guilds Limited · Level 6 · covers 1 of 12 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Strategic Commitment to Health and Well-Being Qualifi Level 7 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management
Manage Health and Safety in own area of responsibility CMI Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Management and Leadership
Managing a healthy and safe environment City & Guilds Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management
Maintain Systems and Processes for Health, Safety, Welfare and Environmental Protection in an Engineering Environment NOCN Level 5 Diploma in Computer Engineering (Information Technology and Data Science)
Organisational health and safety strategy City & Guilds Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice

The future skills this job leans on

Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Sustainability Fluency building care for people and planet into the work
Frontier Fluency the next wave, beyond mainstream AI
Foresight Fluency seeing round the corner
Change Fluency taking people through change
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Global Director of Health & Safety

5 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Strategic Commitment to Health and Well-Being Qualifi Ltd · covers 1 of 12 standards Level 7
  2. Manage Health and Safety in own area of responsibility Chartered Management Institute · covers 4 of 12 standards Level 5
  3. Managing a healthy and safe environment City & Guilds Limited · covers 2 of 12 standards Level 5
  4. Maintain Systems and Processes for Health, Safety, Welfare and Environmental Protection in an Engineering Environment NOCN · covers 1 of 12 standards Level 5
  5. Organisational health and safety strategy City & Guilds Limited · covers 1 of 12 standards Level 6
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Global Director of Health & Safety?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • ESG Reporting & Integrated Risk Management
  • Digital Transformation & H&S Tech Integration
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Global Director of Health & Safety plan as you set up, starting with the free Data Fluency module. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

This role sets the strategy for health and safety across sites worldwide, from factory floors to distribution centres.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Intelex, Cority, VelocityEHS, Enablon (EHS Management Platform) Strategic

Leading vendor selection (RFP process), owning the enterprise-wide implementation strategy, negotiating contracts, and ensuring the platform meets global H&S needs and reporting requirements.

BowTieXP, Sphera PHA-Pro, Isometrix (Risk Assessment Software) Strategic

Setting the corporate risk tolerance framework, standardising risk assessment methodologies across all global business units, and ensuring consistent application of ALARP principles.

Wolters Kluwer Enablon, Sphera, LexisNexis Regulatory Compliance (Regulatory Compliance DB) Strategic

Monitoring global regulatory trends to anticipate future compliance risks, influencing corporate lobbying efforts, and ensuring our global policies remain compliant with evolving legislation.

Defining the key H&S metrics for executive and board-level dashboards, ensuring data tells a compelling story about global risk and performance, and driving data-driven strategic decisions.

Cornerstone OnDemand, SAP Litmos, Docebo (Learning Management System) Strategic

Setting the global H&S training strategy, managing the budget for learning programmes, defining effectiveness metrics, and ensuring consistent, high-quality training delivery worldwide.

Diligent Boards, Nasdaq Boardvantage (Board Reporting) Strategic

Preparing and presenting the quarterly H&S report to the Board's Risk or ESG committee, defending global performance and strategy under scrutiny, and articulating key risks and opportunities.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Global H&S Strategy & Policy N/A N/A Defines and approves global H&S strategy and overarching policies. Consults with CHSEO and Board for final endorsement.
Budget Allocation (H&S Function) N/A N/A Manages and allocates global H&S budget (£2M-£10M+). Approves significant programme investments. Reports variances to CFO/CHSEO.
Major Incident Response (Global) N/A N/A Leads and directs the global response to major H&S incidents, including operational shutdowns and external communications strategy (in conjunction with Legal/Comms).
Regulatory Engagement & Compliance Strategy N/A N/A Defines the global approach to regulatory engagement. Directs responses to significant regulatory inquiries and audit findings across all jurisdictions.
Team Hiring & Organisational Design N/A N/A Full authority for hiring, performance management, and organisational design within the global H&S function, including senior regional H&S managers.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Global Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) Reduction
The overall frequency of workplace injuries and illnesses across all global operations.
Target · Reduce global TRIR by 10-15% year-on-year.

If our global TRIR was 1.5 last year, you'd aim for 1.35 or less this year. This is a board-level metric, so expect scrutiny.

ISO 45001 Certification Coverage
The percentage of our global sites that have achieved and maintained ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certification.
Target · Achieve 90% ISO 45001 certification across all global sites within 3 years.

If we have 100 sites, you'll need to ensure 90 of them are certified, driving the programme and supporting regional teams to get there.

Leading Indicator Score Improvement
Improvement in proactive safety behaviours, such as near-miss reporting rates, safety observation quality, and completion of preventative actions.
Target · Increase leading indicator scores (e.g., quality of safety observations, closure rate of identified hazards) by 25% year-on-year.

You'd see an increase in the number of high-quality safety observations submitted and a faster turnaround on closing out identified risks, showing a shift from reactive to proactive.

Global H&S Programme Budget Adherence
Managing the allocated budget for global H&S initiatives, training, technology, and personnel.
Target · Maintain H&S operational spend within ±5% of the approved annual budget (£2M-£10M+).

If the global H&S budget is £5M, you'll need to manage it to stay between £4.75M and £5.25M, justifying any significant variances to the CHSEO and CFO.

Board & Executive Confidence
The level of trust and confidence the Board and Executive team have in our global H&S strategy and performance.
  • You'll be regularly invited to present to the Board's Risk or ESG committee, your recommendations will be adopted without significant pushback, and the CHSEO will consistently refer to your insights in wider strategic discussions.
Regulatory Relationship Strength
The quality and proactivity of our relationships with key regulatory bodies globally.
  • We'll have a reputation for transparency and proactivity with regulators. You'll be engaging with them preventatively, not just reactively after an incident. Feedback from external audits will consistently highlight strong compliance and a collaborative approach.
H&S Culture Maturity
The shift in employee behaviour and attitudes towards safety, moving from compliance to genuine commitment.
  • Employee surveys will show increased engagement in safety programmes, a higher willingness to use 'Stop Work Authority', and anecdotal evidence of front-line workers taking ownership of safety beyond formal requirements. Less 'pencil-whipping'.
Effective Global Incident Learning
Our ability to learn from incidents (and near-misses) globally and implement systemic changes to prevent recurrence.
  • Post-incident reviews will consistently identify root causes beyond individual error, and corrective actions will be tracked, implemented, and verified across relevant global sites. You'll see a reduction in similar incidents occurring elsewhere.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Driving Global Impact & Protecting Lives

You get a real buzz from seeing a measurable reduction in global incidents, knowing that your strategies are directly preventing harm to thousands of people. You're driven by the fundamental belief that everyone deserves to go home safe, no matter where they work for us.

Successfully rolling out a new global 'Golden Rules' programme that demonstrably reduces high-potential incidents across all regions, knowing you've made a tangible difference to people's lives.

Shaping Enterprise Strategy & Governance

You thrive on defining the overarching H&S vision for a multi-national organisation, building robust governance frameworks, and influencing board-level decisions. You enjoy the challenge of integrating H&S into core business strategy, not just as a compliance function.

Presenting a compelling case to the Board for a multi-million-pound investment in a new global EHS platform, clearly articulating the ROI in terms of risk reduction and operational efficiency.

Navigating Complex Global Challenges

The thought of solving complex, multi-jurisdictional regulatory puzzles, managing diverse cultural expectations, and leading through global crises excites you. You enjoy the intellectual challenge of building a cohesive global programme from disparate parts.

Developing a unified global incident response plan that accounts for local emergency services, cultural reporting norms, and varying legal requirements across 50+ countries.

What frustrates people
  • Global budget fights for safety investments, often needing to justify every penny with a hard ROI against projects that generate immediate revenue.
  • The 'Safety Cop' stereotype, but on a global scale, constantly battling the perception that your role is to hinder operations rather than enable safe production.
  • Navigating the blame game and political manoeuvring after a serious global incident, where operational leaders might try to deflect systemic scrutiny.
  • Seeing valuable global incident data and near-miss reports sit unused because regional teams lack the resources or skills to analyse them for predictive trends.
  • The sheer complexity of harmonising H&S standards across wildly different regulatory landscapes and cultural norms, often feeling like you're herding cats.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable 9-5 job with no surprises—global H&S is anything but.
  • The luxury of working in a single, homogenous regulatory environment.
  • A role where you don't have to constantly justify your existence and budget.
  • A position where you're always popular or seen as the 'good guy' by everyone.

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts the company's operational continuity, regulatory standing, brand reputation, and most importantly, the physical well-being of our entire global workforce. You're driving transformation at a business unit level, making sure our global footprint is safe and compliant.

Inside the business
  • C-Suite (CEO, COO, CFO)
  • Business Unit Managing Directors
  • Legal & Regulatory Affairs
  • Human Resources Leadership
  • Operations Leadership (Global & Regional)
Outside the business
  • Regulatory Bodies (HSE, OSHA, local equivalents)
  • External Auditors & Certification Bodies
  • Industry Associations & Peers
  • Insurance Providers
  • Board Risk Committee

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Extensive experience (16+ years) in a senior leadership role within Health and Safety, preferably with global responsibility.
  • Demonstrable experience in designing, implementing, and managing enterprise-wide H&S management systems (e.g., ISO 45001).
  • Proven track record of successfully influencing C-suite and Board-level stakeholders on H&S strategy and investment.
  • Significant experience in leading and developing large, geographically dispersed H&S teams.
  • Expertise in global regulatory compliance and managing H&S in diverse cultural and legal environments.
  • Strong financial acumen, including managing multi-million-pound budgets and demonstrating ROI for H&S initiatives.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Analytics & AI for H&S

Moving beyond basic dashboards, you'll need to understand how to use advanced statistical models and AI to identify hidden correlations, predict incident hotspots, and measure the true effectiveness of complex interventions across global datasets.

Machine learning for anomaly detection in safety d · Natural Language Processing (NLP) for unstructured · Causal inference techniques for intervention effec · Data governance and privacy for global H&S data · Ethical considerations in predictive safety analyt

  • This week: Read up on a case study of AI in predictive safety analytics.
  • This month: Work with our Data Science team (if we have one) to understand their capabilities and how they could apply to H&S.
  • Month 2: Define a specific H&S problem that advanced analytics could solve for us.
  • Month 3: Champion a pilot project to use AI for one aspect of H&S data analysis.

Quick win: Use AI tools (like ChatGPT or Claude) to help summarise complex H&S reports or identify patterns in your existing incident data.

Integrated Global Risk Management

H&S risk can't be viewed in isolation. You'll need to integrate H&S risk management with broader enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks, understanding how H&S risks interact with financial, operational, reputational, and cyber risks on a global scale.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) frameworks (e.g., · Interdependencies between H&S and other business r · Quantification of H&S risk (financial modelling) · Board-level risk appetite and tolerance · Scenario planning for global H&S risks

  • This week: Review our company's latest ERM report or risk register.
  • This month: Meet with the Head of Enterprise Risk to understand their framework.
  • Month 2: Map how our key H&S risks feed into the broader ERM framework.
  • Month 3: Propose improvements to how H&S risk is integrated into our overall risk reporting.

Quick win: Ensure your H&S risk assessments explicitly link to potential business impacts beyond just safety, e.g., 'reputational damage', 'supply chain disruption'.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attend global H&S conferences (e.g., NSC Congress, Safety & Health Expo) to stay abreast of emerging trends and network with peers.
  • Participate in industry working groups or committees to influence H&S standards and share best practices.
  • Undertake executive leadership training programmes, particularly those focused on global leadership, change management, and board engagement.
  • Engage in continuous learning around AI, data analytics, and digital transformation in the context of H&S.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

ESG Reporting & Integrated Risk Management

Essential for future readiness in this role.

  • GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Standards
  • SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) F
  • TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disc
  • Integrated Risk Reporting to the Board
  • Supply Chain H&S Due Diligence for ESG

Digital Transformation & H&S Tech Integration

Essential for future readiness in this role.

  • IoT for real-time hazard monitoring (e.g., gas det
  • Wearable technology for worker safety (e.g., fall
  • Predictive analytics for incident forecasting (bey
  • Digital twins for virtual risk assessment and trai
  • Cybersecurity considerations for H&S data

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • ISO 45001 Management Systems (Strategic Implementation)
  • Root Cause Analysis (Systemic Failure Identification)
  • Behavior-Based Safety (Global Culture Transformation)
  • Hierarchy of Controls (Enterprise-Wide Application)
  • Leading vs. Lagging Indicator Analysis (Board Reporting)
  • Human and Organisational Performance (HOP) Principles

14The pathway

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. 1

    Head of H&S (Business Unit / Major Region)

    3-5 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Mastering full P&L responsibility for a significant H&S function, driving strategic change within a large business unit, and managing a senior H&S team.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently exceeding H&S performance targets for a large business unit or region.
    • Successfully leading complex H&S projects with significant business impact.
    • Demonstrating strong influence over business unit leadership and effective team development.
  2. 2

    Senior H&S Consultant (Global Focus)

    5-7 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Developing deep expertise in diverse global regulatory environments, advising multiple clients on H&S strategy, and managing large-scale H&S transformation projects.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully advising multiple large, multi-national clients on H&S strategy and implementation.
    • Recognised as an expert in specific areas of global H&S (e.g., process safety, ESG integration).
    • Proven ability to manage complex projects and deliver measurable H&S improvements across different organisations.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to board level advisory roles in health and safety and ESG, or to a broader role as Global Head of ESG and Sustainability.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Global Director of Health & Safety is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Strategic Commitment to Health and Well-Being, worked against Global Director of Health & Safety.

Strategic Commitment to Health and Well-Being Level 7

Applied to your work in Global Director of Health & Safety

1. To enable the learner to critically evaluate existing organisational strategies and policies concerning integrated health, well-being, and safety, incorporating relevant legal and regulatory compliance. 2. To enable the learner to comprehensively analyse the diverse occupational health and well-being issues impacting employee welfare, organisational reputation, and identifying associated threats. 3. To enable the learner to determine organisational adherence to risk assessment principles and develop robust strategies for engagement and improvement in occupational health and well-being. 4. To enable the learner to effectively promote and engage stakeholders at all organisational levels to ensure the successful implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of health and well-being strategies. 5. To enable the learner to outline time-bound measurements for strategic changes and improvements, demonstrating the full range of benefits across individuals, groups, and the wider organisation. 6. To enable the learner to cultivate and assess stakeholder understanding, commitment, and critical reflection towards established health and well-being objectives.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Global Director of Health & Safety
  • ISO 45001 Management Systems (Strategic Implementation)
  • Root Cause Analysis (Systemic Failure Identification)
  • Behavior-Based Safety (Global Culture Transformation)
  • Hierarchy of Controls (Enterprise-Wide Application)
  • Leading vs. Lagging Indicator Analysis (Board Reporting)
  • Human and Organisational Performance (HOP) Principles
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Global Director of Health & Safety is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. From L6 to L7

    • Defining enterprise-level H&S vision and long-term roadmap (3-5+ years).
    • Direct accountability for H&S performance to the CEO and Board.
    • Leading M&A due diligence and integration from an H&S perspective at the corporate level.
    • Influencing industry standards and thought leadership.
  2. Chief Operating Officer (COO) with H&S Focus

    5-8 years in current role

    From L6 to L7

    • Integrating H&S as a core component of operational excellence and efficiency.
    • Leading multi-functional operational teams beyond H&S.
    • Driving overall business performance while maintaining world-class H&S standards.
    • Strategic capital expenditure planning and execution for operational improvements.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, managing global health and safety for a large organisation is a monumental task. You're drowning in data, regulations, and incident reports from every corner of the globe. What if you could cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters? AI isn't here to replace your strategic brain, but it can certainly give you a massive leg up on the heavy lifting.

Imagine having a digital assistant that sifts through thousands of incident reports, flags emerging risks before they become problems, and keeps you ahead of regulatory changes worldwide. That's the power AI brings to a Global Director of Health & Safety. It means less time buried in administrative tasks and more time shaping culture and preventing harm.

Automated Global Incident Triage

AI can analyse unstructured text from incident reports, emails, or hotline calls from any region, automatically categorising severity, identifying common themes, and flagging high-potential events for your immediate review. It's like having a super-fast, always-on global incident analyst.

Predictive Risk Hotspotting (Enterprise-Wide)

Use AI models to crunch historical incident, near-miss, and observation data from all your global sites, cross-referencing it with operational variables like shift patterns, production volumes, and even local weather. This helps predict where and when the next incident is most likely to occur, allowing you to deploy preventative measures proactively across your business units.

Global Regulatory Change Summariser

AI tools can constantly monitor regulatory bodies (HSE, OSHA, local equivalents) across all the countries we operate in. They'll provide you with concise, plain-English summaries of proposed changes, highlight their direct impact on our existing global policies, and even suggest updates. No more sifting through dense legal texts from a dozen different jurisdictions.

Strategic Safety Communications Generator

Need to draft a compelling 'Safety Moment' for the executive team, a global safety alert, or a tailored toolbox talk for a specific region? AI can help draft these communications, adapting the language, tone, and cultural references to resonate with diverse audiences, saving you hours of writing and refining.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Global Director of Health & Safety?

Common routes in include Head of H&S (Business Unit / Major Region) (3-5 years in previous role) and Senior H&S Consultant (Global Focus) (5-7 years in previous role). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Global Director of Health & Safety progress to?

This role can lead on to Chief Health, Safety & Environment Officer (CHSEO) (3-5 years in current role) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) with H&S Focus (5-8 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Global Director of Health & Safety?

Increasingly, ESG Reporting & Integrated Risk Management and Digital Transformation & H&S Tech Integration. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 7

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

More jobs in compliance, quality and safety

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

Skills in global risk management, strategic leadership and cultural change transfer to other regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, energy or aerospace. They also apply to wider operational leadership roles where safety and compliance matter.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free Data Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.