Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Manager in Thatcham

Working in partnership with M&S, at Gist we deliver industry-leading logistics and supply chain transformation. At Gist, safety and people sit at the heart of everything we do. We value individuality and create an environment where everyone can bring their authentic self to work, contribute meaningfully, and make a real impact.

We are looking for an experienced HSE Manager to join our growing site in Thatcham, supporting a large, complex, and fast-moving operation. This is a high-profile, influential role, working in close partnership with the Site General Manager, operational leadership teams and the Head of HSE. You will shape and lead the Health, Safety and Environmental agenda on site — not just ensuring compliance, but actively driving behavioural change, strengthening safety leadership capability, and embedding a culture where people genuinely look out for one another. If you are motivated by visibility, influence and the opportunity to make measurable improvements in a high-risk environment, this role will give you the platform to do exactly that.

What’s in it for you?

• 20% M&S discount on most things from furniture, fashion and food
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (rising with length of service)
• Private Health Insurance
• Discounted rates on healthcare cash plan
• Attractive annual bonus scheme, based on M&S performance and personal objectives
• Auto Enrolment Pension or competitive Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and life assurance (up to 4 times salary)
• Amazing perks and discounts via our App to major restaurants and retailers
• Access to a wide range of wellbeing support – including our Employee Assistance Programme
• Training schemes to help with your learning and development
• Cycle to work scheme

Role details:

• Hours: 37.5 per week
• Working Pattern: Monday to Friday
• Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 DOE
• Location: Thatcham, RG19 4BQ

What you’ll do:

You will act as the site’s HSE lead, partnering closely with senior leadership to combine strong operational presence with strategic oversight. Key responsibilities include:

• Partner the site(s) General Manager and wider leadership team as the HSE subject matter expert
• Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the HSE strategy and site improvement plan
• Be highly visible within the site operations and site-based support functions to coach, advise, manage and advance the HSE culture
• Collaborate effectively with colleagues and cross-functional teams to ensure that the GIST wide health, safety and environmental improvements are implemented locally as well as site specific improvements
• Review site level reports and information to identify actionable insights, corrective actions or emerging risks
• Mentor and coach operational managers helping them to develop their HSE leadership and management capability
• Provide professional advice to enable the site to achieve compliance in line with relevant legislation and internal standards
• Manage the triage of site incidents, delegate incident investigations and lead accident investigations where appropriate
• Monitor audit outcomes and reviews, to ensure that corrective actions are raised and implemented by the site leadership team
• Manage emergency planning and business continuity arrangements in partnership with operational teams
• Build and maintain respectful relationships and collaborate with local trade union HSE representatives
• Support the business to manage and defend the sites insurance claims
• Act as the primary contact for external agencies, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements

In addition to dedicated site activities:

• Travel to other sites on an ad-hoc basis to support business activities
• Carry out quarterly audits at other sites
• Work collaboratively with the wider HSE team and attend periodic in person team meetings which may include overnight stays
• Stay current with regulatory developments, industry trends, and practices relevant to the logistics and supply chain industry, to ensure that Gist remains compliant with applicable regulations
• Support (including out of hours) in the event of a serious incident
• Maintain continuous professional development

Who you are:

You are a confident, credible and pragmatic HSE professional with experience operating in fast-paced, medium-to-high-risk environments. You bring both technical expertise and the ability to influence operational leaders.

You will have:

• An experienced health and safety manager within a proven track record of effectively managing HSE in a fast paced medium or high-risk environment
• Holds a NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety or equivalent
• A member of IOSH or other appropriate professional body
• Able to plan work to proactively manage HSE
• An agile, excellent communicator with strong interpersonal skills that enable you to foster collaboration, influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation and drive alignment on improving HSE at the site
• Experience in accident and incident management and possesses the investigations skills to allow effective analyse incidents, identify root causes, and implementation of corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence
• Self-starter and driven to deliver results with minimal day-to-day guidance
• Able to travel and work flexibly given the 24/7 nature of the operation and seasonal peak times

Desirable:

• IEMA / ISEP Environmental Certification
• Knowledge of the Logistics/Distribution sector
• Union experience or equivalent consultation forum
• Chartered membership of IOSH (or working towards)

Why Gist?

At Gist we are united by our core values; with safety and people at the heart of everything do, we are progressive, accountable, collaborative, and ethical. Our objective is to establish a performance-focused environment that is fair and inclusive, where everyone can develop, and connect meaningfully to their manager, the Gist vision, and M&S. We are fiercely protective of everyone’s health, safety, and well-being, and align firmly to M&S’s sustainability commitments in Plan A. Gist will play an integral part in the M&S journey as it pushes boundaries to lead the retail industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring era. As part of the M&S group, there’s never been a better time to be part of our team. Join us and make an immediate impact.

Gist aims to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers, and suppliers. If you consider yourself to require reasonable adjustments to any part of our recruitment process, we invite you to share those requirements with us when completing your application. We will make every effort to ensure your needs are met to provide a fair and transparent process of assessment. If it’s meaningful to you, it’s important to us.