Quality Management Expert in Farnborough

Jenoptik is an international photonics group with representatives in over 80 countries. Optical technologies are the foundation of our business. We employ around 4,600 people worldwide. Join our team and help to shape our future with lasting effect.

Jenoptik UK Ltd delivers intelligent traffic enforcement and roadside technology systems operating in complex public-facing environments. The QHSE Manager is accountable for safeguarding statutory compliance, protecting employees and partners, and ensuring management systems withstand regulatory and customer scrutiny. This role combines operational oversight with strategic leadership, embedding a proactive safety culture and driving continuous improvement across UK operations. This role includes regular travel around the UK to operational sites and occasional travel to Jenoptik offices in Germany may be required for group alignment.

About you: Reporting to the Director of Operations UK, you are an experienced QHSE professional with a strong understanding of health, safety, and environmental legislation. You’re proactive, detail-oriented, and confident advising managers at all levels. With excellent organisational and communication skills, you can develop practical policies, lead audits and inspections, and drive a culture of continuous improvement and compliance across the business.

Location: Home – Regular attendance at the Farnborough Office

Core Responsibilities

• Health & Safety Leadership: Ensure compliance with UK legislation including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and CDM Regulations 2015. Own and continuously improve the Health & Safety Management System. Develop and maintain health and safety strategies, policies, and procedures that ensure Jenoptik complies with relevant legislation. Oversee safe systems of work and contractor governance frameworks. Lead site inspections, audits, and incident investigations including RIDDOR reporting. Review and approve Risk Assessments, Method Statements, and Work Packages. Advise on specialist areas including fire regulations, hazardous substances, noise, laser/optical safety, and occupational health. Act as liaison with enforcing authorities including the Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency. Report H&S performance metrics to leadership and drive measurable improvement. Maintain awareness of new and evolving HSE legislation and guidance affecting the intelligent transport and traffic enforcement sectors.
• Quality Governance & Systems Leadership: Maintain and improve ISO 9001 certification and support ISO 14001 compliance. Lead internal audit programmes and coordinate external certification audits. Govern non-conformance and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) processes. Ensure management reviews are performance-driven and outcome-focused. Support customer audits and evidential robustness for enforcement-grade systems. Produce management records, QHSE newsletters/bulletins, and KPI reports. Ensure all QHSE documentation is captured, stored, and accessible. Manage waste, WEEE compliance, pollution prevention, and environmental reporting obligations. Support ISO 14001 system development and continuous improvement. Identify and mitigate environmental risks associated with roadside and field operations.
• Risk, Governance & Reporting: Maintain and manage operational risk registers. Provide structured QHSE reporting to senior leadership on a regular cadence. Monitor regulatory changes and ensure timely closure of audit findings and corrective actions. Support tender submissions with governance evidence and compliance documentation.
• Training, Culture & Engagement: Deliver QHSE induction and refresher training for new starters and existing staff. Coach managers on safety accountability and their legal responsibilities. Lead behavioural safety initiatives to embed a proactive safety culture. Facilitate and coordinate external safety training programmes. Communicate QHSE information, updates, and improvement initiatives across the organisation.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong working relationships with staff, subcontractors, and key customers. Engage effectively across organisational boundaries, including engineering, project management, senior leadership, and subcontractor teams. Partner with customers to drive continuous improvement in health and safety standards within delivered services.

Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

• NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (minimum).
• NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent (preferred).
• IOSH membership at GradIOSH level or above (CMIOSH desirable).
• Demonstrable working knowledge of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management systems.
• Significant experience managing QHSE compliance in infrastructure, ITS, highways, utilities, rail, or engineering environments.
• Previous experience as a QHSE Manager or equivalent, operating at both strategic and operational levels.
• Experience conducting internal and external audits, with a track record of driving corrective actions to closure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with proven ability to produce high-quality reports and presentations.
• Highly analytical, with the ability to monitor compliance, interpret data, and deliver practical solutions.
• Ability to interpret and apply legislation, approved codes of practice, and industry guidance, and to develop appropriate policies and procedures.
• Confident working across organisational boundaries and advising at all management levels.
• Full UK driving licence.
• Chartered Membership of IOSH (CMIOSH).
• Lead Auditor qualification (ISO 9001 or ISO 14001).
• Experience with QHSE management software and incident reporting platforms.
• Experience working within a matrix-managed or multinational organisation.
• Familiarity with security vetting processes (SC clearance or equivalent).

How You Work: Beyond technical expertise, this role demands a particular way of operating. We’re looking for someone who brings the following values to their work:

• Open: You lead with self-awareness. You understand your strengths and acknowledge your development areas with honesty and maturity. You listen before you prescribe, whether it is a site operative raising a concern or a senior manager challenging a finding. You give people your full attention before responding. You treat every interaction as an opportunity to learn. You actively seek feedback on your own performance, not just that of others, and you model the openness you expect from the organisation.
• Driving: You do not wait for permission to improve things. You identify gaps, take ownership, and move decisively to strengthen systems and behaviours. You build capability around you by coaching managers to become genuine safety owners rather than centralising responsibility yourself. You drive results with energy and persistence, following audit findings through to meaningful closure and ensuring corrective actions are fully embedded in practice, not merely documented on paper.
• Confident: You hold the line when it matters. When there is pressure to cut corners, dilute compliance, or skip critical steps to meet deadlines, you demonstrate the resilience and conviction to challenge appropriately and explain your reasoning clearly and professionally. You are comfortable making decisions with incomplete information, recognising that operational environments are rarely perfect. You take accountability for those decisions and stand behind them.

At Jenoptik, we’re creating a better future for all of us. With its Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Smart Mobility Solutions, Jenoptik provides photonics-based, innovative and sustainable solutions, including technology and services for road safety and security. As an end-to-end solution provider, we support our customers with the provision of roadside equipment and software, including integration, installation, maintenance and financing models through to full-service operation of our solutions. Our strong global presence and installation base is supported by a longstanding partner network with tens of thousands systems deployed worldwide. Leveraging 90 years of experience and 40 years in ANPR, Jenoptik is a world-leading enabler for road safety and civil security, with intelligent solutions and services constantly evolving to help make roads, journeys, communities and our environment safer around the globe.

Have we made you interested in this position? If so, we look forward to receiving your online application. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.