Manufacturing Senior Health & Safety (HSE) Manager in Poole

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Role Overview

This is a pivotal, highly visible leadership role based across our busy manufacturing and production facilities in Poole. At Lush, we believe safety belongs on the shop floor, not behind a desk. We are seeking a dynamic, hands-on HSE professional who thrives on being present in the production environment working directly alongside our teams, influencing behaviours, and moving our operations from reactive compliance to proactive, data-led safety leadership. As Senior HSE Manager, you will mentor an established safety team and lead cultural change across a matrix organisation. Crucially, you will manage physical, environmental, and operational risk while partnering closely with other teams to ensure our physical safety protocols seamlessly align with wider employee wellbeing, legislative compliance, and training frameworks.

Please note: We may close this vacancy early if we receive an overwhelming response or our business requirements change.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, execute, and continually improve our health and safety management systems, working toward or maintaining alignment with ISO 45001 standards.
• Oversee the creation, implementation, and review of robust machinery risk assessments, Safe Systems of Work (SSOW), and complex COSHH assessments across all manufacturing processes.
• Act as the primary HSE stakeholder for site modifications, machinery installations, and facility expansions, ensuring strict compliance with CDM (Construction, Design, and Management) Regulations.
• Control the site permit to work system, ensuring all external engineering, maintenance, and facility contractors are fully vetted, inducted, and compliant.
• Maintain a high frequency presence across all manufacturing units to coach, mentor, and constructively challenge behaviours, fostering an authentic 'safety-first' culture.
• Lead thorough root cause investigations into accidents, near misses, and environmental anomalies. Own the regulatory reporting process, ensuring flawless compliance with RIDDOR.
• Oversee statutory site compliance tracking, including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, PAT/fixed-wire testing, and life-safety systems.
• Write technical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and machinery check sheets, collaborating with production managers to deliver engaging safety inductions and updates.
• Work with leadership and key stakeholders to share data trends, ensuring physical incident reporting actively feeds into broader preventative organisational strategies.
• Partner with the wider People team to utilise and scale Manufacturing's Litmos training platform to standardise and digitise safety record keeping business wide.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent Level 6 health and safety qualification) is highly preferred. Candidates with a NEBOSH General Certificate backed by significant, demonstrable senior leadership experience will be considered.
• Graduate or Chartered membership of IOSH (GradIOSH / CMIOSH) is highly desirable.
• Extensive experience leading HSE performance across multiple sites within a fast-paced manufacturing, FMCG, factory, or heavy industrial environment.
• Expert, up-to-date knowledge of UK statutory HSE legislation, environmental compliance, and fire safety codes.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and negotiation skills. You must be equally comfortable presenting risk trends and KPIs to board level directors as you are coaching an operator on the factory floor.
• Approachable, solution-focused, and collaborative. A champion of people who understands how to lead change through empathy and education rather than rigid policing.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• 6 months of full pay for parental leave (primary caregiver must qualify for SMP)*
• Enhanced paternity leave*
• Bonus scheme
• Day off for weekday birthdays
• Holiday purchase scheme
• 50% discount on Lush products and spa treatments
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted rail and bus season tickets
• Employee assistance programme
• We actively welcome conversations about what working flexibly could mean and look like for you.
• We’re 10% Employee Owned - all colleagues play a role in protecting our ethics, our independence, contributing ideas for the future and share in the rewards of success when the company is doing well.
• Wellbeing & mindfulness sessions
• Access to employee-led Community Networks, including Disability and Chronic Illness, Family Support, Global Majority (Race and Ethnicity), LGBTQIA+, Menopause and Neurodiversity communities.
• Tailored gender affirming care*

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