HSEQ Data Services Lead in Southampton

We are using and creating technology to transform operations at sea to enable people and the planet to thrive. We are open-minded and fearless in our approach to innovation and don't believe in boundaries. We challenge everything and have massive ambitions to drag aging industries into the tech era. We take safety, equality and education very seriously, and our responsibilities don't stop at our front door. Our business is built on the belief that there's definitely a more environmentally responsible way to operate at sea.

We employ people who share our core values. We expect our people to be courageous, trustworthy, and conscientious, driven by a desire to do the right thing. We strive for excellence, work collaboratively, and are genuinely excited by our work. We offer opportunities for our people to develop beyond their role and span a multitude of disciplines. These are open to all, regardless of background and experience level. Working with us means being part of a team that is harnessing technology and creativity to disrupt a traditional industry. We are not your average workplace.

Ocean Infinity is seeking a HSEQ Lead that is accountable for how operational safety is governed, scaled, and assured across Ocean Infinity’s Data Services marine operations, where people, vessels, assets and the environment are exposed during live marine execution. The role owns the operational safety model for Data Services — defining how control of work, readiness, competence, and escalation operate at scale across marine and vessel‑based operations, and ensuring that HSEQ engagement is proportionate, predictable, and risk‑led, not driven by default presence or legacy practice.

This role is central to shifting HSEQ in Data Services from embedded, document‑heavy oversight to a complexity‑based coverage model that maintains strong execution safety and compliance while enabling the business to operate at pace across a growing portfolio of campaigns and vessels. This is both a leadership and a hands-on role. The HSEQ Data Services Lead will manage HSEQ Operational Advisors and, particularly in the first 12 months, will also carry direct advisory work on higher-complexity projects as the team scales.

What you will do:

• Accountable for operational safety risk during live execution across Data Services marine operations — including vessels, offshore campaigns, mobilisation and demobilisation phases.
• Owns how execution phase safety is governed, escalated, and assured across the portfolio.
• Defines the boundary between: delivery ownership (project, marine, vessel teams), and HSEQ ownership (frameworks, escalation thresholds, assurance logic).
• Provides senior HSEQ leadership during high‑risk vessel mobilisations, non‑standard or novel marine operations, escalated operational safety events.
• Acts as the point of authority and escalation when execution risk exceeds predefined thresholds.
• Ensures that risk acceptance decisions are taken at the right level, with appropriate visibility and evidence.

Control‑of‑Work, Readiness and Competence Frameworks

• Owns the Data Services approach to control of work, mobilisation and readiness, competence expectations, permit‑to‑work interfaces.
• Ensures these frameworks: are appropriate for marine and vessel‑based operations, scale across multiple campaigns without requiring bespoke HSEQ effort per project, are clearly distinguished between always‑on controls and risk‑triggered controls.

Complexity-Based Coverage Model

• Alongside PM and operational teams, implement and refine a project complexity scoring model that classifies projects by risk characteristics (e.g. novel operations, environmental exposure, client requirements, geography).
• Ensures HSEQ involvement in Data Services scales with operational complexity and consequence, not project count, and is triggered early (e.g. bid, mobilisation planning), not late.
• Integrates complexity scoring with tendering and planning processes so operational risk is surfaced before execution begins, not absorbed reactively.

Standardisation & Efficiency

• Build and maintain a standard control and evidence library for repeatable Data Services work — with mandatory always-on controls explicitly labelled and distinguished from triggered controls.
• Identify the top high-volume HSEQ artefacts consuming advisor time and partner with our Technology teams to deliver automation and embed AI into the flow of work where possible.
• Reduce time spent on document creation so advisors can focus on real risk and decision enablement.

Insight & Governance

• Accountable for escalating systemic execution‑phase issues into HSEQ governance — rather than allowing repeat operational risk to be managed locally and repeatedly.
• Owns how learning from incidents, near misses, and operational deviations is translated into changes to controls, readiness criteria, and standards.
• Ensures Data Services contributes meaningful signal into management review and assurance processes.

Team Leadership

• Line manage HSEQ Operational Advisors – Data Services.
• Set expectations, develop capability, and embed new ways of working across the team.
• Ensure advisors operate as decision enablers — stepping in and out based on context and consequence, not as permanent project fixtures.

Who you are:

• Significant experience in HSEQ leadership within marine, offshore, or subsea operations.
• Demonstrable experience managing operational safety risk in execution-heavy, multi-project environments.
• Experience designing or operating risk-based engagement models (e.g. complexity scoring, risk triage at bid/tender).
• Strong understanding of control of work, permit-to-work, and mobilisation/readiness frameworks.
• Ability to lead and develop a team of HSEQ advisors.
• Familiarity with Integrated Management Systems (ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001).
• Comfortable working at pace in a scaling organisation — pragmatic, outcome-focused, not process-heavy.
• NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent; IOSH Chartered membership desirable.
• Experience with data-led safety management (dashboards, trend analysis) is an advantage.

Salary for this position: Up to £75,000 per annum. The salary varies for this position as we are recruiting in multiple regional locations and job grades. The salary process is based on skills, abilities, and experience required.

What you can expect:

At Ocean Infinity, we believe in creating equal opportunities for all, celebrating each and everyone’s differences. We are driven by transforming the industry, through our technology, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being inclusive and respectful to all is fundamental to who we are. It is the right thing to do and enables innovation and creativity to thrive. There is more work to be done, and we know that we aren’t perfect, but our commitment to these values is unwavering. They are central to our mission and the impact we have on the industry, meaning, we cannot live without them.