Safety Officer

The Safety Officer is a key part of the Club’s event day safety management structure. The role supports the planning, delivery, assurance and continuous improvement of safe, compliant and well-managed events. On a rotational basis, the post holder will undertake the event day Safety Officer / Lead Safety Officer function, providing clear leadership, strong decision‑making and professional oversight to protect spectators, staff and all persons on the stadium campus, while supporting a consistently high‑quality fan experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Event day safety leadership
  • Undertake the Safety Officer / Lead Safety Officer role on a rotational basis, with responsibility for operational safety management on event days covered by the Safety Certificate.
  • Provide visible leadership across the matchday safety structure, ensuring teams understand expectations, standards and escalation routes.
  • Make timely, proportionate safety decisions and implement necessary control measures, including stopping unsafe activity where required.
  • Operate with clear professional accountability, working closely with the Stadium Director and Head of Event Safety ensuring safety actions are implemented effectively.
• Event planning, documentation and briefings
  • Produce and quality check event safety documentation, including risk assessments, safety inputs to event plans, briefing content.
  • Deliver (or support delivery of) event day briefings to stewards, supervisors and relevant stakeholders, ensuring messaging is consistent and role‑relevant.
  • Lead or support post‑event debriefs, producing clear outputs, lessons learned and action trackers.
• Assurance, inspections and auditing
  • Support in the regular review of matchday procedures, deployments, and working practices to strengthen compliance and standards.
  • Identify gaps, risks and improvement actions, and track actions through to completion and verification.
  • Support ongoing development of the Stadium Operations Manual and event safety management arrangements, ensuring evidence is maintained for assurance and audit readiness.
• Stewarding standards, training and workforce development
  • Support recruitment, training and development for in‑house stewards and matchday safety personnel, contributing to a consistent, high‑performing safety culture.
  • Support in maintaining readiness, performance standards and role clarity across the workforce.
• Incident management and investigations
  • Support incident management arrangements, including accurate reporting, decision logging, evidence collation and timely escalation.
  • Contribute to investigations, reviews and learning processes, ensuring recommendations are practical and embedded into future operations.
  • Work effectively with Control Room, Security, Medical, Safeguarding and Police partners where required.
• Protective security and counter‑terrorism awareness
  • Support proportionate protective security planning, ensuring operational teams understand relevant risks and controls for the event profile.
• Stakeholder management and collaboration
  • Build strong working relationships across Stadium Operations, Stewarding, Security, Control Room, Medical, Safeguarding, Facilities, Transport, Premium and HR.
  • Engage professionally with external stakeholders (including local authority/SAG and emergency services) as required.
• Equality, inclusion and customer experience
  • Actively support the Club’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion standards across event operations, including fair and consistent service delivery for all supporters.
  • Champion accessibility and safe, respectful spectator experiences across all areas of the stadium campus.

The Lead Safety Officer shall have no other duties on an event day other than those involved in the execution of the role of Safety Officer. The post holder will:

• Have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
• Act in accordance with the organisation’s safeguarding policies and procedures at all times.
• Be alert to signs of abuse, neglect, or safeguarding concerns and report these appropriately.
• Maintain professional boundaries and act as a positive role model when working with or around children.
• Attend safeguarding training as required and keep knowledge up to date.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Training

• Essential: Level 4 qualification in Spectator Safety.
• Essential: Enhanced DBS clearance (role is subject to safeguarding requirements).
• Desirable: IOSH / NEBOSH (or equivalent health & safety qualification).

Skills & Experience

• Essential: Strong operational event safety experience in a large, complex venue environment (sport and/or live events).
• Essential: Strong working knowledge of safety management arrangements, event risk assessment, and Safety Certificate compliance expectations.
• Essential: Confident communicator (written and verbal), able to brief clearly, write professional reports, and influence at all levels.
• Essential: Ability to remain calm under pressure and make proportionate decisions in a live environment.
• Essential: Strong organisational skills with the ability to plan, prioritise and deliver high‑quality outputs to deadlines.
• Essential: Strong stakeholder management skills, able to work collaboratively across multiple teams and external partners.
• Essential: IT competent (Microsoft 365 and venue systems as required).

Personal Attributes

• Willingness and ability to work evenings, weekends and public holidays in line with the event calendar.
• Professional, reliable and trustworthy; sets a visible standard on event day.
• Team‑focused; leads by example and supports others to succeed.
• Proactive and solutions‑focused; identifies issues early and drives improvement.
• Strong sense of accountability; takes responsibility and follows through.
• Collaborative and respectful; builds strong relationships and handles sensitive issues appropriately.
• Adaptable and resilient; thrives in fast‑paced, high‑profile environments.

Safeguarding & Recruitment Statement

Safeguarding is fundamental to the success in all that we do. The Club follows a Safer Recruitment process for all roles. Successful candidates are to be reminded they would be subject to proportionate background, DBS and reference checks as required. We welcome applications from anyone regardless of age, disability, gender, race, or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

How to Apply

Please click “Apply Now” to begin your application.