Data Center Health & Safety Lead - Development

Job Summary

Join a team defining the future of safe, sustainable, high-performance data infrastructure projects.

As our Development Health & Safety Lead, you will champion and be responsible for safety, compliance, and risk mitigation across the entire capital project lifecycle, from design, initial ground-breaking and civil works through to structural build, MEP installation, and testing & commissioning.

Your primary mission is to embed a world‑class safety culture across our development sites, ensuring all projects are delivered entirely incident-free.

What we are looking for

A degree educated professional with a proven track record in the delivery of large scale commercial or industrial projects with international workforces.

With a passion for continuous improvement in all aspects of EHS within and outside projects, who can demonstrate extensive hands‑on experience managing large‑scale build safety for critical infrastructure, or heavy industrial developments.

• Policy / Project Planning and Risk Management
• Develop and implement construction EHS policies, project safety plans, and field procedures to ensure compliance with Verne and customer standards.
• Oversee project hazard analyses, risk assessments, and regular site inspections to proactively identify and mitigate safety concerns.
• Review, optimise and enforce strict risk mitigation strategies specific to high‑risk build activities, including heavy lifting operations, structural works, working at heights, excavation works, temporary works and commissioning works.
• Regulatory Compliance
• Ensure strict adherence to all local construction regulations and relevant EU safety directives.
• Manage the tracking, and ongoing maintenance of all essential construction‑related H&S permits, environmental licenses, and project documentation.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external regulatory bodies during construction site inspections, audits, and official inquiries.
• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 management systems within a capital project delivery context.
• Incident Management & Prevention
• Provide end‑to‑end construction incident management support, leading comprehensive investigations for all on‑site accidents, near‑misses, and safety observations alongside local teams and principal contractors.
• Conduct thorough Root Cause Analyses reports and partner with engineering and construction teams to implement and track robust Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPA) to full closure.
• Training & Safety Culture
• Working with project stakeholders, design, deliver, and continuously optimise construction site EHS inductions, specialised safety briefings, and toolbox talk frameworks.
• Foster a proactive, No‑Blame behavioural safety culture on site rooted in transparent reporting, empowering every contractor and worker with Stop Work Authority.
• Coordinate on‑site construction safety committees and align project leadership with field safety representatives.
• Contractor & Vendor Safety
• Lead the safety pre‑qualification, review, and approval process for principal contractors, vendors, and specialised construction partners.
• Audit and approve contractor Construction Phase Plans, where applicable RAMS and site‑specific Permit‑to‑Work protocols.
• Enforce strict competency and training verification gates for all on‑site construction personnel and contractors before works commence.
• Conduct regular safety walks, behavioural safety audits, and formal evaluations of contractor activities to maintain an uncompromising standard of site safety.
• Operational handover
• Lead the safety component of the testing, commissioning, and final handover phases, ensuring a clean, thoroughly documented transition to the Operations team.
• Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in occupational health & safety or higher.
• Bolt on additional EHS qualifications.
• 10+ years of progressive EHS leadership experience within large-scale industrial construction, hyperscale data centre builds, high-tech manufacturing developments, or critical infrastructure projects.
• Deep understanding of construction safety laws, example CDM 2015 (UK) and wider EU/Nordic construction health and safety directives etc.
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