Environment, Health and Safety Manager

Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Manager in Food Manufacturing | Oxfordshire | Standalone Role with Real Influence

Some roles ask you to maintain standards. Others give you the platform to redefine them. This is an opportunity to step into a true site leadership role, where you’ll shape not just systems and compliance — but the behaviours, mindset, and culture of an entire manufacturing operation.

We’re exclusively supporting a well-invested and growing food manufacturing business in Oxfordshire to appoint a Health, Safety & Environmental Manager. This is a standalone position, reporting directly into the Site Director, where you’ll partner closely with the Senior Leadership Team to drive a progressive and engaging HSE agenda.

If you’re someone who believes safety is built through people, not paperwork — this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

The Opportunity

This is a role with visibility, autonomy, and impact. You’ll take ownership of all things HSE on site — from leading management systems and ensuring compliance, to coaching teams and embedding a behavioural safety culture that genuinely sticks. You’ll be the voice of HSE at leadership level, while remaining present and influential on the factory floor — building trust, challenging where needed, and inspiring change.

Key Responsibilities

• Engage and influence stakeholders at all levels, from operators to senior leadership
• Lead safety conversations, observations, and coaching to embed best practice
• Act as a trusted partner to operational teams, ensuring safe systems of work are practical and effective
• Develop, implement and maintain HSE management systems aligned to ISO 45001 and ISO 14001
• Own the site risk assessment process, ensuring quality, consistency, and completion of actions
• Manage environmental aspects and impacts, identifying opportunities for improvement
• Benchmark externally to bring fresh thinking and continuous improvement to site
• Lead the site’s incident management process — from initial response through to root cause analysis
• Ensure corrective and preventative actions are meaningful and embedded
• Maintain full compliance with all relevant HSE legislation and standards
• Act as the primary contact for regulatory bodies and external stakeholders
• Lead internal and external audits, ensuring site readiness at all times
• Ensure non-conformances are addressed thoroughly and sustainably
• Provide HSE input into site projects and continuous improvement initiatives
• Ensure safety and environmental considerations are embedded in operational decisions

About You

You’ll be a confident, credible HSE professional who thrives in a standalone role — someone who can balance technical expertise with strong influencing skills. We’re looking for:

• Experience within food, beverage, or FMCG manufacturing
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001
• NEBOSH General Certificate (essential)
• NEBOSH Diploma (or working towards / willing to achieve)
• Environmental qualification such as IEMA (or willingness to obtain)

And equally important:

• A hands-on, visible approach — comfortable on the factory floor
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage at all levels
• The confidence to challenge, coach, and drive behavioural change
• Highly organised, with a strong attention to detail
• A mindset focused on improvement, not just compliance

Why This Role?

This is more than a compliance role — it’s a chance to shape the future of HSE on site. You’ll have the autonomy to lead, the support of an engaged leadership team, and the opportunity to make a lasting impact in a business that values safety, sustainability, and continuous improvement.

If you’re ready to take ownership, influence culture, and build something meaningful — we’d love to hear from you.