Head of Safety - Commercial Operations

Job Description

Job Descript

Salary: In the region of £110,000, depending on skills and experience

Full-time, with flexibility for part-time.

37 hours per week/permanent

Location: Flexible within the Anglian Water region, with regular travel to our Peterborough and Huntingdon offices expected (average of 2/3 days per week)

Car allowance

Private health care

Double-matched pension

Virtual GP service for you and your household

Make a Difference. Lead Safety. Shape the Future.

At Anglian Water, we’re passionate about creating a safer, healthier environment for our people, our partners, and our communities. Our commitment to “Safer Every Day” is at the heart of everything we do, and now, we’re looking for an inspiring safety leader to join us as our new Head of Safety for Commercial Operations.

About the Role

This is a unique opportunity for a very experienced safety professional to make a strategic difference in a major UK company. The role will allow you to shape health and safety culture, create and implement strategy and develop and lead people and will form a major pillar of our Safer Every Day Strategy.

As our Head of Safety, you’ll be the driving force behind health and safety across our Commercial Operations. You’ll lead a talented team of safety professionals, championing a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring our safety strategies are robust, consistent, and always evolving.

You’ll work closely with senior leaders, delivery teams, and partners to embed best practice, provide expert advice, and ensure we’re not just compliant, but leading the way. You’ll play a pivotal role in shaping our safety movement, “Safer Every Day”, and will be a trusted voice at board level, influencing decisions that keep our people safe and well.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Responsible for the production of the Capital Delivery Safety Strategy, ensuring controls are in place to address strategic capital delivery risks and that performance expectations and that the principles of Safer Every Day, are consistently applied across all teams.

• Providing strategic leadership and clear direction on all aspects of health, safety, and wellbeing for Commercial Operations and specifically; induction, client standards, development of core metrics, risk registers and the sharing of best practice.

• Deputising for the Group Health and Safety Director as required

• Leading and developing a high-performing team, nurturing talent and building a culture where everyone feels empowered to make a difference.

• Partnering with business units to understand their challenges and provide pragmatic, forward-thinking safety advice.

• Driving the creation and implementation of client standards, ensuring consistent safety performance and assurance across all delivery vehicles.

• Overseeing quality investigations, performance reporting, and the sharing of best practice—always looking for ways to innovate and improve.

• Acting as a key liaison with the HSE and supporting the wider Health and Safety Leadership team.

About You

You are a highly experienced safety professional who has held similar level positions previously, with a strong background in construction, proven experience in people leadership and strategic direction-setting. You will have experience of working at Board level, must be comfortable working in complex environments, have experience working both client and contractor-side, and building strong relationships with a diverse range of partners. You’re not afraid to challenge the status quo, lead on promoting the best interests of the client in a commercial environment and, are always exploring new ways to keep all people safe.

The successful candidate will have:

• Significant experience in a senior health & safety role, which must include proven client-side experience

• The ability to work with and lead teams

• Construction and CDM Regulations experience

• Experience working with partner organisations and contractors

• Experience working with Directors, Boards, and senior managers

• Strong leadership skills and experience managing safety teams

• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills

Why Anglian Water?

Join us and you’ll be part of a team that’s dedicated to making life better for our people and our region. We offer a supportive, inclusive environment where you can grow your career, make a real difference, and help us deliver our vision of “Safer Every Day”.

Ready to lead the way in safety? Apply today and help us shape a safer tomorrow.

As a valued employee, you’ll be entitled to:

• Personal private health care

• Double-matched pension (maximum 6% employee contribution)

• 30 days annual leave + Bank Holidays, with the option to swap Christmas and Easter holidays for those celebrated by your religion

• Excellent family friendly policies, such as 26 weeks full pay for maternity / adoption leave, as well as 4 weeks paid paternity / partner leave. Opportunity for shared parental pay

• Bonus scheme

• Flexible benefits to support your wellbeing and lifestyle.

Inclusion at Anglian Water:

We value the representation & diversity within our communities. Inclusion is for every one and we are an equal opportunity employer, which means we’ll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and their passion for creating better outcomes, and we’re committed to creating an environment where all our colleagues feel they belong.

Closing date: Tuesday 31st March

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