Job Purpose

The Head of Safety Management and Standards sets the enterprise strategy, governance and assurance framework for industrial and radiological safety, ensuring Sellafield Ltd maintains compliant and robust arrangements that support safe mission delivery.

Provides specialist leadership and oversight to ensure safety risks are controlled, regulatory expectations are met and performance improves, holding functional authority for safety standards and performance insight.

Working alongside the Head of Core SHEQ Services, the postholder provides technical advice, specialist safety support services and expert advice to operational delivery organisations, and represents Sellafield Ltd as the senior safety authority in engagements with regulators, the NDA and industry bodies.

Provides safety governance and assurance to the SHEQ Director, supporting their executive and Board‑level accountabilities for safe site operation and effective stewardship of industrial and radiological safety risks.

Principle Accountabilities

• Set the enterprise‑wide strategic approach for industrial and radiological safety, ensuring robust, compliant and forward‑looking arrangements. Own and shape the Sellafield Safety Policy.
• Lead and manage specialist SHEQ safety disciplines, including COMAH, Occupational Hygiene, Industrial/Conventional Safety and Radiological Protection, ensuring expert capability and technical standards.
• Direct specialist safety support and advisory services, through the Head of Core SHEQ Services, ensuring operational delivery organisations receive authoritative technical advice and guidance.
• Provide enterprise‑level safety leadership and oversight, challenging and intervening where necessary to prevent degradation of safety standards.
• Act as Process Owner for key safety domains (e.g., Conventional H&S, Radiological Protection, Fire Protection, Management of Contractors), including associated Licence Condition arrangements. Maintain continued ISO 45001certification.
• Own and actively manage corporate‑level safety risks, ensuring robust mitigation, escalation and clear enterprise visibility.
• In collaboration with the Head of Regulatory Interface and Nuclear Safety, Lead enterprise‑level safety regulatory engagement to ensure proportionate and effective interactions with regulators and government bodies.
• Maintain horizon scanning for conventional and radiological safety to influence regulation development and ensure SL implementation. Benchmark safety arrangements and performance against national and international good practice, driving the adoption of emerging standards and insights.
• Strengthen the organisation’s safety culture by shaping and embedding ‘fit for context’ safety practices across the enterprise, ensuring expectations are clearly understood, consistently applied, and reinforced through the SHEQ Lead Team’s collective leadership.
• Deliver SHEQ improvement objectives and targets, ensuring effective corrective action programmes are identified and implemented based on gaps in regulatory compliance and relevant good practice.
• Lead and develop a collaborative, high‑performing safety team that embeds safety professionalism across the enterprise and maintains the safety capability. Own the Safety Training Programme and define SQEP requirements for key appointed roles.
• As a member of the SHEQ Lead Team:
– Ensure a positive SHEQ culture is established and maintained, with SHEQ considerations remaining central to decision‑making;
– provide vision and leadership to drive continuous improvement against company objectives, standards and key SHEQ performance indicators;
– Set direction, goals, targets and priorities for SHEQ personnel, delegating authority appropriately.
– Establish consistent working arrangements within the Safety Management and Standards team aligned with the management system, ensuring effective compliance.
– Ensure team resources maintain strong networking and consultation relationships across the SHEQ Directorate (SHEQ Lead Team), work within the limits of their competence, and provide effective advice and support within their areas of responsibility.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

•  Degree qualified in a relevant STEM discipline (or equivalent experience), supported by recognised professional safety or SHEQ accreditation (e.g., Chartered status, Fellowship or equivalent).
• Extensive senior leadership experience and expertise in industrial and radiological safety within the nuclear sector or comparable high‑hazard industries, with deep understanding of safety challenges across design, operations, hazard reduction and decommissioning.
• Strong professional credibility and technical authority in safety (industrial and radiological), with the ability to interpret regulatory and safety requirements and translate them into effective operational and project delivery through influence and collaboration.
• Proven strategic capability to shape, develop and implement industrial and radiological safety policy within complex organisational, regulatory and political environments.
• Highly experienced in engagement with regulators, industry peers, government bodies and senior stakeholders, with the ability to support operations and projects in delivering mission objectives.
• Exceptional interpersonal and influencing skills, with the gravitas, resilience and political acuity to build trust and maintain productive partnerships across the nuclear industry.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management capability, able to articulate complex safety issues clearly and credibly at Executive, Board and regulatory levels, and constructively challenge where required.
• Demonstrable experience of industry‑wide engagement and adoption of good practice, contributing to sector‑level learning and consistency in safety performance and standards.
• Balanced leadership style, combining strategic vision with hands‑on delivery, and a track record of developing high‑performing specialist teams.
• With the strategic capability to both shape and enable implementation of safety policy, the role holder carries personal credibility and respect amongst senior leaders and peers.

Additional Information

• The closing date for this vacancy is Thursday 12th November.

• In the event of a high number of responses to any advert, we reserve the right to close the advert early. Once closed, the advert will be removed from our website. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

• Please regularly check your Spam/Junk folders for news about this vacancy, correspondence could contain invitations to interview and other important updates.

• Qualifications: As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your qualifications. Attaching them at application stage will ensure a smooth process and prevent delays.

• Right to Work in the UK : As part of our screening process, all candidates must demonstrate their right to work in the UK. If you are not a UK national, you will be required to provide evidence of your immigration status. This is generated through the UK Government online service via the GOV.UK services below:
- A valid eVisa (digital immigration status) share code https://www.gov.uk/evisa/view-evisa-get-share-code-prove-immigration-status
- A Right to Work share code https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work Applicants who are not UK nationals must provide a valid Right to Work share code and evidence of their eVisa status at the point of application.
Applications submitted without this information are not able to be progressed.

• Please be aware that this role is subject to achieving security clearance. This role requires higher level of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 years of continuous residency in the UK. Factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the level of clearance you’re able to achieve.

• We are recognised as a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3). Disability Confident employers offer an interview to disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy. Sellafield Ltd define the minimum criteria as the ‘essential skills’ which are listed on the vacancy notice. Whilst completing your application form, you will be able to indicate if you wish to be considered under the disability confident scheme. If you would prefer to discuss this directly with us, please contact the GBS Recruitment team on recruitment@sellafieldcloud.co.uk