Technical Process Safety Lead

Department: SHEQ & Growth

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Stockport

Reporting To: David Housley

The Opportunity

Drive Process Safety Excellence Across a Growing Infrastructure Business

At OCU Group, safety is at the heart of everything we do. As our business continues to grow across the utilities and infrastructure sectors, we are looking for an experienced Technical Process Safety Lead to join our UK SHESQ team.

This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for developing, implementing and continually improving our process safety frameworks across the business. Working closely with operational leaders, technical specialists and business units, you will ensure robust governance, compliance and assurance arrangements are in place to protect our people, clients and the communities we serve.

If you're passionate about process safety, thrive on influencing best practice and enjoy working across a diverse and fast-paced organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

Reporting directly to the UK SHESQ Director, you will provide technical leadership and oversight across a range of process safety critical disciplines, ensuring effective management systems are established, maintained and continuously improved.

You will own the development of process safety frameworks, oversee the appointment and competency of safety-critical roles, support technical assurance activities, and work collaboratively across the business to embed a consistent and proactive safety culture.

This role will play a key part in ensuring statutory compliance while driving continuous improvement through governance, assurance and industry best practice.

• Lead and develop OCU Group's process safety frameworks across key technical disciplines, including:
  • CDM (excluding Designer duties)
  • Temporary Works
  • Electrical Safety
  • Stored Energy (Heating & Pressurised Systems)
  • Asbestos Management
  • Rail (where OCU controls Safe Systems of Work)
  • COMAH and DSEAR (where applicable)
  • NERS, GERS and WERS
• Ensure appropriate management arrangements exist to satisfy statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Develop, review and continuously improve process safety policies, standards, procedures and safe systems of work.
• Establish assurance and monitoring strategies to verify compliance across the business.
• Lead periodic reviews of process safety frameworks, incorporating lessons learned from industry developments and incident investigations.
• Assess, appoint and oversee individuals undertaking safety critical process safety roles.
• Define competency requirements for process safety appointments and support the development of associated training programmes alongside the Academy and wider SHESQ team.
• Manage external technical specialists where additional expertise is required.
• Build strong relationships with Business Unit leadership teams, Operational Directors and key stakeholders.
• Oversee appointment records, authorisations and competency tracking, ensuring business continuity and compliance.
• Manage non conformance processes and support corrective action implementation.
• Provide specialist technical support during significant process safety incidents, investigations and post incident reviews.
• Promote consistency, collaboration and best practice across all business units.

We're looking for an experienced process safety professional who combines strong technical expertise with the ability to influence and lead across a complex organisation.

You'll be confident engaging with senior stakeholders, coaching others and driving continuous improvement while maintaining the highest safety standards.

• Degree or Diploma qualification in a relevant engineering, technical or health and safety discipline.
• Significant experience managing process safety and safe systems of work within utilities, infrastructure, construction, engineering or related sectors.
• Excellent knowledge of UK process safety legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Experience developing and implementing governance frameworks and assurance programmes.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Experience developing competency frameworks and supporting technical training.
• Excellent analytical, problem solving and decision making abilities.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• A collaborative approach with the ability to build strong working relationships across multiple business areas.
• A proactive, organised and methodical approach with a genuine passion for improving process safety.