Health, Safety and Environment Manager (HSE)

We are looking for an experienced Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Site Manager to lead, inspire and actively shape the positive safety culture across our UKAEA South Yorkshire site in Rotherham. Our operational site is home to pioneering fusion engineering and world-leading scientific research, hosting first‑of‑a‑kind test rigs and advanced laboratories.

This is a hands‑on, visible leadership role, working on site 5 days per week, supporting a diverse community of engineers, scientists, project managers, contractors and visitors. You will play a pivotal role in leading the HSE for one of the UK's most innovative engineering programmes, making a genuine impact on the future of clean energy. 

Working on a stand-alone site, you will be the trusted HSE expert for the senior leadership team, providing clear and confident guidance in a fast‑evolving environment.

Additionally, you will also:

• Act as the site’s subject matter expert for health, safety and environment
• Supervise staff and contractors on site to ensure they maintain safe working practices
• Advise and support senior managers, project teams and engineering groups in all areas of HSE
• Lead HSE planning and oversight for an ambitious capital programme, including first of a kind fusion rig development
• Conduct inspections, audits and incident reviews, promoting learning and continuous improvement
• Ensure safe, compliant operation of office, laboratories, rig‑hall and construction areas
• Build strong relationships across a diverse stakeholder group — from scientists to construction specialists, adapting approach as required

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data. 

UKAEA are always interested in speaking to individuals with a STEM background who are looking to move back in to the sector.

Essential experience:

• Qualified to degree level or NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health or demonstrable equivalent experience.
• Demonstrable HSE leadership experience across construction or complex major mechanical and engineering projects containing high hazard plant.
• Experience with compliance to CDM regulations would be highly desirable, but not essential
• Experience across office, laboratory and industrial / rig settings
• Comfortable working within structured HSE frameworks and within a highly regulated environment
• A genuine passion for creating a positive, supportive and safe working environment for everyone

If you’re passionate about protecting people, enabling cutting‑edge science, and contributing to a collaborative and inclusive culture, we’d love to hear from you.

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/.  

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications. 

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.