Health & Safety Site Lead - Construction Support

The Role

The Health & Safety Site Lead – Construction Support provides senior-level expertise to UKFE project teams and contractors, ensuring safety is at the forefront of all construction, installation and enabling works. You will strengthen UKFE governance framework, support project teams with technical safety guidance, and work extensively with Principal Contractors to ensure safe methods of work, risk assessments and site controls are fully effective.

This role also contributes meaningfully to UKFE’S safety culture, conducting onsite leadership walkdowns, inspections, reviews and incident investigations that shape behaviours and raise performance standards across the programme.

What You’ll Be Doing

Construction Health & Safety Leadership

• Provide expert advice on construction safety across all phases, including build, installation, commissioning and enabling works.
• Champion UKIFS’ safety values, helping foster a mature, proactive safety culture.
• Act as advisor to the Director of Safety, Quality & Mission Assurance on strategic construction safety risks.
• Participate in hazard workshops, senior safety forums and readiness reviews.

Supporting Major Projects and Principal Contractors

• Support projects in developing safe systems of work, RAMS, temporary works arrangements and lifting operations.
• Review contractor Construction Phase Plans and site arrangements.
• Conduct onsite inspections, behavioural observations and leadership walkdowns.
• Evaluate competence of Principal Contractors, informing contract and supplier assurance.
• Facilitate hazard identification and risk reduction at early design and planning stages.

Governance and Compliance

• Support implementation of UKFE construction safety governance framework.
• Ensure compliance with key legislation including:
  • Health & Safety at Work Act
  • CDM 2015
  • PUWER, LOLER
  • Work at Height Regulations
  • COSHH and more
• Maintain awareness of safety trends, incidents, near misses and lessons learned.
• Ensure corrective actions from investigations are completed effectively.

Assurance, Audit and Performance Monitoring

• Lead formal site inspections, reviews and deep-dive audits of construction safety performance.
• Provide independent assurance reports to QSMA governance and UKFE Executive.
• Maintain safety KPIs, dashboards and trend analysis.
• Highlight systemic issues and recommend strategic improvements.

Incident Investigation and Learning

• Lead or support investigations into incidents and near misses.
• Ensure root cause analysis is performed rigorously and consistently.
• Track actions and verify closure and effectiveness.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as key liaison with regulators, contractors, design houses and supply-chain partners.
• Build positive relationships that support safe delivery.
• Represent UKIFS at external safety leadership groups and industry forums.

What You’ll Bring

Essential

• Chartered or Graduate membership of IOSH (CMIOSH or GradIOSH working towards chartership).
• Significant experience in construction H&S roles in major infrastructure or high-hazard environments.
• Strong understanding of CDM 2015, contractor management, temporary works and lifting regulations.
• Demonstrated experience conducting inspections, audits and investigations.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to engage non-specialists.
• Strong commitment to safety leadership and integrity.

Beneficial

• NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent Level 6 qualification.
• Experience in nuclear, fusion, defence, aerospace or other high-hazard sectors.
• Knowledge of quality management and mission assurance systems.
• Training in investigation methods (TapRooT, ICAM).
• Experience with behavioural safety programmes.

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly women in STEM and individuals from British black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UKFE is committed to being accessible. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions. Whilst not required at this time, there is a possibility of an SC Clearance being required in the future. If a candidate already holds an SC clearance, that clearance can be transferred to UKFE.

As we work towards our mission and goals, guided by our principles, STEP has six behaviours that are intended to capture the spirit of how we work: 

• We champion safety 
• We all matter 
• We act as one 
• We embrace change 
• We are pioneering 
• We deliver 

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.