Senior Director - Process Safety

Emirates Global Aluminium is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry. EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations on four continents from bauxite mining to the production of cast primary aluminium and recycling. EGA employs over 7,000 of these people including more than 1,200 UAE Nationals.

EGA operates aluminium smelters in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah in the United Arab Emirates, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah, a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea, a speciality foundry in high strength recycled aluminium in Germany, and a recycling plant in the United States.

The Process Safety Director is accountable for preventing catastrophic events, including molten metal explosions, high-energy electrical incidents, structural failures, toxic gas releases, and major fires. The role ensures that major hazard risks are systematically identified, controlled, verified, and reported to Executive Management and the Board. This position safeguards people, assets, reputation, and business continuity by strengthening governance, assurance, and operational discipline across all major hazard activities.

Establish and maintain an enterprise-wide Major Hazard Risk Management Framework.

Define, implement, and oversee Critical Controls for major hazard exposures, including:

• Molten metal handling and transfer operations
• Potline integrity and high-voltage electrical systems
• Gas systems (e.g., natural gas, hydrogen, compressed gases)
• Pressure systems and stored energy hazards
• Confined space entry and associated high-risk activities

Ensure governance and control frameworks are aligned with recognized international standards and best practice, including:

• International Council on Mining and Metals Critical Control Management guidance
• Center for Chemical Process Safety Risk-Based Process Safety framework
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration PSM principles Fatalities

Lead the strategic shift from traditional lagging safety metrics (TRIFR / LTIFR) toward Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) prevention, ensuring the organization prioritizes catastrophic risk exposure and Major Accident Event (MAE) prevention.

Establish and govern a robust SIF and High Potential (HiPo) Event Framework, including clear definitions, classification criteria, and escalation thresholds to ensure consistent identification and reporting of events with fatality potential.

Monitor and report barrier health and Critical Control effectiveness, ensuring early detection of control degradation, overdue verification activities, weak signals, and operational drift.

Ensure all high-potential events, critical control failures, and repeated systemic weaknesses are reviewed directly with the committee, including clear summaries of:

• Credible worst-case outcomes
• Failed or degraded controls
• Immediate corrective actions
• Long-term systemic improvements

Implement and oversee an independent verification program for Life-Saving Rules and Critical Controls, ensuring that high-risk controls are:

• Tested against defined performance standards
• Verified through field validation and evidence-based assurance
• Tracked through governance dashboards
• Escalated when non-compliant or ineffective

Ensure leadership accountability through structured governance, including SIF performance reviews, barrier assurance reporting, and board-level visibility of major hazard exposure and control performance.

Provide governance and oversight of engineering systems that protect against major hazards, including:

• Mechanical integrity programs
• Electrical integrity and arc-flash risk controls
• Management of Change (MOC) governance
• Safe design reviews for new smelter technologies and modifications

Ensure process safety requirements are embedded into all capital projects, expansions, and major upgrades, from concept through commissioning and handover.

Lead the integration of advanced…