Head of HSE

About the Role

Head of HSE
- Inchinnan, Glasgow
- Full-time, Permanent

Please note that this role requires security checks.

An exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of HSE to lead, shape and elevate the Health, Safety and Environmental function across the Defence division, whilst promoting a positive safety culture across all operations. In this leadership role, you will set the strategic direction for HSE—ensuring not only full compliance with legal, regulatory and corporate standards, but also fostering a culture where safety, wellbeing and environmental responsibility are at the heart of everything we do.

• Lead the Defence HSE function, providing expert guidance to operational leaders, supporting delivery of the HSSEQ strategy and building HSE capability through strong leadership, coaching and engagement.
• Establish and maintain effective HSE governance, assurance and reporting, including ownership and continuous improvement of the HSE Management System in line with ISO standards and legal requirements.
• Drive compliance and continual improvement across all sites through audits, inspections and assurance activities, ensuring consistent application of Group and Divisional standards.
• Oversee significant HSE risks and high-hazard activities, ensuring critical controls are identified, implemented and verified, and support teams to manage risk across the project lifecycle.
• Lead incident investigations to ensure robust root cause analysis, effective corrective actions and the sharing of lessons learned to strengthen organisational performance.
• Provide HSE input across bids, tenders and product development, ensuring appropriate resources, competence and product safety requirements are embedded in delivery.
• Act as the key interface with customers, regulators and certification bodies, leading audits and representing the Defence Division at Group HSE forums and governance meetings.

• NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent Level 6 qualification) and Chartered IOSH member (or working towards).
• Significant HSE leadership experience within a high-hazard environment.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 management systems.
• Proven experience leading complex incident investigations and root cause analysis.
• Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders within a matrix organisation.
• Strong leadership, communication and change management capability.
• Additional credentials such as Designated Person Ashore are advantageous.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.

• Early finish on Fridays.
• Competitive salary and benefits package aligned with experience (Private Medical Insurance, Life Assurance, Cycle to Work scheme, Company Pension).
• Clear pathways for career development and organisational visibility.
• Inclusive and supportive culture that values individual contributions.
• Meaningful work with impact across safety, innovation and global operations.

At James Fisher and Sons, we are committed to taking positive action on diversity and strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and recognise that our success is driven by the talent and diversity of our workforce.