Head of QHSE; Quality, Health, Safety & Environment

Position: Head of QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety & Environment)
Head of QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety & Environment)

Hybrid Working
- Up to £130,000- UK-Wide Travel

Zachary Daniels is partnering with a leading, large-scale consumer goods business to appoint a Head of QHSE. This is a high-impact senior leadership opportunity for an experienced professional to shape strategy, influence business-wide standards and drive a proactive culture of quality, health, safety and environmental excellence across a complex, multi-site operation.

Offering hybrid working, a salary of up to £120,000 and direct reporting into the Executive Board, this role provides genuine scope to influence business strategy and deliver meaningful organisational change.

The Opportunity

As Head of QHSE, you will take ownership of the UK QHSE strategy, translating business priorities into practical roadmaps that deliver measurable improvements in quality, health and safety, environmental performance and regulatory compliance.

Working closely with the Executive Board, senior leadership and operational teams, you will lead a function central to operational excellence, risk management and organisational transformation.

The organisation operates across approximately 30 UK locations, including manufacturing, logistics and office sites, supporting a workforce of around 4,000 colleagues.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic leadership:
Develop and implement the UK QHSE strategy, aligning priorities with wider business objectives and delivering robust strategic and annual plans.
People leadership:
Lead, develop and inspire the QHSE function, building capability, strengthening succession planning and creating a high-performing team.
Quality, health and safety culture:
Champion a proactive, visible and accountable culture where colleagues are empowered to challenge standards, learn from incidents and drive continuous improvement.
Governance and compliance:
Ensure compliance with relevant UK legislation, regulations and industry standards, maintaining oversight of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001.
Risk and incident management:
Lead risk assessment, incident investigation, escalation and reporting processes, including crisis management and business continuity coordination.
Environmental sustainability:
Drive improvements across waste management, wastewater, recycling, emissions control and resource efficiency.
Operational excellence:
Partner with manufacturing, logistics and wider operational teams to strengthen assurance and embed consistent standards across all sites.
Executive stakeholder engagement:
Provide clear reporting and recommendations to the Executive Board, influencing decisions on risk, performance, investment and improvement priorities.
Performance management:
Establish meaningful KPIs and reporting methodologies to monitor progress, compliance and continuous improvement.
Change leadership:
Challenge established ways of working, lead organisational change and ensure the function remains agile, commercially focused and equipped for future business needs.
Financial management:
Maintain financial oversight across the function, ensuring resources and investment are aligned with business priorities.

About You

We are looking for a credible, commercially minded QHSE leader who combines strategic vision with the ability to deliver tangible results in a complex, operationally demanding environment.

You will bring:

Significant senior leadership experience within a multi-site, fast-paced and complex organisation, ideally within FMCG, manufacturing, food and beverage, or a comparable supply chain environment.
Strong technical knowledge of UK quality, health and safety, and environmental legislation, alongside relevant ISO management systems and certification requirements.
A proven track record of developing and implementing QHSE strategies across multiple operational sites.
Demonstrable success in driving cultural and behavioural change, building proactive safety cultures and improving accountability.
Experience leading and developing teams and influencing senior stakeholders across complex matrix organisations.
Strong risk management, incident investigation and crisis leadership experience, supported by sound judgement and calm authority under pressure.
A commercially astute and analytical approach, balancing compliance, operational performance, resource allocation and business objectives.
Excellent communication and influencing skills, enabling you to build trust, challenge constructively and engage colleagues at every level.
A continuous…