Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing - Water

As the Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing for Thames Water’s water team, you play a central role in delivering the organisation’s purpose.

You will shape and deliver Thames Water’s HSW strategy across operational delivery, partner with multi-disciplinary teams (engineering, operations, AOCD), and support frontline leaders in fostering a culture of zero harm through resilient, system‑based safety practices—which include HOP‑informed learning and continuous performance improvement.

This role will champion system-focused, proactive risk management—supporting teams to deliver safely, efficiently, and collaboratively.

What you’ll be doing as the Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing - Water

• Help develop and deliver Thames Water’s HSW strategy within the water asset team, aligned with company-wide objectives.
• Lead with consultation and collaboration with the HSW Director and other Heads of HSW, the HSW strategy and delivery plan for Water.
• Promote continuous improvement across health, safety and wellbeing, using performance metrics and innovative solutions to improve efficiency and outcomes.
• Lead and coach a regional HSW business partner team to provide consistent support across operations sites.
• Act as an escalation point for complex risk issues and incident management.
• Oversee site visits, audits, and inspections, including high-hazard and COMAH-regulated sites.
• Ensure effective root-cause investigation, reporting, and corrective action delivery, with robust trending and improvement actions.
• In collaboration with the head of HSW, take ownership of relevant HSW risks from the HSW risk register and relevant elements of the Safety management system to ensure that all HSW risks are appropriately managed.
• Champion human factors and behavioural safety frameworks to shift toward proactive, system-based thinking.
• Drive culture change, encouraging psychological safety and collaborative learning across teams.
• Build relationships with internal leaders, regulators (HSE, fire), and supply chain partners to uplift standards and performance.
• Represent Thames Water in external forums and compliance engagements.
• Develop clear leading and lagging indicators for safety performance measurement and oversight.
• Maintain high standards of governance, assurance, and compliance with Thames Water’s HSW policy and management system.
• Drive continual improvement in HSW performance. Using innovative HSW solutions to positively impact safety and drive efficiency. Where necessary, removing non-value-added bureaucracy.

Base location: Reading - Hybrid

Working pattern: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• NEBOSH Diploma (minimum) or Master's degree preferred.
• Membership of IOSH or equivalent.
• Professional membership with a relevant body. (e.g., APS, IIRSM, ICE H&S Register)
• Recognised qualification in Occupational Health & Safety, Construction Management, or Engineering. (minimum HND-level or equivalent)
• Extensive experience in UK construction HSW roles. With CDM 2015 responsibilities.
• Demonstrable knowledge of UK construction hazards and safety risk controls.
• Proven delivery of HOP tools in construction or high-risk environments.
• Track record of conducting audits, inspections, and leading incident investigations.
• Confident communicator and facilitator with experience running safety briefings, workshops, and stakeholder engagements.
• Strong digital literacy, including use of safety management platforms. CDM 2015 competency: experience fulfilling Principal Designer, Client Adviser, and general CDM Adviser roles.
• Strong understanding of UK CDM regulations, able to implement compliance structures and lead design and construction safety coordination.
• Construction site safety expertise: risk assessments, safety inspections, permit-to-work systems, toolbox talks, and emergency response planning.
• Incident investigation skills: root cause analysis driven by HOP principles. Capability to lead no-blame reviews and learning-focused after-action assessments.
• Competent in design-phase reviews, competence assessments, and statutory notifications.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary offering up to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance.
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world's water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.