Director - Health, Safety and Worker Welfare Operations (RD 4)

About the Role Lead the development and implementation of health, safety, environmental, and worker welfare governance across City Operations. This role involves translating enterprise requirements into operational standards, contractual obligations, and assurance activities for assets and services managed by City Operations. You will oversee compliance, audits, incident learning, and corrective action while supporting the City Command Unit during incidents to ensure operational readiness and safe transitions as assets enter live operations. Health, Safety and Worker Welfare Governance - Lead the development and implementation of City Operations health, safety, and worker welfare governance, translating Strategic Delivery Unit (SDU) policies, standards, guidelines, and applicable legal requirements into operational procedures. - Establish City Operations' minimum requirements and contractual schedules for health, safety, and worker welfare, ensuring that service providers and contractors understand the standards against which their performance will be assured. - Maintain and improve the health, safety, and worker welfare framework as the city asset base, services, and workforce expand. - Define induction, training, and competency requirements for City Operations employees and relevant service providers. Operational Compliance and Assurance - Direct the risk-based assurance program across City Operations-managed assets, public realm, and operational services, including compliance reviews, inspections, audits, and follow-up activities. - Monitor contractor, operator, and service-provider compliance, directing corrective action through the relevant contract and service owners. - Track performance through incident data, risk registers, permit-to-work compliance, regulatory reporting, leading indicators, and corrective-action status. - Report material risks, non-conformances, trends, and overdue actions to leadership, escalating issues affecting people, public safety, compliance, or the reputation of the company. - Stop unsafe work within the City Operations remit when required and coordinate formal corrective action through the accountable contract holder. Worker Welfare Operations - Lead oversight of worker welfare conditions for employees and contracted workforces within the City Operations remit, recognizing the public-facing nature of operational workers. - Establish and monitor welfare requirements, including working conditions, welfare facilities, access to support, and applicable Saudi labor and welfare requirements. - Coordinate with workplace, accommodation, contractor, and service-provider teams to address welfare risks and resolve unresolved issues. - Build internal worker welfare capability through recruitment, development, and knowledge transfer. Environmental Compliance - Oversee environmental compliance across City Operations-managed assets, public spaces, and service arrangements, focusing on prevention of harm and adherence to approved environmental management plans. - Establish requirements for pollution prevention and control, including oil and chemical storage, waste handling, noise, and nuisance. - Monitor contractors and service providers for adherence to environmental requirements, ensuring incidents, non-conformances, and corrective actions are tracked to closure. - Coordinate environmental reporting and relevant Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) inputs while maintaining the distinction between environmental compliance and broader sustainability ownership. Incident Management and Operational Resilience - Provide health, safety, environmental, and worker welfare subject-matter expertise to the City Command Unit during incidents, crises, and emergency exercises. - Support the Gold, Silver, and Bronze response structure by advising on technical risks, immediate controls, regulatory requirements, and recovery actions. - Develop, maintain, and test relevant crisis playbooks in alignment with City Command Unit and Operational Resilience requirements. - Lead or oversee post-incident and near-miss investigations within the remit, ensuring root causes, lessons learned, and preventive actions are embedded. Asset Readiness and Handover - Define health, safety, environmental, and worker welfare requirements for new assets and services entering City Operations, engaging with delivery teams from design through handover. - Lead readiness reviews during the pre-handover period, validating operational requirements, documentation, controls, and service arrangements before go-live. - Provide functional sign-off and readiness input for handover and takeover processes, escalating unresolved risks through stage-gate and governance forums. - Collaborate with City Assets Management and delivery teams to transfer defects, risks, warranties, procedures, and assurance findings into live operations. Stakeholder and Regulatory Coordination - Act as the City Operations focal point for health, safety, environmental, and worker welfare matters with SDU, City Assets Management, delivery teams, operational functions, and central company stakeholders. - Coordinate with contract holders and service providers to embed requirements into scopes of work, mobilization plans, procedures, and performance reviews. - Support engagement with relevant regulators, authorities, and emergency-response stakeholders, ensuring submissions, observations, and actions are coordinated and closed out. - Maintain constructive relationships while preserving the professional judgment required to challenge unsafe or non-compliant practices. Capability, Reporting and Continuous Improvement - Lead the development of the Health, Safety, and Worker Welfare team in line with the phased asset handover plan. - Establish dashboards and management information combining lagging and leading indicators to identify emerging risks and guide improvement. - Review assurance findings, incident trends, and operational feedback to enhance standards, contracts, procedures, and service-provider performance. - Promote a proactive culture while ensuring accountability remains with the teams and providers delivering the work. Requirements - Bachelor’s degree in Health and Safety, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Health, Environmental Management, Engineering, or a related field is required. - A Master’s degree in Health and Safety, Environmental Management, Engineering, Public Health, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred. - Professional certifications or memberships with recognized health and safety, environmental, worker welfare, emergency management, or related professional institutes are preferred. Chartered or equivalent professional standing is preferred. - A minimum of 10-12 years of experience in health and safety, occupational health and safety, environmental compliance, worker welfare, operational assurance, or related fields, including relevant experience in a leadership role, is required. - Demonstrated experience leading health, safety, and worker welfare governance and assurance across complex operational, infrastructure, development, or asset environments is essential, including establishing standards and contractual requirements; overseeing contractor compliance; leading audits, inspections, investigations, and corrective actions; supporting asset readiness and handover; advising on incident and crisis response; and coordinating with delivery teams, asset owners, regulators, and public authorities. Experience across the asset lifecycle and in the Middle East is preferred.