Director of Safety

Director of Safety | UK Hybrid Working | Up to £140,000 + Executive Package

A rare opportunity has arisen for an accomplished Director of Safety to lead the enterprise-wide safety strategy for a large, nationally recognised, multi-site consumer business operating across the UK.

With a substantial estate, significant annual footfall, complex supply chains and diverse operational environments, this organisation operates at genuine scale. Safety is fundamental to protecting brand reputation, commercial performance, colleague wellbeing and customer trust.

This is a critical, executive-level leadership role requiring proven experience operating at comparable scale and complexity.

The Role

As Director of Safety, you will set and drive the overarching safety and risk strategy across a geographically dispersed, high-footfall estate encompassing customer-facing trading environments, food handling and preparation operations, distribution activity and large-scale back-of-house functions.

You will lead an established senior team covering health & safety, food safety, trading legally and fire risk, ensuring consistent governance and operational excellence across every site.

Crucially, you will position safety as a commercial enabler balancing risk appetite, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance while protecting the brand in a highly visible, customer-centric environment.

Key Accountabilities

• Define and deliver a forward-looking, business-aligned safety strategy across a large, complex estate.
• Provide executive-level counsel on risk, compliance, resilience and reputational exposure.
• Drive consistency and assurance across hundreds of operational sites with varied risk profiles.
• Lead transformation initiatives to modernise systems, embed technology and use data to proactively reduce risk.
• Oversee robust governance, audit and control frameworks across multiple jurisdictions.
• Ensure effective management of serious incidents, regulatory engagement and external scrutiny.
• Strengthen crisis preparedness and business continuity capability.
• Embed a culture where operational leaders own safety outcomes as part of commercial performance.
• Deliver clear, data-led reporting and insight to Executive and Board stakeholders.

This role requires an established Director-level safety leader who has already operated at scale within a complex, customer-facing organisation. Retail or hospitality experience is essential.

You will demonstrate:

• Proven experience leading safety across a large, multi-site estate with significant customer footfall.
• Experience operating at Director level within a comparably complex retail or hospitality business.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to balance risk management with operational performance.
• Deep knowledge of UK regulatory frameworks.
• NEBOSH Diploma (or equivalent); Chartered IOSH preferred.
• A track record of leading senior teams and influencing Executive and Board stakeholders.
• Experience leveraging technology, data and infrastructure investment to design out risk at scale.
• The credibility and presence to operate within a high-profile, brand-sensitive environment.

This is not a development opportunity or a step-up role. We are seeking a seasoned safety executive with demonstrable experience leading at this level within a business of similar size and operational complexity.

The Opportunity

• Enterprise-wide remit across UK.
• Significant strategic visibility and executive influence.
• Leadership of a senior, multi-disciplinary safety function.
• Opportunity to shape the long-term safety and risk agenda of a nationally recognised brand.
• Hybrid working model.
• Up to £140,000 plus bonus and package.

This is a pivotal appointment for a business where scale, complexity and reputation demand exceptional leadership.

BH35450