Environmental Health and Safety Manager

SF Partners is seeking an Environmental Health and Safety Manager for a site-based role in Loughborough, UK, with a salary of £50,000-£60,000 plus benefits. The position involves leading HSE functions, maintaining ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 standards, conducting audits, and promoting a safety-first culture in a heavy industrial environment. The role requires strong leadership, hands-on engagement, and a practical approach to health and safety management.
Environmental Health & Safety Manager
Salary: £50,000-£60,000 + Benefits
Location: Site-Based - Heavy Industrial
Full Time, Permanent

We are supporting a well-established heavy industrial manufacturing operation in the search for an experienced Environmental Health & Safety Manager to lead and develop their HSE function on site. This is a senior, standalone leadership role with full autonomy across Health & Safety and Environmental management. The successful candidate will take ownership of maintaining and improving standards while leading ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 accreditations and audits. Quality systems (ISO 9001) are well embedded and outside the scope of this position - this is a pure HSE role.

The business operates in a heavy industry environment and requires a hands-on, visible leader who builds trust, relationships, and influence across operational teams.

The Role
Reporting into the senior leadership team, you will:
- Lead and continuously improve Health, Safety & Environmental systems across site
- Take full ownership of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 standards, certifications, and audits
- Maintain compliance with all relevant HSE legislation and regulatory requirements
- Build on an existing strong H&S foundation and identify improvement opportunities
- Drive a proactive, behavioural safety culture across all shifts
- Conduct audits, inspections, and risk assessments across plant and processes
- Lead incident investigations and ensure robust corrective actions
- Develop and deliver practical HSE training and awareness programmes
- Act as the primary contact for regulators and external auditors
- Manage the H&S Coordinator (systems-focused support role)
- Ensure contractor safety controls are robust and consistently applied
- Develop emergency preparedness and response planning
- Track, trend, and report HSE performance metrics to leadership

Environment & Culture
- Heavy industrial setting
- Strong senior leadership backing and financial support for HSE improvements
- Safety-first culture
- Detailed incident reporting culture
- High recycling performance and strong environmental commitment already in place

What We're Looking For
- Strong working knowledge of ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 systems and audits
- Experience leading external and internal certification audits
- Level 5 Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety (or equivalent)
- Environmental management qualification (IEMA or equivalent) desirable
- ISO 14001 & 45001 Internal Auditor certification preferred
- Strong incident investigation and risk assessment capability
- Experience managing contractor safety on site
- Confident communicator able to influence operational leaders
- Practical, hands-on approach with strong floor presence
- Flexible, adaptable, and improvement-focused mindset

This is a high-visibility, front-facing role requiring regular presence on the shop floor and active engagement with operational managers and teams. Success in this role depends on visibility, credibility, and collaborative influence, not enforcement alone. Candidates from highly structured FMCG or automotive environments may find this setting less process-driven and more adaptive - flexibility and practical engagement are key