Director - Health, Safety and Worker Welfare Operations (RE1)

Lead the development and implementation of health, safety, environmental and worker welfare governance across City Operations, translating enterprise requirements into operational standards, contractual requirements and assurance activities for City Operations-managed assets and services. Oversee compliance, audits, incident learning and corrective action, support the City Command Unit during incidents, and ensure operational readiness and safe transition of assets into 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 and guidelines and applicable legal requirements into operational procedures.

• Establish City Operations minimum requirements and contractual schedules for health, safety and worker welfare, ensuring 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 programme across City Operations-managed assets, public realm and operational services, covering 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 Qiddiya’s reputation.

• Stop unsafe work within the City Operations remit where 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, recognising the public-facing nature of operational workers.

• Establish and monitor welfare requirements covering working conditions, welfare facilities, access to support and applicable Saudi labour and welfare requirements.

• Coordinate with workplace, accommodation, contractor and service-provider teams to address welfare risks and escalate 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 compliance with 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 against 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 from the agreed 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.

• Work 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 QIC 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 judgement required to challenge unsafe or non-compliant practices.

Capability, Reporting and Continuous Improvement

• Lead 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 improve standards, contracts, procedures and service-provider performance.

• Promote a proactive culture while ensuring accountability remains with the teams and providers delivering the work.

Requirements

Required: Bachelor’s degree in Health and Safety, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Health, Environmental Management, Engineering, or a related field.

Preferred: Master’s degree in Health and Safety, Environmental Management, Engineering, Public Health, Business Administration, or a related field.

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 is required, including relevant experience in a leadership role.

Demonstrated experience leading health, safety and worker welfare governance and assurance across complex operational, infrastructure, development or asset environments, 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.