Director of Health, Safety and Sustainability

About The Role

Northumbria University is a research-intensive, modern university with a global reputation for academic excellence and societal impact.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will lead the development of a modern and proactive approach to health and safety, supporting world-class teaching and research. You will provide visible, trusted leadership, build strong relationships and foster a positive health and safety culture across the University.

We offer a competitive starting salary of circa £85,000, with the potential for flexibility for the right individual who brings outstanding skills and experience.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Shaping and delivering a forward-looking health and safety strategy aligned to Northumbria’s Strategy and Values.
• Providing expert advice on health and safety, risk, and compliance across diverse and specialist environments.
• Acting as a visible and trusted leader, engaging colleagues and students in building a strong safety culture.
• Leading and developing a professional team, embedding best practice and continuous improvement.

About You

We are looking for an experienced leader with the credibility, influence, and vision to deliver real impact. You will bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience in health and safety within a large, complex organisation (ideally research or higher education).
• Excellent relationship-building and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively at all levels.
• A proactive, modern, and forward-thinking approach to enabling innovation while maintaining high standards of safety and wellbeing.
• Working knowledge of sustainability, business continuity, and risk management, with the ability to integrate these into the broader safety agenda is desirable, but not essential.

You must hold relevant health and safety qualifications, as well as demonstrating a sound knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a university that is ambitious, people-focused and making a real impact regionally, nationally, and globally.

To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now'.  Your application should include a covering letter and a CV.  

About Us

Join Northumbria University, a research-intensive institution unlocking potential and changing lives locally and globally.  Named Times Higher Education's University of the Year in 2022 and Modern University of the Year in 2025, we rank top 25 in the UK for research power.  Discover more about us.

With over 37,000 students from 140+ countries, we offer world-leading research, award-winning partnerships, and an outstanding student experience. We empower our exceptional staff, promoting a positive work-life balance and offering great benefits, including excellent pension schemes, flexible working, generous holiday entitlement and more.

Our Northumbria Values, co-created by our team, define who we are: Academic Excellence, Innovation, Inclusivity, Collaboration, and Ambition. Our Behaviours shape our work culture: We listen and learn, support one another, respect everyone, trust each other, and are bold.  

Based in Newcastle upon Tyne and London, we are an on-campus organisation and offer flexible hours and location where the role allows.  We pride ourselves on diversity and inclusivity, holding numerous awards for gender and race equality, disability confidence, and research excellence.  We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career Development of Researchers and are members of the Euraxess initiative to deliver information and support to professional researchers.  The University has implemented a range of flexible working arrangements, and we are happy to explore candidate requirements as part of the recruitment process.  

Apply now and join a community committed to transforming society and the economy.  

Explore "Our Exceptional People, Our Values and Behaviours" page to learn more about our commitments and see our Privacy Policy for further details.