Director HSE Data Center Operations

isepglobal; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - GBP 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A global developer and service provider in the UK seeks a Director of Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) for Data Center Operations across the EMEA region. This leadership role involves ensuring compliance with HSE standards, overseeing regional operations, and promoting safe working practices. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of HSE experience in operational settings and strong leadership skills. This position requires travel across the region and a commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace.

Benefits

Inclusive work environment

Equitable access throughout hiring process

Diversity support through benefits

Qualifications

• 10+ years HSE experience supporting operational environments like data centers.
• 5+ years in a senior regional HSE leadership role across multiple sites.
• Willingness to travel across EMEA as required (typically 25-50%).

Responsibilities

• Lead the EMEA Operations HSE strategy aligned to global standards.
• Drive consistent implementation of safe systems of work across EMEA operations.
• Ensure compliance with EMEA regulatory requirements across multiple countries.

Skills

HSE experience in operations environments

Leadership presence and stakeholder influence

Understanding of safe systems of work

Multilingual capability

Education

Bachelor's degree in HSE, Engineering, or related

Job description

Job Purpose

Yondr is a disruptor. We challenge convention and simplify complexity.As a global developer, owner-operator, and service provider of data centers, we deliver complex data center capacity needs to the world's largest tech companies. Our exponential growth sees us looking for extraordinary people to help accelerate us towards our vision: a tomorrow without constraints.

But we can't do this without you.

The role

The Director, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) - Data Center Operations (EMEA) leads HSE performance, compliance, and risk management for live data center operations across the EMEA region. This role ensures the consistent implementation of company HSE expectations while maintaining compliance with country-specific regulatory requirements and operational risk profiles.

This position is responsible for developing regional HSE capability, strengthening contractor governance, improving learning systems, and supporting safe execution of operational maintenance and service activities.

Note: This role supports operations only and does not include construction HSE responsibilities but will work with the DCX teams to streamline and successfully turn buildings over from construction to operations.

Main responsibilities

Regional HSE Leadership & Governance

• Lead the EMEA Operations HSE strategy aligned to global standards and operational priorities.
• Develop and mentor regional HSE staff supporting live sites across multiple countries.
• Establish governance routines including performance reporting, site assurance visits, and leadership reviews.

Safe Systems of Work (Operations)

• Drive consistent implementation of safe systems of work across EMEA operations, including:
  • permit-to-work frameworks (where applicable)
  • LOTO and isolation management
  • electrical safety controls (including HV where applicable)
  • confined space entry
  • work at height and access equipment safety
  • hot work and fire prevention
  • contractor control and supervision expectations
• Strengthen operational risk assessments and task planning quality.

Contractor & Vendor Governance

• Lead operations contractor safety performance across EMEA:
  • contractor onboarding and qualification verification
  • auditing and assurance of contractor work practices
  • corrective action governance and performance improvement
• Partner with Procurement and site leaders to embed HSE expectations into contracts and vendor management.

Compliance & Environmental Management

• Ensure compliance with EMEA regulatory requirements across multiple countries.
• Maintain oversight of:
  • local compliance obligations and documentation
  • incident reporting requirements
  • emergency preparedness and drills
  • environmental compliance programs (waste, spill response, chemical storage, etc.)
• Support internal audits, client audits, and regulatory inspections.

Incident Response, Learning & Continuous Improvement

• Provide leadership oversight for significant incidents and escalations.
• Ensure investigation quality and effective corrective action closure.
• Drive proactive reporting culture (near misses, hazards, learning events).
• Standardize lessons learned sharing across sites.

Training & Competency

• Ensure competency programs are defined and implemented for operations staff and contractors.
• Promote leadership engagement routines and coaching to improve field execution.
• Support regional learning campaigns and targeted risk reduction initiatives.

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• Serve as senior EMEA Operations HSE leader for customer audits, escalations, and performance reviews.
• Provide executive reporting on performance, trends, and key risks.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Security, HR, Compliance, and Engineering.

Qualifications and Experience

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years HSE experience supporting operations environments (data centers, utilities, industrial facilities).
• 5+ years in a senior regional HSE leadership role across multiple sites/countries.
• Strong understanding of safe systems of work and contractor controls.
• Proven experience leading compliance in multi-country environments.
• Strong leadership presence and stakeholder influence skills.
• Willingness to travel across EMEA as required (typically 25-50%).

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HSE, Engineering, Environmental, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• ISO 45001 / ISO 14001 implementation experience.
• Multilingual capability (French, German, Dutch, Spanish, etc.) a plus.
• Experience with HOP/Safety-II approaches.

Competencies / Success Factors

• Strong governance mindset with practical operational approach
• Ability to balance standardization with country-specific requirements
• High accountability and strong follow-through
• Strong contractor influence and client partnership skills
• Calm, decisive leadership in high-impact operational events

At Yondr, we want to enhance the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging of our workforce to reflect the world we live in. Our roles are potential opportunities for everyone; all interested parties, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, or gender, are welcome to apply. We ensure all candidates have equitable access and consideration throughout the hiring process.

Yondr is committed to fostering a welcoming, safe and inclusive work environment. We provide support through our benefits, which are inclusive of all backgrounds.