"Health and Safety Director"

Organisation: Cranfield University

Faculty or Department: Facilities

Based at: Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire

Hours of work: 37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered.

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: Competitive salary

Apply by: 25/01/2026

Role Description

We welcome applications from experienced health and safety leaders who are passionate about protecting people, driving positive behaviour change and embedding a proactive health, safety and wellbeing culture across a complex organisation.

About the Role

Cranfield University is seeking an experienced Health and Safety Director to provide strategic leadership and expert guidance across all aspects of health, safety and wellbeing.

Reporting to the Director of Facilities and working closely with the University’s Executive and People and Culture colleagues, you will shape, lead and deliver the University’s strategic vision for health, safety and wellbeing. You will act as the University’s principal authority on health and safety matters, ensuring a consistent, compliant and continuously improving approach to risk management across all campuses and activities.

The role combines strategic leadership with operational oversight. You will lead the Health and Safety team, advise senior leaders and governors, engage constructively with regulators, and champion a preventative, inclusive and people-focused approach that embeds health, safety and wellbeing into everyday University life.

About You

You will be a highly credible and experienced health and safety professional with a strong track record of operating at a senior level within a complex organisation.

You will hold a NEBOSH National Diploma (or equivalent) and be a Chartered Member of IOSH (CMIOSH) or equivalent. You will bring significant experience of developing and delivering health, safety and wellbeing strategies, leading teams, managing change and influencing behaviour across diverse stakeholder groups.

You will also demonstrate:

• In-depth, up-to-date knowledge of health and safety legislation and its practical application
• Experience of operating health and safety management systems, ideally aligned to ISO 45001
• Strong leadership, coaching and engagement skills, with the ability to drive cultural change
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, including advising executive-level committees
• Confidence working with regulators and external specialists in high-risk or complex environments.

Experience within the higher education sector, ISO lead auditor training, and familiarity with major accident hazard environments would be advantageous.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.

Facilities is a major professional service unit within the University, responsible for the effective management, development and maintenance of Cranfield’s buildings, infrastructure and land. The Health and Safety team plays a critical role in supporting staff, students and visitors by ensuring a safe, compliant and supportive working and learning environment across all University sites.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here.

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer and proud members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme. We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families. Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here.

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact John Street, Director of Facilities on E: j.street@cranfield.ac.uk or T: +44 1234 75 4732

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on E: hrrecruitment@cranfield.ac.uk. Please quote reference number 5171.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 25 January 2026

Please note that we reserve the right to close this advert prior to the stated closing date should we receive sufficient numbers of applications. Therefore, we would encourage you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.