Overview
Harry & Maxwell is seeking an experienced Head of HSE with strong greenfield megaproject experience to lead health, safety and environment for a confidential 1GW hyperscale energy and data centre development in the Northern Territory. This role owns the project HSE management system, the contractor HSE assurance program across all EPC packages, and the critical risk, emergency response and environmental compliance obligations attached to a remote greenfield site carrying a peak workforce of approximately 3,200 and a residential village of 4,500. The role is Perth based during the establishment phase, transitioning toward the Northern Territory site as the project mobilises. The Head of HSE also acts as the key liaison between the Project Director, executive leadership team, EPC contractors, regulators and Traditional Owner representatives throughout the build phase.
Key Responsibilities
- Build the project HSE management system from a blank page, covering FEED, construction, commissioning and the transition into operations.
- Establish and enforce a single HSE standard across all EPC contractors and subcontractors, including flow down obligations, verification, audit and performance oversight.
- Own the critical risk program across bulk earthworks, rail interface [including ONRSR requirements], site aviation, HV energisation, BESS, gas generation commissioning and large scale work at height.
- Establish emergency, crisis and medical response arrangements for an isolated site, including the on site medical centre, RFDS compatible aeromedical interface and site evacuation planning.
- Own environmental compliance against NT EPA and Commonwealth EPBC approval conditions, including threatened species commitments, groundwater management and Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority clearances.
- Lead incident management, investigation and regulatory notification, including ICAM or equivalent methodology and closeout of corrective actions.
- Establish and administer the project's alcohol and drug free workplace policy in coordination with the Head of People, Culture & Industrial Relations.
- Work with the Camps Lead and the Head of People, Culture & Industrial Relations on village welfare, fatigue management and psychosocial risk for a multicultural residential workforce.
- Develop EPC contractor HSE capability requirements for inclusion in tender evaluation criteria.-
- Establish HSE assurance, audit and verification schedules across contractors and site activities, including critical control verification.
- Engage and manage specialist HSE, occupational hygiene, emergency response and environmental advisors.
- Report HSE performance, critical risk status and regulatory exposure to the Project Director on a regular cycle.
- Establish HSE systems, registers and ways of working from a blank page, including document control and governance structures ahead of full mobilisation.
- Ensure role specific position descriptions are in place and maintained for all direct reports, with regular performance review and development planning.
Required Experience
- Minimum 15 years HSE leadership experience on remote construction megaprojects.
- Demonstrated experience establishing a project HSE management system from scratch rather than administering an inherited system.
- Proven ability to hold multiple EPC contractors to a single HSE standard across a concurrent, multi package construction program.
- LNG, power generation or resources megaproject experience highly regarded [Gorgon, Wheatstone, Ichthys or comparable].
- Working knowledge of NT work health and safety legislation and the environmental approval conditions attached to major Northern Territory projects.
- Remote site emergency and aeromedical response experience in locations without immediate access to tertiary medical care.
- Experience carrying HSE through commissioning and handover into operations, not construction alone.
- Tertiary qualifications in work health and safety, environmental management or a related engineering or science discipline.
Skills and Attributes
- Genuine self-starter, comfortable building HSE systems, assurance frameworks and emergency response arrangements from a blank page rather than inheriting them.
- Strong leadership capability with the ability to establish and mentor a team from the ground up.
- Credibility at both ends of the project, able to hold a position in front of executives and regulators and equally able to hold it at pre start on site.
- High attention to detail balanced with the ability to make timely decisions on the best available information without sacrificing rigour.
- Accountable, takes personal, visible ownership of commitments and raises problems early rather than waiting to be asked.
- Resilient, operates effectively under pressure, remote conditions and shifting scope, adapting systems and plans as circumstances change.
- Ability to manage multiple competing priorities across regulator, EPC contractor and internal stakeholders within tight timeframes.
- Client focused with strong interpersonal and communication skills, comfortable operating as the key liaison between executive leadership and delivery teams.
Role is Perth based with travel to site required as needed.
