Project HSE Manager / HSE Lead
Location: Sweden (Projects across the Nordics & Europe; occasional visits to Finnish HQ)Sector: Data Centres / Mission Critical Facilities
Assignment Type: Permanent / Long-Term Contract or Staff Employment
Start Date: ASAP
Role Context
Join a leading technical services and life-cycle solutions provider, delivering mission-critical data centre projects across Sweden and Europe. As Project HSE Manager, you will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the Health, Safety and Environmental strategy across major construction projects. You will provide both strategic and operational HSE leadership from mobilisation through construction, commissioning, and final handover, leading the project HSE team and collaborating closely with project leadership, subcontractors, and client representatives.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the Health, Safety and Environmental function across major data centre and mission-critical projects.
- Develop, implement and maintain the project HSE plan.
- Establish project-specific HSE objectives, standards, procedures and performance expectations.
- Provide strategic HSE advice to Project Directors, Construction Managers and senior leadership.
- Act as the principal HSE contact for clients, contractors, consultants and relevant authorities.
- Ensure compliance with Swedish health and safety legislation, environmental regulations and client requirements.
- Interpret contractual HSE obligations and ensure their effective implementation.
- Lead and manage HSE Advisors, Coordinators and other project safety personnel.
- Determine HSE resource requirements and support the recruitment, mobilisation and development of the HSE team.
- Provide visible HSE leadership through regular site engagement, inspections and management safety walks.
- Oversee the review and approval of project Risk Assessments and Method Statements.
- Ensure effective management of high-risk activities, including lifting, working at height, confined-space entry, excavation, temporary works and electrical activities.
- Establish and monitor permit-to-work, isolation and lockout/tagout arrangements.
- Oversee HSE planning for testing, commissioning, energisation and phased handover.
- Evaluate subcontractor HSE competence during prequalification, mobilisation and project delivery.
- Monitor contractor and subcontractor performance against agreed HSE requirements.
- Lead serious incident and high-potential near-miss investigations.
- Ensure root causes are identified and appropriate corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
- Communicate safety alerts and lessons learned across the project and wider business.
- Develop and manage the project HSE audit and inspection programme.
- Coordinate internal, client and regulatory audits and inspections.
- Monitor corrective actions and ensure they are closed within agreed timescales.
- Develop project HSE dashboards, KPIs and management reports.
- Present HSE performance, risks and improvement plans during client and leadership meetings.
- Identify emerging risks, performance trends and areas requiring management intervention.
- Lead emergency preparedness, crisis response planning and evacuation exercises.
- Ensure environmental risks are appropriately managed, including waste, pollution, hazardous materials and spill prevention.
- Promote behavioural safety, workforce engagement and wellbeing initiatives.
- Encourage reporting of hazards, observations, near misses and improvement opportunities.
- Chair HSE meetings and participate in project, construction and commissioning coordination meetings.
- Maintain effective communication with client HSE teams and external stakeholders.
- Support tender, preconstruction and mobilisation activities by providing HSE input.
- Drive consistency and continuous improvement across project HSE management systems.
- Support the successful delivery of projects without harm to people, property or the environment.
Requirements
- Extensive Health, Safety and Environmental experience within construction, engineering, MEP, industrial or building services environments.
- Demonstrable experience leading HSE delivery on major construction projects.
- Previous responsibility for managing HSE teams, resources and project-wide safety performance.
- Strong knowledge of construction health and safety legislation and industry best practices.
- Experience developing and implementing project HSE plans and management systems.
- Proven ability to influence Project Directors, Construction Managers, subcontractors and clients.
- Experience managing HSE performance within complex, high-risk construction environments.
- Strong understanding of Risk Assessments, Method Statements and safe systems of work.
- Detailed knowledge of contractor management and subcontractor assurance.
- Experience managing high-risk activities and permit-to-work systems.
- Strong incident investigation and root cause analysis experience.
- Experience leading internal, client or regulatory audits.
- Strong understanding of behavioural safety and workforce engagement.
- Ability to analyse HSE data and present meaningful performance information to senior stakeholders.
- Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
- Strong report-writing, decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.
- Ability to manage competing priorities within fast-track project environments.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, HSE databases and reporting platforms.
- Fluent English communication skills, both written and verbal.
- Experience working within multidisciplinary and multicultural project teams.
- Relevant professional qualification such as NEBOSH Diploma, NVQ Level 6, NCRQ Diploma, degree in Occupational Health and Safety or equivalent.
- Chartered or certified membership of IOSH, IIRSM or another recognised professional body would be advantageous.
Desirable
- Previous experience managing HSE on Data Centre or Mission Critical construction projects.
- Experience with major MEP, pharmaceutical, industrial or advanced-technology projects.
- Experience working under Swedish health and safety legislation.
- Strong knowledge of Systematic Work Environment Management-SAM.
- BAS-P and/or BAS-U qualification or experience.
- Knowledge of Arbetsmiljöverket requirements.
- ISO 45001 Lead Auditor or Internal Auditor qualification.
- Knowledge of ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems.
- Experience leading HSE during commissioning, energisation and live-system activities.
- Strong understanding of electrical safety, isolation and lockout/tagout procedures.
- Experience working with MV/LV electrical systems would be beneficial.
- ESA, Heta Arbeten, BAM or other relevant Swedish qualifications.
- Environmental, sustainability or wellbeing-related qualifications.
- Swedish language skills.
- Experience supporting projects across multiple Nordic or European countries.
Why Join Us
This is an opportunity to take a senior leadership position with a leading Technical Services and MEP Contractor, supporting the delivery of some of Europe's most advanced data centre and mission-critical developments. You will shape HSE strategy, influence project leadership and build a proactive safety culture across technically complex construction and commissioning environments. The position offers the opportunity to lead high-performing teams and make a meaningful contribution to the safe and successful delivery of major projects throughout the Nordic region and Europe.