Site Director – Facilities, EHS & Site Operations

Holt Executive Ltd; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Holt Executive Ltd seeks a Site Director to lead Environmental, Health & Safety, Facilities Management, Security and Business Continuity at a complex manufacturing site in the UK. You will set strategy, drive excellence and ensure compliant, reliable site operations.

The role requires a senior leader with a track record in regulated environments, strong financial acumen and the ability to develop teams within a high-performing Site Leadership Team.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership with FM/EHS responsibility in manufacturing or regulated settings.
• Strong knowledge of UK health and safety legislation and compliance.
• Proven ability to drive performance, change and cost optimisation.
• Experience managing complex outsourced services and capital projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the site EHS strategy and compliance.
• Promote proactive safety culture and incident investigations.
• Oversee buildings, utilities, infrastructure, and asset management.
• Lead facilities services including maintenance and waste management.
• Manage outsourced providers and SLAs.
• Oversee security, emergency preparedness and business continuity.
• Strategic oversight of capital projects and MOC processes.
• Manage operating and capex budgets and supplier negotiations.
• Coach and develop functional managers and governance.
• Be a key member of Site Leadership Team and strategic planning.

Skills

Senior leadership

Facilities management

EHS compliance

Regulated environment

Budget control

Stakeholder management

Contract management

Change management

Job description

Site Director – Facilities, EHS & Site Operations

Location: Chelmsford, Essex

Employment type: Permanent, full-time

Salary: Dependent on Experience

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Site Director to provide strategic and operational leadership across Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS), Facilities Management, Security, Business Continuity and site infrastructure at a complex manufacturing site.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring the safe, compliant, efficient and reliable operation of the site. Working closely with functional managers and the wider Site Leadership Team, you will raise operational standards, strengthen leadership capability and embed a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

About the role

You will take overall responsibility for the safe and effective operation of the site, leading established teams across EHS, hard and soft facilities services, security and business continuity. You will ensure compliance with UK legislation, corporate standards and regulatory requirements, while identifying opportunities to improve reliability, efficiency, service quality and cost effectiveness.

This role will suit an experienced operational leader with a strong background in Facilities Management and EHS within manufacturing, engineering or another regulated environment.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and lead the site EHS strategy, ensuring compliance with UK legislation, corporate standards and regulatory requirements.
• Promote a proactive safety culture, oversee risk assessments, COSHH compliance, safe systems of work, incident investigations and corrective actions.
• Take overall responsibility for site buildings, utilities, infrastructure, plant and critical systems, including planned preventative maintenance, statutory inspections and asset management.
• Lead hard and soft facilities services, including maintenance, cleaning, catering, waste management, reception and grounds maintenance.
• Manage outsourced service providers, supplier contracts, service-level agreements and performance standards.
• Oversee site security arrangements, emergency preparedness, Business Continuity Plans and incident-response procedures.
• Provide strategic oversight of facilities and EHS-related capital projects, infrastructure upgrades and Management of Change processes.
• Take responsibility for operational and capital expenditure budgets, supplier negotiations, cost optimisation and commercial performance.
• Lead, coach and develop functional managers, establishing clear performance standards, governance and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Act as a key member of the Site Leadership Team, contributing to strategic planning, operational risk management and site-wide improvement.

Skills and experience

Essential

• Significant senior leadership experience across Facilities Management, covering both hard and soft services, and Environmental, Health & Safety.
• Experience within manufacturing, engineering or another highly regulated environment.
• Strong working knowledge of UK health and safety legislation, statutory facilities compliance and regulatory requirements.
• Proven ability to lead and develop management teams, improve performance and implement organisational change.
• Experience managing complex facilities operations, infrastructure and contractor-intensive environments.
• Experience overseeing outsourced services, supplier relationships and contractual performance.Strong commercial and financial management capability, including responsibility for operational budgets and capital expenditure.
• Excellent stakeholder-management, communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge existing practices and drive accountability.

Desirable

• Previous responsibility for site security, emergency preparedness and Business Continuity Management.
• Knowledge of ISO management systems and recognised compliance frameworks.
• Experience in highly regulated, high-reliability or safety-critical manufacturing environments.
• Experience managing infrastructure-improvement programmes or capital-investment projects.