Health, Safety & Wellbeing Manager - Rail

Shape the future of rail safely - with curiosity, challenge and purpose.

Laing O'Rourke is embarking on the next major phase of the East West Rail programme, helping deliver the new connection between Oxford and Cambridge. This nationally significant project is transforming how communities live, work and travel—and we're looking for an outstanding Health, Safety & Wellbeing Manager to help us deliver it safely, intelligently and innovatively.

If you're passionate about shifting safety culture, curious about how work really happens, and motivated by supporting people to thrive in high‑performance environments, this is an opportunity to join a forward‑thinking, collaborative delivery team making a real impact.

Why this role matters

You'll be at the heart of ensuring our people, partners and communities remain safe every day. This is not a traditional compliance-driven H&S role. At Laing O'Rourke, Rethinking Safety is an industry‑leading approach that focuses on curiosity over bureaucracy, conversations over paperwork, and learning over blame.

As Health, Safety & Wellbeing Manager, you will:

• Champion the Rethinking Safety principles, coaching project teams to think differently and engage meaningfully with the workforce.
• Create environments where people feel empowered, trusted and supported to work safely.
• Lead and deliver proactive, people‑centred safety activities including appreciative enquiries, positive investigations, collaborative conversations and work-as-done reviews.
• Provide clear, expert guidance and assurance across all aspects of HSE, especially within an operational rail environment.
• Influence senior leaders, contribute to strategic objectives and help shape a maturing safety culture.
• Promote innovation, new technologies and modern methods of managing risk.

This is a project‑based position within a major rail environment—dynamic, fast‑paced and rich with opportunity to make a measurable difference.

What you'll bring

We're looking for someone who combines technical excellence with genuine people skills:

Technical expertise

• Level 6 qualification in Occupational Safety & Health (minimum)
• Strong experience in safety risk management within operational rail
• Membership of a relevant professional body
• Confident in delivering assurance, incident investigations and safety leadership

People leadership & behavioural skills

• Skilled coach, mentor and communicator
• Exceptional listening and engagement capability
• Able to influence stakeholders at every level
• Emotionally intelligent, open‑minded and calm under pressure
• Positive, proactive and motivated to help others succeed
• Curious, innovative and eager to challenge unhelpful bureaucracy
• Builds strong, trusting relationships quickly
• Self‑starter who energises teams and drives momentum

Why join us?

At Laing O'Rourke, you'll be part of a team that believes safety is created by people, not by paperwork. You'll work alongside passionate professionals in a supportive environment that values learning, innovation and continuous improvement.

This is your opportunity to contribute to one of the UK's most exciting rail programmes, helping shape the culture, systems and behaviours that will define its success.

How to apply

If you're ready to rethink safety, challenge the status quo and help create an environment where everyone can thrive, we'd love to hear from you.