Health & Safety Director - Global

Hines•Chicago, IL

2d•$173,000 - $259,960

About The Position

The Global Health & Safety Director provides global functional leadership for Health & Safety across Hines' Management Services platform. The Director sets strategy, policy, governance, management-system requirements and minimum operating standards, and supports consistent, proportionate implementation across jurisdictions and operating models. In partnership with regional and country leadership and key functions, the Director ensures material Health & Safety, fire, life-safety and building-safety risks are identified, governed, reported and appropriately escalated. Regional and local leaders remain accountable for statutory compliance and operational execution. As a prominent member of the Real Estate Risk Committee (RERC), the Director helps shape the agenda, brings forward material and emerging risks, provides informed challenge and drives significant issues and remediation actions to closure. The role translates differing legislative and enforcement frameworks into clear global minimum standards while recognising more stringent local requirements. It also maintains sufficient engagement with regional teams, managed assets, major incidents and strategic suppliers to keep Hines' Health & Safety framework practical, credible and continuously improving. The role establishes global strategy, governance, regulatory oversight, assurance and performance frameworks; oversees significant incident response and remediation; partners with regional operational teams; governs supplier, fire and building-safety risks; and provides Health & Safety expertise in client, investor and external stakeholder engagements. It develops global capability and training expectations, promotes knowledge sharing and professional development, and fosters accountability, transparency, learning and continuous improvement across the global platform. The role includes targeted reviews and international travel.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent combination of advanced professional qualification and substantial senior experience.
Chartered or Certified Member of IOSH (CMIOSH / CertIOSH), or equivalent recognised professional accreditation.
Significant senior-level Health & Safety experience, typically 12 or more years, within commercial real estate, property management, facilities management, engineering services or another complex multinational operating environment.
Experience developing global or multi-regional Health & Safety strategies, policies, governance frameworks and management systems.
Experience working across the Americas and Europe and navigating differing legislative, regulatory and enforcement approaches, including familiarity with the US OSHA framework and relevant UK and European requirements.
Experience serving on, or presenting regularly to, enterprise or real estate risk committees and advising senior and executive leadership.
Experience operating within a global matrix organisation and influencing leaders without direct authority.
Strong understanding of commercial property operations and material operational risks, including engineering services, fire and life safety, contractor management and strategic suppliers.
Experience establishing and overseeing global or multi-regional assurance programmes, performance reporting, remediation governance and significant-incident oversight.
Ability to translate complex technical and regulatory matters into clear policies, governance protocols and executive-level recommendations, including in client, investor and reputational-risk contexts.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Risk Management, Engineering, Business or a related discipline.
ISO 45001 Lead Auditor qualification.
NEBOSH Level 6 Diploma or equivalent Level 6 qualification.
Qualification in fire safety, building safety, operational risk, business continuity or resilience.
Executive or professional development in governance, leadership or enterprise risk management.
Experience leading a global or multi-regional Health & Safety function within commercial real estate or a comparable service-led organisation.
Direct experience across both US and European commercial real estate markets.
Experience with ISO 45001 and other recognised occupational Health & Safety management frameworks.
Experience with global governance, risk, compliance or assurance technology platforms.
Experience engaging directly with regulators, insurers, professional bodies and major clients, including oversight of fire, life-safety or building-safety governance across complex portfolios.
Strategic Health & Safety leadership with practical operational judgement.
Global governance, enterprise risk and assurance oversight.
Multi-jurisdictional regulatory expertise.
Executive communication, presentation, influence and stakeholder management.
Commercial understanding of real estate operations, including fire, life-safety, building-risk and supply-chain governance.
Cross-cultural leadership and matrix collaboration.
Data-led insight, continuous improvement, integrity and accountability.

Responsibilities

Develop, maintain and communicate Hines' global Health & Safety strategy, policy framework, governance model and management-system requirements.
Establish global minimum standards and operating protocols with clear accountabilities at global, regional, country and asset levels.
Set global priorities, roadmaps and performance expectations aligned with GMS strategy, business objectives and Hines' operational-risk framework.
Monitor Health & Safety, fire, building-safety and occupational-risk regulation across key jurisdictions, particularly the Americas, United Kingdom and continental Europe.
Translate regulatory requirements and differing enforcement approaches into practical global standards and regional implementation expectations; monitor regulatory change and communicate material developments.
Advise senior and executive leadership on material risks, regulatory developments and organisational priorities; commission external advisers and specialist consultants when needed.
Establish and oversee a risk-based global Health & Safety assurance framework, including assessment criteria, reporting standards, escalation thresholds and coordinated regional and third-party assurance activity.
Review assurance outcomes, performance indicators and systemic themes to direct improvement priorities; track significant findings and remediation actions to closure and escalate material delays or weaknesses.
Develop global Health & Safety KPIs, dashboards and executive reporting for GMS, the RERC and senior leadership, using technology and standardised workflows to improve risk visibility.
Establish global requirements for reporting, escalating and investigating significant incidents and high-potential events; provide executive oversight of serious incidents and ensure investigation quality, root-cause analysis and corrective actions are robust.
Communicate significant incidents, lessons learned, systemic themes and material remediation plans across regions and through relevant governance forums without displacing regional or local accountability.
Benchmark Hines' performance and governance arrangements against recognised industry practice and relevant peer organisations.
Partner with regional and country leaders to translate global strategy, policies and standards into practical regional plans, and provide strategic guidance and technical oversight to relevant operational and investment leadership.
Engage with operational teams and managed assets through targeted reviews and international travel to understand performance, implementation challenges and emerging risks.
Support major mobilisations, acquisitions, service transitions and organisational changes from a Health & Safety governance perspective; provide informed challenge and promote knowledge sharing across markets.
Establish global Health & Safety expectations for suppliers, contractors and outsourced service providers, including competency and vendor-assurance standards.
Partner with Procurement to embed Health & Safety in sourcing, due diligence, contracting, mobilisation and supplier governance; oversee strategic-supplier performance and escalate material risks and remediation plans.
Establish global governance standards and minimum requirements for fire, life-safety and building-safety risks in partnership with Engineering Services and regional specialists.
Provide strategic oversight of material fire and building-safety deficiencies, remediation and enforcement matters, aligned with emergency preparedness, operational resilience and business continuity.
Provide senior Health & Safety input into client and investor assurance, due diligence, governance reviews and significant new business or service-transition opportunities.
Demonstrate Hines' global governance framework, standards and assurance approach to clients, investors and external stakeholders; represent Hines with clients, investors, regulators, insurers, professional bodies and industry forums.
Establish global capability, competency and training expectations and support their implementation across regions.
Promote knowledge sharing, professional development and communities of practice; foster accountability, transparency, learning and continuous improvement, including an integrated approach to occupational health, safety and wellbeing.
Build relationships across the Firm and lead or contribute to regional and global committees, working groups and cross-functional initiatives.
Influence effectively within Hines' matrix organisation, support development of the global operational-risk governance framework, and contribute Health & Safety expertise to Management Services priorities and special projects.