Group Head of Health and Safety

Overview

Group Head of Health & SafetyZertus UK & Ireland | Humdinger, Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire with regular UK travel

 

Are you an experienced FMCG/ Manufacturing Health & Safety leader who thrives on influencing culture, driving standards and making a lasting impact?

This newly created leadership role offers the opportunity to lead Health & Safety across Zertus UK & Ireland's manufacturing operations, including Humdinger, Kinnerton Confectionery and Lir Chocolates. Reporting to the Group Operations Director, you'll be responsible for setting the direction of our Health & Safety agenda across five sites, leading a team of Health & Safety professionals and ensuring consistency, compliance and continuous improvement across the Group.

More than simply maintaining standards, you'll play a key role in shaping our future approach to Health & Safety. From influencing Board-level decision making and embedding standards across the business, to developing high-performing teams and strengthening accountability at every level, this is a role where you'll have genuine visibility, impact and the opportunity to build a best-in-class safety culture.

 

Position Type: Permanent, Full TimeLocation: Humdinger, Sherburn-in-Elmet, LS25 with regular UK/Ireland travel as required Salary: Competetive + 10% annual bonus + car allowance 

Hours: Monday - Friday, 08:30 - 16:30

Closing date: 12/10/2026

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver the Group Health & Safety strategy across Humdinger, Kinnerton and Lir, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of five Health & Safety professionals across our manufacturing sites.
• Provide expert advice, assurance and strategic recommendations to senior leadership and the Board.
• Drive a positive and proactive safety culture, embedding accountability and engagement throughout the organisation.
• Establish and maintain Group-wide policies, standards, governance processes and compliance frameworks.
• Lead the implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of ISO 45001 standards across all sites.
• Ensure compliance with UK and Ireland Health & Safety legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee risk management programmes, safe systems of work and corrective action plans.
• Lead significant incident investigations, root cause analysis and organisational learning initiatives.
• Develop meaningful KPI dashboards and Board-level reporting to drive performance and risk management.
• Manage relationships with regulatory bodies, insurers, auditors and external specialists.
• Drive consistency and best practice across all manufacturing locations through effective cross-site leadership.
• Support colleague wellbeing, engagement and wider sustainability objectives.

Qualifications

We're looking for someone who can bring both strategic Health & Safety leadership and the ability to influence operational performance across a complex manufacturing environment. You'll ideally have:

 

Essential: 

• NEBOSH Diploma or an equivalent Level 6 Health & Safety qualification.
• Significant senior Health & Safety leadership experience within manufacturing, FMCG, food production, logistics or similarly operational environments.
• Experience managing Health & Safety across multiple sites and leading geographically dispersed teams.
• A proven track record of developing and implementing strategy that delivers measurable improvements in safety performance.
• Strong knowledge of UK and Ireland Health & Safety legislation.
• Experience of ISO 45001 implementation, certification and continuous improvement programmes.
• Experience presenting compliance, risk and performance information to Executive and Board-level stakeholders.
• Strong experience leading audits, inspections and regulatory engagement.

Desirable:

• Chartered IOSH status (CMIOSH) or working towards.
• ISO 45001 Lead Auditor qualification.
• Environmental or sustainability qualifications.

What will make you successful?

• You're a credible leader who can engage, influence and challenge stakeholders at every level of the business.
• You can balance operational priorities with strong governance, compliance and risk management.
• You build high-performing teams through coaching, mentoring and succession planning.
• You're comfortable operating across multiple sites and building strong relationships with diverse teams.
• You use data and insight to identify opportunities, measure success and drive continuous improvement.
• You can successfully lead behavioural and cultural change programmes.
• You have excellent communication skills and can confidently influence senior leaders and Board-level audiences.
• You're resilient, pragmatic and solutions-focused, with the ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• You're passionate about creating workplaces where people can perform at their best and return home safely every day.

Rewards Benefits

• Competitive salary plus car allowance and 10% annual bonus opportunity.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase additional holiday.
• 4% employer and 5% employee pension contribution.
• Life assurance at four times basic salary.
• Healthcare Cash Plan through Paycare, covering dental, optical, therapies and counselling.
• Salary sacrifice schemes including pension, Cycle to Work and electric vehicle options.
• Career development opportunities within one of the UK's leading confectionery and snacking manufacturers.
• The opportunity to shape the future of Health & Safety across some of the UK's and Ireland's best-known confectionery and snacking manufacturers. You'll have the autonomy to influence strategy, lead a talented team, partner with senior stakeholders and drive meaningful change across five manufacturing sites.

About Us

Zertus UK & Ireland is home to some of the UK's best-loved confectionery and snacking brands, including Humdinger, Kinnerton and Lir Chocolates. We combine the pace of a growing manufacturing business with the backing of an international family-owned group, creating exciting opportunities for ambitious professionals to make a real difference.

 

This role is based primarily at our Sherburn site, with regular travel across all UK manufacturing locations. 

 

Our manufacturing Locations: Heckington, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Fakenham, Bromborough, Navan (Ireland). We have a hot-desking office space in Hull (East Yorkshire) and also in Camden, London. 

Application & Interview Process

Please apply online via our careers portal by submitting your CV and answering the application questions. Successful candidates will be invited to a two-stage interview process. 

 

Zertus UK&I is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.