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About us
Hop aboard Damen Naval; the naval division of the family-owned Damen Shipyards Group, where 12,000 professionals work worldwide. Damen Naval delivers advanced naval vessels to clients all over the globe. By implementing the most innovative technological developments in practice, we continue to push the boundaries of the shipbuilding industry. You can be part of our team! Are you ready for duty?

The role

As the HSE Team Lead at Damen Naval, you will be pivotal in leading and coordinating the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) function. You will oversee the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of our HSE policies, procedures, and systems.

Your leadership will be key in further cultivating a proactive health and safety culture, ensuring a safe and compliant work environment for all staff, subcontractors, suppliers, and visitors at our yard and on our abroad building locations. You will guide the HSE team, act as a senior advisor on complex HSE matters, and report on overall HSE performance. Given that Dutch and English is commonly spoken within Damen Naval, fluency in Dutch and English is required.

Key accountabilities
In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Strategically lead and champion a proactive HSE culture, overseeing all related activities and ensuring a safe and compliant environment for all stakeholders. This includes leading the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of comprehensive HSE plans and systems.

• Be an expert sparring partner for Top management to drive the safety culture.

• Provide expert guidance and ensure organizational compliance, acting as the primary liaison with external parties and authorities on all HSE matters and offering strategic advice to management and project teams to guarantee full legal and contractual adherence.

• Direct complex HSE evaluations and risk mitigation, leading thorough audits and risk assessments, guiding the team in implementing effective mitigation measures, and verifying their successful execution.

• Drive continuous HSE improvement and performance monitoring, championing and directing programs for enhancement, tracking performance metrics, and strategically implementing improvements across the organization.

• Lead incident management, overseeing investigations into significant incidents, ensuring rigorous root cause analysis and timely reporting.

• Ensure the maintenance of critical HSE records, and managing essential registers for health, environmental aspects, and hazardous substances.

• Develop and empower the HSE team, leading, mentoring, and coaching HSE Officers and Assistants, managing team resources and workload, and contributing to the strategic planning of HSE initiatives to align with broader organizational objectives.

Skills & experience
We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in HSE in a project organisation, with at least 3 years in a supervisory, coordinating, or team leadership capacity, including proven experience in developing, strengthening, and leading HSE systems and managing diverse stakeholders.

• Demonstrable experience in leading and directing HSE in projects, coordinating team activities, and developing and delivering impactful HSE training programs.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a technical field, Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, or a related discipline.

• Expert knowledge of HSE management principles, advanced understanding of HSE systems (e.g., ISO 45001, ISO 14001), and comprehensive knowledge of relevant legislation and industry best practices.

• Holds a Diploma ‘Hogere Veiligheidskunde’ (HVK) or an equivalent advanced safety professional certification (e.g., NEBOSH Diploma, CSP).

• Proven leadership, team management, and mentoring skills with the ability to inspire and motivate a team.

• Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.

• Proficiency in Dutch and English, both written and spoken, is essential.

• Excellent references, as a security screening is part of the hiring process.

• Permanent EU citizenship and passport are both required. Candidates with EU (work) visa or with both an EU and non-EU nationality and/or passport are not eligible in accordance with the requirements imposed by the military nature of our projects.

What we offer
At Damen Naval, we highly value our employees, and we will support your professional and personal development. We also provide our employees with:

• A competitive salary and 8% holiday pay.

• 27 holidays and 13 ADV days.

• Travel allowance of 23 cents per kilometre.

• PME-pension arrangement with an employer contribution of 60%.

• Profit sharing based on company results.

• Flexibility to work from home up to two days a week.

• Additional benefits including a bicycle plan and company fitness.

Application & information
Are you interested in this position, please submit your application with your CV and cover letter, along with an indication of:

• Your (preferred) monthly gross salary based on fulltime work.
• Availability (fulltime / part-time / number of hours).
• Notice period / possible starting date.

For more information about this vacancy or Damen Naval, please visit the Damen Naval website, the Damen Naval Career website or contact the Corporate Recruitment department via +31 118 485 000.

Please note that due to the military nature of our projects, only candidates who have permanent EU nationality can be considered for vacancies at Damen Naval. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to process candidates who (also) have a non-EU passport or nationality.

A pre-employment and security screening and investigation form part of the recruitment process.

Acquisition and introduction of candidates without a formal request is not appreciated and they will not be considered.

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