EHS Assurance Manager (Site Based)

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.
We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced EHS Assurance Manager to support one of the most significant hyperscale data centre developments in Europe.
This role sits within a major £10 billion data centre campus in Northumberland, North East England, spanning 540,000 sqm across 10 data centre buildings. The wider programme includes extensive enabling works, substation construction, and environmental remediation. With enabling works underway and main construction commencing from 2026, this is a unique opportunity to contribute to a landmark project of exceptional scale and complexity.
The Role
As EHS Assurance Manager, this role operates as the client-side EHS assurance and governance function, providing independent oversight of the General Contractor’s health, safety and environmental performance across the programme.
This is an assurance role, not a construction delivery role. The focus is on verifying that client EHS standards are being applied consistently, that critical risks are being effectively managed, and that the highest standards of safety are maintained across all workstreams.
This position is well suited to someone with strong technical EHS knowledge, sound judgement, and the confidence to challenge, influence, and provide clear assurance reporting at project leadership level.
What You’ll Be Doing

Provide independent assurance of the General Contractor’s EHS management systems and performance
Verify compliance with client standards and statutory requirements
Review EHS plans, procedures, and control systems
Monitor high-risk construction activities and critical hazard controls
Carry out inspections, audits, and structured assurance reviews
Identify, record, and escalate non-conformances and high-risk conditions
Analyse trends and proactively identify systemic risks
Support project leadership in understanding EHS performance and required interventions

Key Responsibilities

Oversee the assurance of EHS performance across multiple project workstreams
Test the effectiveness of contractor controls, systems, and implementation on site
Undertake targeted assurance inspections of high-risk works
Review permit systems, safe systems of work, and workface controls
Escalate critical risks and recurring failures in a timely and structured way
Produce clear weekly and monthly assurance reporting for project leadership
Contribute to governance reviews and senior leadership reporting
Promote high standards of safety, environmental compliance, and continuous improvement

Key Interfaces

Project Director and Project Management Team
CSA and MEP Project Managers
General Contractor leadership and EHS team
Trade contractors and package teams
Operations, logistics, and commissioning teams

Experience & Skills Required

Strong experience in construction EHS management, ideally within data centres, mission-critical environments, or major infrastructure
Deep understanding of:

high-risk construction activities
permit systems
safe systems of work
critical hazard controls

Experience auditing and assuring contractor performance
Ability to challenge and influence senior stakeholders
Strong reporting, observation, and analytical capability
Experience identifying trends, recurring failures, and emerging risk themes

Key Behaviours

Independent and objective
Detail-oriented and risk-focused
Strong communicator
High standards and zero tolerance for unsafe practices
Proactive and solutions-driven

What This Role Is Not
This role is not:

A contractor EHS delivery role
Responsible for writing or approving RAMS
A site supervision role
Responsible for managing construction activities directly

It is a client-side assurance and governance role focused on oversight, compliance, reporting, and risk-based intervention.
Typical Deliverables
Daily

Targeted assurance inspections of high-risk works
Spot checks of:

permits
RAMS compliance
workface controls

Immediate escalation of critical risks

Weekly

Prepare a Weekly EHS Assurance Report covering:

key observations
red / amber risks
non-conformances
actions and escalations

Attend:

weekly progress meetings
H&S coordination meetings

Review trends in:

near misses
inspections
repeated failures

Monthly

Prepare a Monthly EHS Assurance Report covering:

performance summary
trend analysis
critical risk status
General Contractor performance assessment

Undertake audits or structured reviews of:

EHS management systems
plans and controls

Provide input to:

senior leadership reviews
governance reporting

Why Apply?

Join a landmark data centre programme at exceptional scale
Play a key role in maintaining high EHS standards on a major capital project
Work in a strategic, independent assurance capacity
Influence leadership decisions through insight, challenge, and governance
Be part of a development with major regional and economic significance

Why Arcadis?
We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.
You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.
Together, we can create a lasting legacy.
Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.
Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.

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