Safety Specialist

The Safety Specialist will support the Safety Lead in implementing and maintaining occupational health and safety programs across KAUST facilities, operations, maintenance activities, construction works, and projects. The role will focus on field inspections, audits, risk assessments, incident investigations, safety documentation, contractor engagement, training, corrective action tracking, and compliance with ISO 45001, HSE policies, and applicable regulatory requirements.

The position requires a strong field-oriented HSE professional who can identify hazards, evaluate risks, provide practical safety guidance, investigate incidents, and work effectively with facility owners, project teams, contractors, and service providers.

Key Responsibilities

• HSE Program Implementation: Support the Safety Lead in implementing and continuously improving risk-based safety programs across facilities, operations, maintenance, construction, and projects.
• Safety Inspections & Audits: Conduct risk-based site inspections, safety audits, compliance evaluations, and field verifications to ensure HSE requirements are being followed.
• Risk Assessment: Perform hazard identification and risk assessments and verify that appropriate control measures are implemented and effective.
• Safety Documentation Review: Review HSE documents including risk assessments, method statements, safety plans, permits-to-work, lifting plans, excavation plans, confined-space controls, electrical work procedures, and MOC documentation.
• Incident Investigation: Investigate or support investigations of accidents, injuries, incidents, and near misses, identify root causes, and recommend corrective and preventive actions.
• Corrective Action Tracking: Monitor corrective and preventive actions arising from inspections, audits, investigations, and observations, ensuring timely closure and escalation of overdue actions.
• HSE Training & Awareness: Develop and deliver safety training, toolbox talks, workshops, permit-to-work training, and awareness programs to improve employee and contractor competency.
• Stakeholder & Contractor Support: Provide practical HSE guidance to facility owners, project teams, contractors, service providers, and other stakeholders to support safe execution of activities.
• HSE Reporting & Data Analysis: Collect and analyze HSE data, KPIs, inspection findings, audit results, incident trends, and corrective action status, providing reports and recommendations to management.
• Safety Culture & Compliance: Promote a strong safety culture, intervene in unsafe activities, communicate lessons learned, maintain accurate HSE records, and support compliance with ISO 45001, regulations, policies, procedures, and industry best practices.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Engineering, Science, or a related safety discipline is required.
• Professional Certification: ISO 45001 Lead Auditor certification is required.
• Incident Investigation: Certification or formal training in Incident Root Cause Analysis is required.
• HSE Experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in occupational safety, facilities safety, construction safety, contractor management, projects, auditing, compliance, or related HSE functions.
• Risk Management: Strong experience in hazard identification, risk assessment, risk control, and implementation of risk-based safety programs.
• High-Risk Activities: Practical knowledge of safety controls for work at height, lifting operations, excavation, confined spaces, hot work, electrical work, and permit-to-work systems.
• ISO & Audit Knowledge: Working knowledge of ISO 45001, safety management systems, auditing, inspections, incident investigation, and corrective action management. Knowledge of ISO 19011 and ISO 31000 is an advantage.
• Safety Certifications: Additional recognized HSE qualifications such as CSP, CHST, NEBOSH Certificate/Diploma, IOSH, or equivalent are preferred. Train-the-Trainer certification is also an advantage.
• Communication & Reporting: Excellent English communication skills with the ability to prepare professional HSE reports, inspection records, investigation reports, presentations, and safety documentation.