Health & Safety Director

Overview

When you join Hines, you will embark on a career journey fueled by vision and guided by leaders who set the standards of our industry. Our legacy is rooted in innovation and excellence, earning us a spot on Fast Company’s esteemed annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, as well as recognition as one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For in 2024. Discover endless opportunities to grow and make your mark at Hines.

Responsibilities

Global Management Solutions (GMS) is Hines' global platform for strengthening Management Services through scalable expertise, consistent operating standards and practical support to regional Property Management and Asset Management teams. GMS connects specialist capabilities with local execution to improve operational performance, service delivery and consistency across markets.

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. Working 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 escalated appropriately. 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, and maintains sufficient engagement with regional teams, managed assets, major incidents and strategic suppliers to keep Hines' Health & Safety framework practical, credible and continuously improving.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

Global Health & Safety Strategy, Governance & Regulatory Oversight

• 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' wider operational-risk framework.

• Maintain informed oversight of 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.

• Maintain a structured process for monitoring regulatory change and communicating material developments to relevant stakeholders.

• Provide strategic advice to senior and executive leadership on material risks, regulatory developments and organisational priorities.

• Commission external advisers and specialist consultants where jurisdictional or technical expertise is required.

Global Assurance, Performance & Incident Oversight

• Establish and oversee a risk-based global Health & Safety assurance framework, including assessment criteria, reporting standards and escalation thresholds.
• Coordinate regional and third-party assurance activity to provide appropriate coverage of material risks and priority markets.
• Review assurance outcomes, leading and lagging indicators and systemic themes to direct improvement priorities across the global platform.
• Track significant findings and remediation actions to effective closure, escalating material delays, recurring concerns and systemic 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 and management insight.
• Establish global requirements for reporting, escalating and investigating significant incidents and high-potential events.
• Benchmark Hines' performance and governance arrangements against recognised industry practice and relevant peer organisations.
• Provide executive oversight of serious incidents, ensuring appropriate technical, legal, operational and communications expertise is engaged and investigation quality, root causes and corrective actions are robust.
• Ensure significant incidents, lessons learned, systemic themes and material remediation plans are communicated across regions and reported through the RERC and other relevant governance forums, without displacing regional or local accountability.

Regional & Operational Partnership

• Partner with regional and country leadership to translate global strategy, policies and standards into practical regional plans.
• Provide strategic guidance and technical oversight to Property Management, Engineering Services, Asset Management and Investment Management leadership.
• Maintain sufficient engagement with operational teams and managed assets, including 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 where practices or controls do not meet global expectations and promote knowledge sharing across markets.

Supply Chain, Vendor, Fire & Building Safety Governance

• 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 requirements into sourcing, due diligence, contracting, mobilisation and supplier governance.
• Oversee strategic-supplier performance and ensure material supplier risks and remediation plans are escalated through appropriate governance forums.
• Establish global governance standards and minimum requirements for fire, life safety and building-safety risk in partnership with Engineering Services and regional specialists.
• Provide strategic oversight of material fire and building-safety deficiencies, remediation and enforcement matters, aligning with emergency preparedness, operational resilience and business continuity.

Client, Investor & External Assurance

• Provide senior Health & Safety input into client and investor assurance, due diligence, governance reviews and significant new business or service-transition opportunities.
• Demonstrate the effectiveness of Hines' global governance framework, standards and assurance approach in client, investor and external stakeholder engagements.
• Represent Hines with key clients, investors, regulators, insurers, professional bodies and industry forums, reinforcing Hines' position as a credible and responsible global real estate operator and service provider.

Leadership, Capability & Culture

• Establish global capability, competency and training expectations and support implementation across regions.

• Promote knowledge sharing, professional development and communities of practice across the global platform.

• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, learning and continuous improvement, including an integrated approach to occupational health, safety and wellbeing.

• Build effective 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 and support the continued development of the global operational-risk governance framework.

• Contribute Health & Safety expertise to Management Services strategic priorities and special projects.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements include:

• 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.

• Proven 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.

• Compensation: Chicago: $173,000 - $259,960 + bonus; Houston & London - will be based on experience

Desirable

• 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.

Key Competencies:

• 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.

Closing

At Hines, we believe the built world is ultimately about people. As one of the world’s largest privately held real assets firms, we bring nearly seven decades of investment, development, and management experience to work that shapes cities and communities around the world.

Our people make that possible. Across 29 countries, more than 4,600 colleagues bring different perspectives and expertise to Hines, with opportunities to take on meaningful responsibility, learn from leaders across the business, and build a career with room to evolve. We support that journey through professional development, competitive rewards, comprehensive benefits, and a culture grounded in trust and high standards.

Hines is proud to be named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024.

We are an equal opportunity employer and support workforce diversity.

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