Job Title: Group HSE Governance and Compliance Manager

Reports To: Group Head HSE

Location: Lusaka, Zambia (or as otherwise required)

Employment Type: Full-Time, Managerial Position Summary

The Group HSE Governance and Compliance Manager is responsible for establishing, implementing, monitoring and continuously improving a robust Health, Safety, Environmental and Risk (HSE&R) governance framework across all Big Tree operations. This role ensures enterprise-wide compliance with Zambian statutory legislation, international HSE standards, Big Tree Group policies and industry best practices while fostering a positive safety culture and risk-aware workplace.The role involves strategic leadership, performance assurance, compliance oversight, risk governance, audit, incident analysis, reporting, and cross-functional engagement to drive sustainable HSE outcomes. Key

Responsibilities

HSE Governance & Policy Development

Review, implement and maintain the Group HSE Governance Framework, Standards, Policies and Procedures in line with:

Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 16 of 2025

Factories Act and Regulations

Environmental Management Act, National Environmental Standards

Risk Management frameworks and relevant industry standards (ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO31000)

Ensure Group HSE policies are effectively communicated, displayed and understood by all Group Employees to ensure firm understanding and undertaking of the legal requirements in Zambia and international best practices. 

Regulatory Compliance & Legal Assurance

Ensures compliance with all applicable HSE legislation, permits, licenses, approvals and other statutory requirements.

Ensures permits, licenses, approvals and other statutory requirements are maintained within a timeous fashion.

Track legislative changes and drive timely organisational alignment.

Ensures that the legal register is maintained and communicated whenever changes have been affected or when new legislation is introduced.

Oversees statutory reporting (incidents, occupational diseases, environmental impact reporting, hazardous substances). 

Enterprise Risk & Control Governance

Ensure strict adherence to and maintains the Risk & Control Framework related to HSE.

Facilitates the implementation of the risk assessments, hazard identification and risk control plans.

Ensures that HSE risk considerations are integrated into business units and decision processes. 

Monitoring, Audit & Assurance

Leads scheduled HSE compliance audits, risk-based inspections and performance reviews where required.

Develop audit programs, corrective action tracking and compliance scorecards.

Provide assurance reporting to the Group HSE Head.

Incident Management & Investigation

Oversee serious incident and near miss reporting, root cause analysis (e.g., TapR, 5 Whys, Bow-Tie).

Recommends corrective/preventive actions and systemic improvements.

Monitors and implements incident-related action plans. 

Data, Analytics & Reporting

Maintains Group HSE performance metrics (TRIFR, LTIFR, RIFR, FFR, environment KPIs).

Provides monthly, quarterly and annual dashboards to Group HSE Head.

Uses data insights to recommend strategic interventions. 

🔹 Training, Awareness & Competency

Leads competency frameworks, training strategies and induction programmes for HSE awareness, including:

Risk assessment capability

Permit to Work

Emergency Preparedness

Contractor HSE management 

Contractor & Supply Chain Governance

Ensures contractor pre-qualification, onboarding, compliance assessment and monitoring meets HSE standards in conjunction with site based HSE departments.

Evaluates contractor HSE performance and corrective action records in conjunction with site based HSE departments. 

Stakeholder Engagement & Culture

Partner with site GM, operations Heads and HR to embed HSE values, ownership and accountability at all levels.

Support Health and Safety Committees and employee participation.

Drive SHIELD-F principles across the group, HSE Inductions and Statutory Medical Fitness.

Qualifications 

Education

Bachelor’s degree in occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Management.

Professional Certifications

NEBOSH International Diploma, CSP, CIH, ISO 45001 Lead Auditor, and/or similar certifications preferred. 

Experience

Minimum 15+ years of progressive HSE experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

Demonstrated experience in governance, legal compliance, audit programmes and enterprise risk frameworks.

Experience in manufacturing, industrial, mining, construction, or similar high-risk industries is highly preferred.   

MS Office, HSE Management Systems, reporting software

Category

Required Skills

Leadership Strategic thinking, influence, coaching

Technical HSE law interpretation, risk assessment methodologies, HSE auditing

Communication Report writing, stakeholder engagement, presentations

Analytical Data interpretation, KPI tracking, performance improvement

Problem Solving Incident investigation, root cause analysis

IT Tools MS Office, HSE Management Systems, reporting software 

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

Performance in this role will be measured by:

Regulatory compliance results (audit findings) across the group

Incident frequency and severity reduction

Risk assessment completion and effectiveness

Contractor HSE performance

Timeliness and quality of reporting

Training and competency outcomes

Leadership engagement metrics

Core Accountabilities

Responsibility Accountability

Legislation compliance Zero critical non-compliance findings

Audit & assurance Timely corrective action closure

Reporting Accurate and transparent dashboards

Risk governance Effective identification and risk treatment

Culture Demonstrable culture improvements   

Working Conditions

This role requires frequent visits to operational sites, HSE committee facilitation, audit schedules and engagement with cross-functional teams. Traveling shall be expected within and outside the borders of Zambia as required. 

Authority

The Group HSE Governance & Compliance Manager has authority to:

Issue compliance directives after consulting with the HSE Group Head

Stop unsafe work (within mandate)

Recommend disciplinary action via HR

Approve risk assessment outcomes

Request corrective actions

Recommend training interventions 

Relationships

Internal

Executive Leadership

Operations Managers

HR, SHE Representatives

Departments across Group

External

Government regulators

Industry associations

Third-party auditors

Contractor organisations 

Final Note

The Group HSE Governance and Compliance Manager is vital in protecting lives, managing risk, driving sustainability and ensuring legal conformity. The role blends governance, assurance, leadership and influence to build a future-ready safety culture throughout the Group.