Safety Construction Manager

About The Job

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We are seeking an experienced Safety Construction Lead to provide on-site leadership for a major capital construction project within a highly regulated manufacturing environment. This is a senior-level, hands-on safety position responsible for ensuring that all construction activities are executed safely, compliantly, and in accordance with industry best practices. The ideal candidate is a proactive safety professional who is highly visible in the field, possesses strong construction safety expertise, and has the confidence to address issues before they become incidents. This individual will work closely with project teams, contractors, and stakeholders to foster a strong safety culture, drive accountability, and maintain a zero-incident mindset throughout all phases of construction. This role requires a leader who is detail-oriented, decisive, and committed to protecting personnel, equipment, and project objectives through active engagement and oversight.

Role Description:

The Safety Construction Lead will serve as the primary safety representative for construction activities, providing daily oversight and leadership across the project site. This individual will be responsible for implementing safety programs, conducting field inspections, identifying and mitigating hazards, and ensuring compliance with all applicable safety regulations and site requirements. The successful candidate will spend the majority of their time in the field interacting with contractors, monitoring work activities, reviewing high-risk tasks, conducting audits and inspections, and supporting safe execution of construction activities. They will lead incident investigations, coordinate corrective actions, facilitate safety meetings and training sessions, and partner with project leadership to continuously improve site safety performance. This position requires strong knowledge of construction safety practices including permit-to work systems, lockout/tagout procedures, work at heights, confined space entry, heavy equipment operations, contractor management, and emergency response pl

Role Accountabilities:

• Lead all aspects of construction safety oversight across active project work areas.

• Conduct routine site inspections, audits, and field observations to identify and eliminate unsafe conditions and behaviors.

• Review and support risk assessments, Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs), and safe work plans for construction activities.

• Ensure compliance with OSHA requirements, company safety standards, permit-to work systems, and site-specific procedures.

• Serve as the primary safety resource for project teams, contractors, and site leadership.

• Monitor contractor safety performance and enforce project safety expectations and accountability measures.

• Lead incident investigations, root cause analyses, and development of corrective and preventative actions.

• Support implementation and enforcement of Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) and energy isolation programs.

• Facilitate contractor onboarding, safety orientations, toolbox talks, and ongoing safety training initiatives.

• Review and approve contractor safety documentation, risk mitigation plans, and site mobilization requirements.

• Coordinate emergency preparedness activities, drills, and response planning efforts.

• Promote a proactive, zero-incident safety culture through visible field leadership and engagement.

• Track, document, and report safety metrics, observations, incidents, and corrective actions.

• Partner with project leadership to ensure safety considerations are integrated into project planning and execution activities.

• Support project turnover activities, including closeout documentation, lessons learned, and transition to operational safety requirements.

• Exercise stop-work authority when conditions present an immediate risk to personnel, property, or the environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related discipline. Equivalent industry experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

• Minimum of 10+ years of construction safety experience supporting large-scale industrial, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, or capital construction projects.

• Demonstrated experience serving as the lead safety representative on active construction sites.

• Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations, construction safety standards, permit-to-work systems, and industry best practices.

• Experience conducting risk assessments, Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs), incident investigations, and root cause analysis.

• Proven ability to influence contractors, project teams, and leadership while maintaining a strong safety culture.

• Experience managing high-risk construction activities including: o Work at Heights o Confined Space Entry o Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) o Crane and Rigging Operations o Heavy Equipment Operations o Excavation and Trenching Activities o Hot Work Programs • Strong communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively engage personnel at all organizational levels. • Ability to identify hazards, make sound decisions, and take immediate action to mitigate risk. • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and standard safety reporting systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), Occupational Health and Safety Technologist (OHST), or equivalent professional certification.

OSHA 30-Hour Construction Certification (OSHA 500/510 preferred).

• Experience supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, or highly regulated manufacturing environments.

• Experience supporting projects through design, construction, commissioning, qualification, and operational readiness phases.

• Knowledge of environmental compliance, industrial hygiene, and contractor safety management programs.

• Experience implementing and driving Zero Incident or Behavioral-Based Safety initiatives.

Desired Experience

• Demonstrated success leading safety programs on projects exceeding $50M in capital value.

• Experience working in multi-contractor environments with large craft populations.

• Strong track record of reducing risk, improving safety performance, and driving proactive safety engagement.

• Ability to serve as a visible field leader who actively coaches personnel, identifies unsafe conditions, and intervenes before incidents occur.

• Comfortable working in a fully on-site role and spending significant time in active construction areas.

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. 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 are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. We are dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Arcadis offers benefits for full time and part time positions. These benefits include medical, dental, and vision, EAP, 401K, STD, LTD, AD&D, life insurance, paid parental leave, reward & recognition program and optional benefits including wellbeing benefits, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement. We offer nine paid holidays and 15 days PTO that accrue per year. Salaries will vary and are based on several factors, such as experience, education, budget, internal equity, project and location.