Health and Safety Job Titles Explained - Employer Guide

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Hiring in Health and Safety can be confusing because job titles and acronyms vary across industries, seniority levels and organisational structures. Two people with the same title can have very different responsibilities. This makes benchmarking, writing job descriptions and hiring the right person harder than it needs to be.

This guide explains the most common Health and Safety job titles used in the UK, what each one actually means and how to understand the level of responsibility behind them.

Why Health and Safety Job Titles Vary So Much

Safety roles are not standardised. Titles shift depending on:

• Your risk profile as an organisation

• How mature your safety culture is

• Whether environmental, quality, fire or security responsibilities sit within the role

• Whether you work under ISO standards

• The size, structure and reporting lines of the business

This is why an HSE Manager in one company may be equivalent to an H&S Advisor in another.

This guide removes the ambiguity.

Understanding the Acronyms: H&S, HSE, HSEQ, QHSE, SHEQ, HSSE, EHS

Before looking at job titles, it helps to decode the acronyms employers use.

H&S

Stands for Health and Safety.

Used when the role focuses purely on traditional safety responsibilities such as risk assessments, audits, training and incident management.

HSE

Stands for Health, Safety and Environment.

Roles include environmental compliance, waste management, pollution control, ISO 14001 and sustainability initiatives.

HSEQ

Stands for Health, Safety, Environment and Quality.

Common in manufacturing, engineering, FM and construction.

Adds ISO 9001, supplier audits and quality standards.

QHSE

Stands for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment.

A variation of HSEQ often used where product or process quality is the primary focus.

SHEQ

Stands for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality.

Popular within construction, civils, utilities and infrastructure.

HSSE

Stands for Health, Safety, Security and Environment.

Found in oil and gas, aviation, maritime and logistics.

Adds security risk, emergency response and asset protection responsibilities.

EHS

Stands for Environment, Health and Safety.

More common in the United States but increasingly used in the UK, especially where environmental responsibilities make up a significant part of the role.

EHS roles often include:

• Environmental compliance

• Pollution prevention and incident response

• Waste and carbon reporting

• Sustainability and ESG engagement

• Health and safety governance

• ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 auditing

EHS is most common in manufacturing, pharma, energy and global organisations with US influence.

Entry Level Health and Safety Job Titles

Health and Safety Assistant

• Entry level support role.

• Responsibilities include maintaining records, supporting inspections, coordinating training and shadowing senior staff.

Qualifications: 

IOSH Managing Safely or working towards NEBOSH Certificate.

H&S Administrator

A more administrative variant, focused on documentation, training logs, and system support.

Common in larger organisations where the safety team is well structured.

Operational Level Job Titles

H&S Coordinator

Oversees day to day safety tasks and supports operations with documentation, inspections and compliance tracking.

HSE Coordinator

A Coordinator role that includes environmental responsibilities such as waste reporting, spill prevention and basic environmental compliance tasks.

HSE Advisor / HSEQ Advisor / SHEQ Advisor

A practical, hands on role. Often site based.

Responsibilities include:

• Site inspections

• Completing or supporting risk assessments

• Delivering coaching and toolbox talks

• Investigating incidents

• Advising supervisors and project teams

Qualifications: NEBOSH General Certificate (or level 3 in specific discipline like NEBOSH Construction)

Advisors are often the most visible and impactful safety presence in the business.

Health and Safety Officer

Common in local authorities, housing, education and corporate settings.

Responsibilities:

• Conducting audits

• Supporting investigations

• Delivering internal training

• Advising departments on procedures

• Managing day to day compliance records

This sits between an Advisor and a Manager depending on sector.

Health and Safety Consultant

Two versions exist.

Internal H&S Consultant (permanent)

Essentially an internal Advisor or Specialist providing guidance across projects, functions or regions.

External Consultant

Works for a consultancy or independently.

May act as the outsourced competent person for multiple clients.

Duties can include policy writing, FRA work, site audits and retained advisory support.

Management Level Job Titles

H&S Manager

Owns the safety system, strategy and culture across a site or business unit.

Responsibilities:

• Leading investigations

• Creating and delivering the safety plan

• Engaging leaders and supervisors

• Managing audits and compliance

• Reporting safety performance

Qualifications: Level 3 to Level 6 - NEBOSH General Certificate, NEBOSH Diploma are most common

HSE Manager / HSEQ Manager / SHEQ Manager

Management role with broader remit that usually includes:

• Environmental compliance

• Quality management

• ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001

• Supplier and contractor audits

• Strategic improvement planning

More common in integrated or mature safety systems.

HSSE Manager

Includes responsibility for:

• Site or operational security

• Emergency response planning

• Security audits

• Crisis response coordination

• Environmental and safety governance

Common in high risk or security-sensitive industries.

Health and Safety Business Partner

A modern, consultative title used in organisations that want a collaborative, coaching focused approach rather than a compliance-heavy model.

Responsibilities:

• Working directly with managers to understand challenges

• Supporting change management

• Coaching leadership teams

• Embedding safety into everyday processes

• Influencing culture

Popular in corporate, logistics, professional services and technology sectors.

Group Level Job Titles

Group Health and Safety Advisor

Provides consistent safety support across multiple sites or divisions.

Responsibilities:

• Visiting regional locations

• Running audits and coaching sessions

• Tracking actions

• Identifying group wide trends

• Supporting local teams with guidance

Group Health and Safety Manager

Leads safety across the organisation.

Responsibilities:

• Setting group strategy and objectives

• Leading major investigations

• Coordinating Managers and Advisors

• Reporting KPI trends to senior leadership

• Ensuring consistency across all locations

A senior operational role requiring excellent influencing skills.

Group Head of Health and Safety

Provides strategic oversight across the entire group.

Responsibilities:

• Leading teams

• Setting long term vision

• Culture and behavioural change programmes

• Board level reporting

• Governance and compliance assurance

Typical in larger organisations or multi brand groups.

Senior Leadership Job Titles

Head of Health and Safety

Strategic leader for safety across the business.

Responsible for:

• Long term planning

• Managing teams of Advisors and Managers

• Setting culture programmes

• Presenting at board level

• Overseeing major risk areas

Head of HSEQ / Head of SHEQ / Head of QHSE

Leads health, safety, environment and quality at a senior level.

Responsibilities include:

• Integrated management systems

• Audit and compliance

• Risk and governance

• Senior stakeholder engagement

• Leading multi functional teams

Director of Health and Safety / Director of HSEQ

Executive level leadership.

Responsible for:

• Enterprise risk strategy

• Regulatory liaison

• Multi region or multi business oversight

• Major incident governance

• Leading national or international teams

Salary Benchmarks by Job Title (UK)

• H&S Assistant: £25k to £30k

• H&S Coordinator: £30k to £38k

• HSE Advisor: £35k to £50k

• H&S Officer: £35k to £45k

• H&S Manager: £45k to £70k

• HSEQ Manager: £50k to £70k

• HSSE Manager: £50k to £70k

• Group H&S Manager: £50k to £75k

• Head of H&S: £70k to £100k plus 

• Head of HSEQ: £70k to £100k plus

• Director level: £90k to £150k plus

How to Decide Which Job Title You Actually Need

Ask:

• Do you need hands on, operational support or strategic oversight?

• Should the remit include environment, quality, fire or security?

• Are you managing one location or multiple regions?

• What level of seniority do managers expect this person to influence?

• Do you need someone to deliver the work or lead cultural change?

• What skills and qualifications are essential for your risk profile?

The answers point clearly to the correct role.

How Search² Helps Employers Get Job Titles Right

If you need support hiring Health, Safety, Environmental, Quality, Fire or Risk professionals, Search² can help. We specialise in placing HSEQ talent across the UK and work closely with employers to understand their culture, goals and operational challenges.

Whether you are hiring an Advisor, Manager, Head of function or building a full safety team, we can guide you through the process and introduce the people who fit what you need.

If you would like advice or want to discuss a role, you can contact us directly.

For more information: 

www.search-recruitment.co.uk 

Health and Safety Recruitment: www.search-recruitment.co.uk/health-and-safety-recruitment 

To register a vacancy with Search²: www.search-recruitment.co.uk/register-a-specialist-hseq-vacancy-find-candidates