Head of Health & Safety, Asia Pacific - Military veterans preferred

Job Purpose:

The role of the Head of Health & Safety Asia Pacific leads the strategic direction and execution of the company’s “Safety First” strategy across 21 countries in the region. The role ensures the implementation of a consistent Health & Safety Management System that protects employees, ensures legal compliance, and supports operational excellence. Working through a matrix structure, the role provides guidance to country safety managers and representatives, driving alignment and continuous improvement. By collaborating with regional and local leadership. The role enhances safety culture, mitigates risks, and reduces incidents across logistics operations including warehousing, transport, and freight, reinforcing safety as a core organizational value.

Accountabilities:

• Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of an ISO 45001 compliant Health & Safety Management System (HSMS) in alignment with DGF's standards across APAC.
• Provide strategic guidance and operational support to country managers and safety leads to ensure safe working environments and practices.
• Advise regional leadership on emerging Health & Safety (H&S) legislation, standards, and practices with clear impact assessments.
• Oversee the regional risk assessment program, support country teams with training, guidance, and tools for high-risk activities.
• Support the development and implementation of Safe Systems of Work (SSoW) based on risk assessments and operational feedback.
• Proactively identify, prioritize, and act on critical safety issues, ensuring appropriate escalation and resource allocation.
• Intervene and take immediate action to cease unsafe work activities where imminent danger exists.
• Manage the implementation and operates the applicable on-line safety management platform to ensure compliance with the DGF Global Safety Policy.
• Escalate significant risks, trends, and safety incidents to regional and global management with recommendations.
• Develop, implement, and review a region-wide safety training framework; ensure country-level execution.
• Develop, implement, and track the annual Regional Safety Plan in alignment with global safety objectives.
• Liaise and maintaining a good relationship and open communication with local and enforcing authorities, including the emergency services where required.
• Ensure accurate, timely reporting and analysis of incident and accident data across the region.
• Disseminate regular safety performance updates and regional summaries to executive stakeholders.
• Analyse incident data to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
• Establish and maintain a functional safety governance structure, including regional and country-level safety committees.
• Facilitate cross-country knowledge sharing, best practice exchange, and support for local safety initiatives.
• Champion a strong safety culture by leading engagement campaigns and modelling safety leadership behaviour.

People Management

• Communicate effectively across all levels of the organization, from frontline teams to executive leadership.
• Influence behavioural and cultural change to improve health and safety performance.
• Demonstrate strong cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills, fostering collaboration in a multi-national, diverse environment.
• Build strong working relationships with country H&S leads, business unit managers and other key stakeholders.
• Provide leadership, coaching and development for country H&S leads.

Experience/Qualification Requirements

• Diploma, Degree in Health & Safety or other OHS accreditation
• At least 7 years in Health & Safety Management in private sector in which at least 3 years at senior management level
• ISO 45001 Lead/Internal Auditor
• Understanding of safety management techniques e.g. ISO 45001, HSG65, Behavioural Safety Programmes
• Understanding the different countries across the region, particularly cultural variation.
• The ability to adapt to different legal requirements
• Working with different levels of management team.
• Ability to influence change in all levels of the organization
• Preferable with exposure in other Asian countries

We apologize if you are not contacted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted to proceed with pre-screening. Thank you for choosing DHL Global Forwarding as your Employer of Choice.