Head of Health and Safety


Company:	International Centre for Life
Salary:	from £55,000 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4EP
Working pattern:	On-site
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	9 Oct 2026
Closing date:	23 Oct 2026

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Summary

Salary: CIRCA £55,000 per annum

Hours: Full-time (37 hours per week) permanent

The International Centre for Life is a thriving science hub in the heart of Newcastle. Its purpose is to inspire everyone to explore and enjoy science and to provide an environment in which life enhancing research and medical treatments can flourish. Life is home to NHS clinics as well as Newcastle University's Biomedicine research facilities. The award-winning Life Science Centre lies at the heart of this unique development.

At Life, our ambition is to be one of the most accessible and inclusive science centres in Europe. To achieve that, we need to make sure our people, places and activities are safe, welcoming, resilient and well managed.

We are looking for a Health and Safety Head to provide senior, organisation-wide leadership across health and safety, operational compliance, public protection and resilience.

This is a varied and influential role in a complex, high profile and public-facing organisation. Life includes a science centre that welcomes thousands of visitors each year; a public square that delivers events, including an annual ice rink; cafes, and a multi-storey car park. In addition, buildings are leased to Newcastle University and the NHS, featuring a mix of laboratories and offices.

You will advise the senior executive team and the Trustees; lead strategy, assurance, audits, reporting and action tracking; and help Life respond to changing requirements, including Martyn’s Law, fire safety, contractor management, emergency planning and assist with business continuity.

This is a senior role with real influence — but it is also hands-on. You will need to be comfortable moving between Board-level advice and practical follow-through, including chairing internal staff health and safety group, maintaining records, trackers, reports and evidence without separate administrative support.

This is an opportunity to shape a role that really matters — helping Life deliver ambitious, inclusive and accessible science engagement in a safe, confident and well-managed way.

If you are a thoughtful, practical and confident health and safety leader who wants to make a visible difference, we would love to hear from you.

Life is a welcoming and friendly place to work. We offer a range of benefits to support your wellbeing, including access to wellbeing initiatives, an Employee Assistance Programme, a health cash plan with a 24/7 GP service line, and discounted car parking in the centre of Newcastle.

The successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check. Details of our DBS policy are available on request. For further information regarding this post, please refer to the job description and person specification on our website.

To apply, please send your CV and a short covering statement explaining why this role interests you and how your experience would help Life deliver its ambition and please complete our brief online application form which can be accessed from our website at https://www.life.org.uk/join-the-team/ by Friday, 23 October 2026.

The International Centre for Life is an equal opportunities employer. Life has achieved Maintaining Excellence accreditation under the North East Better Health at Work Scheme.

Registered Charity Number: 1059607

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