Head, QHSE and Compliance

Location: Victoria Island, Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Objective

• Provides leadership and direction for all Health, Safety, and Environment activities across retail stations and construction/renovation sites.
• The role ensures regulatory compliance, strengthens operational safety performance, oversees incident management, and leads the Integrated Management System (ISO 9001, 14001 &45001).

Duties and Responsibilities
Process Safety & Major Hazard Management:

• Oversee the inspection and testing of critical safety devices, including pressure relief valves, emergency shutdown systems, and shear valves on retail dispensers.
• Review and update plans for managing major hazards such as fires, explosions, or toxic releases, in line with local safety regulations.
• Lead programs to prevent uncontrolled releases of fuel, gas, or chemicals from refineries, storage tanks, pipelines, and retail tank systems.

Product Quality Control (Refinery & Terminal):

• Manage quality checks during product transfer operations between storage tanks and into trucks, railcars, or ships to avoid contamination.
• Ensure that refined products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel meet required industry specifications through regular sampling and testing.
• Investigate any off-specification product events and coordinate corrective actions such as re-blending, recall, or safe disposal.

Operational Safety in Refineries, Terminals, Retail Out& Depots:

• Control contractor safety for routine work like truck loading, tank maintenance, and pipe repairs through a formal permit system.
• Implement specific safety measures for loading and unloading operations, including vapor recovery, static electricity grounding, and emergency shutoffs.
• Enforce safe work procedures for high-risk tasks, including tank cleaning, confined space entry, and hot work such as welding on or near fuel lines.

Retail Station & Forecourt Safety:

• Manage corrosion protection systems for steel tanks and piping to prevent gradual fuel releases into soil or groundwater.
• Schedule regular leak detection testing using automatic tank gauging or inventory reconciliation on all underground fuel tanks at retail stations.
• Ensure all fueling equipment (pumps, hoses, breakaway couplings, vapor recovery nozzles) is inspected daily for leaks, damage, or tampering at retail sites.
• Establish safe procedures for tanker drivers during product delivery, including wheel chocks, grounding cables, and inspecting fill ports before and after each fuel drop.
• Oversee emergency stop button functionality and shear valve testing to automatically cut fuel flow during a vehicle impact or fire.
• Manage forecourt traffic flow, speed limits, and bollard placement to prevent vehicle-structure collisions or pedestrian injuries.

Environmental Management (All Sites):

• Maintain spill prevention and response plans for fuel storage areas, transfer zones, drainage systems, and retail forecourts, including regular practice drills.
• Ensure proper disposal of hydrocarbon-contaminated waste, such as sludge from tank bottoms and used filters, and oversee groundwater monitoring wells at all locations.
• Monitor and report air emissions from process units, storage tank vents, and loading operations to stay within environmental permit limits.

Fire Safety & Emergency Response:

• Develop and practice realistic emergency scenarios, including storage tank fires, loading rack fires, retail forecourt fires, and gas releases.
• Act as the lead for incident command during on-site emergencies, managing response teams and coordinating with local fire services.
• Maintain and test emergency systems such as foam deluge, gas detection, public address alarms, emergency isolation valves, and retail fire extinguishers.

QHSE Training, Culture & Incident Investigation:

• Encourage reporting of small leaks, seal failures, near misses, and retail hazards to prevent major accidents and share lessons learned across all sites.
• Lead investigation teams for serious events such as fires, major spills, injuries, or customer incidents at retail sites using structured methods to find root causes.
• Deliver role-specific safety training for refinery operators, laboratory staff, retail cashiers, tanker drivers, and contractors on topics such as lock-out tag-out, defensive driving, and spill response.

Regulatory Compliance, Auditing & Reporting:

• Conduct unannounced QHSE audits of terminals and retail outlets using checklists covering all operational areas and track corrective actions to closure.
• Prepare monthly safety, quality, and environmental reports for leadership, highlighting compliance status, incident trends, and priorities such as safety-critical maintenance.
• Maintain all site-specific licenses and permits, including fire department approvals, hazardous waste handling authorizations, and retail operating permits.

Qualifications Required

• In-depth knowledge of downstream operations, including fuel storage, product transfer, truck loading, and retail
• 8 – 10 years of previous experience in a QHSE role within the downstream oil and gas sector (refinery, terminal, depot, or retail service stations).
• NMDPRA-certified professional with deep experience building structures from scratch.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience supervising QHSE teams and influencing site managers.
• Credible experience in managing QHSE across supply value chains from refinery to retail.
• Expert knowledge and use of Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) for reporting, data analysis, and presentations.
• Proven track record in managing process safety, environmental compliance, and occupational health across multiple site types.
• Minimum of a First Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Petroleum, or Industrial), Environmental Science, Occupational Health and Safety, or any related discipline.
• Experienced at setting and following strict budgets for QHSE programs, including spill response equipment, training, and audit schedules.
• forecourt safety, and underground tank integrity.
• Experience in implementing and overseeing relevant reporting and tracking systems for incidents, audits, inspections, and corrective actions.

Skills and Competencies:

• Contractor and vendor QHSE management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple site types (refinery, depot, retail stations).
• Effective audit and inspection techniques (internal and external).
• Strong risk assessment and hazard identification abilities.
• Competency in QHSE training delivery and safety culture development.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and stakeholder management.
• Proven incident investigation and root cause analysis skills.
• Data-driven decision making and performance reporting.
• Ability to lead emergency response and crisis management.
• Strong knowledge of downstream QHSE regulations(refinery, terminal, and retail standards).