Health, Safety & CDM Consultant / Principal Designer Representative (Energy)

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

A little more about your role…

We are seeking a commercially aware Health, Safety & CDM Consultant to join our growing team, supporting the safe and successful delivery of major power, electricity transmission and distribution, and wider energy infrastructure projects across the UK.

This role combines technical CDM expertise with client-facing advisory responsibilities, supporting clients and project teams to embed effective risk management at the earliest stages of project development. You will play a key role working with major infrastructure clients, including transmission owners and network operators such as National Grid and Distribution Network Operators (DNOs).

Acting as a Principal Designer Representative, you will influence design decisions, shape safer outcomes, and provide practical, proportionate and commercially focused advice across complex, multidisciplinary projects.

As a Health, Safety & CDM Consultant, you will operate across a diverse portfolio of infrastructure and energy projects, with a strong focus on pre-construction and design-stage risk management.

You will work across projects supporting electricity transmission, substations, grid connections, and wider network infrastructure, ensuring health and safety is fully embedded through design and delivery.

Working alongside designers, engineers, and project managers, you will:

• Ensure health and safety is designed into projects, not applied retrospectively
• Support clients in meeting their statutory duties under CDM 2015
• Influence project outcomes by balancing risk, delivery, and commercial considerations

Key Responsibilities

Client Advisory & Commercial Delivery

• Provide high-quality, pragmatic health & safety advice across power and energy infrastructure projects
• Act as a trusted adviser, balancing compliance requirements with delivery and commercial realities
• Support the development of long-term client relationships through consistent, high-quality delivery

CDM & Principal Designer Services

• Lead and support CDM 2015 compliance throughout the pre-construction phase
• Act as Principal Designer Representative, supporting clients in discharging their duties
• Coordinate with designers, contractors, and stakeholders to identify and reduce risk

Design Risk Management

• Facilitate and lead design risk reviews and workshops
• Ensure hazards are eliminated or mitigated at source wherever reasonably practicable
• Promote best practice in “safety by design” across multidisciplinary teams

Project & Sector Delivery

• Support projects within the power and energy sector, including electricity transmission and distribution, substations, and grid infrastructure
• Engage with clients such as National Grid, DNOs, developers, and Tier 1 contractors
• Maintain continuity between client engagement, design development, and delivery

Project Oversight & Assurance

• Undertake audits, design reviews, and site visits to monitor compliance and performance
• Contribute to and review key CDM deliverables, including:
  • Pre-Construction Information
  • Hazard/Risk Registers
  • Health & Safety Files
• Drive continuous improvement through lessons learned and best practice sharing

Stakeholder Engagement & Influence

• Engage effectively with clients, designers, and project teams
• Deliver briefings, workshops, and training to promote good CDM and design risk practices
• Provide clear, practical interpretation of legislation aligned to project-specific challenges

Regulatory & Industry Compliance

• Ensure compliance with CDM 2015, the Building Safety Act (where applicable), and wider H&S legislation
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry standards and regulatory changes
• Support internal governance, assurance, and quality processes

What we are looking for you to demonstrate...

We are looking for a professional who combines technical credibility, commercial awareness, and strong stakeholder engagement skills:

• Strong working knowledge of UK health & safety legislation, particularly CDM 2015
• Experience in a CDM, Principal Designer, or H&S advisory role
• Experience in infrastructure or utilities environments, with exposure to power, electricity transmission & distribution, or energy sector projects (e.g. National Grid, DNOs, or similar clients)
• Demonstrable experience supporting design risk management and pre-construction activities
• Ability to provide practical, solutions-focused advice (not purely compliance-led)
• Strong communication and influencing skills
• Organised, proactive, and able to operate across multiple projects and stakeholders

Desirable

• Experience working within power / utilities or major infrastructure projects (e.g. substations, grid connections, transmission or distribution networks)
• Exposure to major project environments or Tier 1 contractor frameworks
• Experience supporting multidisciplinary engineering or infrastructure delivery teams

Qualifications & Professional Memberships

• Degree (or equivalent) in construction, engineering, health & safety, or related discipline
  (or HNC/HND with significant relevant experience)
• NEBOSH General / Construction Certificate, NVQ Level 6 (or equivalent), or working towards
• IMaPS / CMaPS (desirable)
• Chartered membership (or working towards) with APS, IOSH, or IIRSM

Don’t quite meet all the criteria? Apply, and we can see how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities within the team.

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.

With us, you can. Apply today.

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