Job Title: Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Manager
Location: Helsinki
About us:
We’re reinventing how the world uses data centres. Think flexible, optimised colocation services tailored for your requirements – all with the very best customer support you can imagine. And because our data centres are powered by sustainable energy, it doesn’t cost the Earth either. It’s the perfect environment where everyone thrives – you and the planet.
Verne has been recently acquired by Ardian and is currently investing massively into new data centre capacity and needs additional people to support this growth. We need self-driven, experienced, motivated and focused new team members, and offer a dynamic, growth-oriented environment for people to shine and learn.
Job Summary: The Data Center Health & Safety Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining comprehensive environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs to ensure a safe, compliant, and incident-free data center environment. This role partners closely with operations, facilities, engineering, contractors, and leadership to manage risk, meet regulatory requirements, and promote a strong safety culture across all data center activities.
Key Responsibilities:
- Health & Safety Program Management
- Develop, implement, and continuously improve Verne site-specific health and safety programs aligned with corporate and regulatory requirements
- Establish and develop EHS policies, procedures, and standard operating practices for data center operations
- Lead hazard identification, create risk assessments, and job safety analyses for critical activities
- Develop strong relationships with key stakeholders from wider Verne EHS network to ensure alignment of safety management system throughout the business
Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure compliance with all applicable local Finnish, EU and relevant international EHS regulations
- Maintain required permits, licenses, and documentation
- Serve as the primary site contact for regulatory agencies and inspections
Incident Management & Prevention
- Ensure all EHS incidents and observations are recorded and actioned to closure
- Lead incident investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective/preventative action plans
- Track and analyse safety metrics, trends, and ensure compliance to Verne EHS Key Performance indicators
- Drive proactive safety initiatives in line with safety trends to reduce incidents and near-misses
- Ensure post incident lessons learnt communications with the wider business.
Training & Safety Culture
- Develop and deliver health and safety training and induction material for employees, contractors, and visitors
- Conduct employee and contractor toolbox talks and safety briefings
- Promote a No-Blame culture of safety accountability and continuous improvement
- Ensure Verne’s central H&S training needs analysis and training matrix is kept up to date
- Lead, organise and coordinate site H&S committee
- Act as the workplace elected Occupational health and safety representative.
Contractor & Vendor Safety
- Review and approve contractor safety plans, risk assessments, method statements and permits to work
- Ensure contractor training and competency requirements are met prior to works commencing
- Monitor contractor compliance with strict site safety requirements (PPE, supervision, segregations, inspection tag etc)
- Conduct regular audits and inspections of contractor activities
Emergency Preparedness
- Maintain integrity of site emergency response and business continuity plans
- Coordinate fire safety, evacuation drills, and emergency response exercises
- Collaborate with facilities, security, and local emergency services
Audits & Reporting
- Conduct regular scheduled safety inspections and audits of data center facilities designed to identify non-conformances before an external audit.
- Prepare reports for leadership on safety performance, ISO 45001/ISO14001 compliance, and identified safety risks
- Support internal and external audits
- Carry out workplace surveys and assessments to ensure Verne meets Finnish occupational health requirements
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
- 5+ years of health and safety experience in data centers, critical facilities, construction, manufacturing, or industrial environments
- Strong knowledge of Finnish workplace safety (LVV, OSH Act, Tukes, SFS 6002, etc), and data center safety practices
- Experience in leading and managing ISO 45001 standard audit
- Experience in managing contractor safety
- Experience with electrical safety, confined spaces, LOTO, and fire suppression systems
- in-depth knowledge and experience in developing and implementing permit-to-work systems
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional certifications such as CSP, CIH, NVQ-Level 5 or 6, NEBOSH, or equivalent
- Experience supporting large-scale or hyperscale data center or Critical environments
Skills & Competencies
- Strong leadership and influencing skills
- Excellent attention to detail
- Excellent communication and training abilities
- Analytical and problem-solving mindset
- Ability to work in high-availability, urgent and mission-critical environments
- Strong organizational and documentation skills
- Strong written and spoken English
- Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
What We Offer:
- Opportunity to be part of a fast-growing, private equity-backed company.
- A dynamic, innovative, and inclusive working environment.
- Competitive compensation and benefits package.
- The chance to work with a talented and ambitious international team.
