Location: Pendik, Istanbul, Türkiye
About the Role
The position of HSE Lead (Virtual Control Room Lead) offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a dynamic global Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) team responsible for enhancing safety performance, ensuring compliance, and strengthening hazard control mechanisms across active project sites. This role lies at the core of field safety operations, providing strategic oversight, real-time monitoring, and proactive risk management guidance to contractors and internal stakeholders.
As the Virtual Control Room (VCR) Lead, you serve as a central hub for information flow, hazard evaluation, and implementation of control measures. Your mission is to safeguard operational integrity by anticipating hazards before they materialize, verifying the effectiveness of safety barriers, and ensuring field teams adhere strictly to safety protocols. You will also play a key role in bridging communication between the field, contractors, and the corporate HSE structure, ensuring alignment with global requirements and industry best practices.
This role calls for someone with deep experience, strong leadership capability, and the ability to influence both contractor and internal teams to achieve safe, high-quality execution. If you are passionate about safety excellence, operational discipline, and structured hazard management, this opportunity offers the platform to make a significant impact.
Key Responsibilities
1. Heat Map and Mural Reviews
One of your primary functions is to routinely assess heat maps and mural boards that highlight key risk areas, high-risk zones, and hazard clusters. These tools enable early identification of emerging threats and conditions that may compromise safety. Your role involves analyzing these visual data insights, interpreting potential exposure, and using the information to guide field visits and monitoring priorities. Timely recognition of hazards leads to faster mitigation and supports improved decision-making for both leadership and field personnel.
2. Strategic Planning of Field Visits
You will collaborate closely with CPMO, Construction Site Leads (CSL), and Operations teams to strategically plan field visits. This includes determining which sites require immediate oversight, identifying high-risk activities scheduled for execution, and ensuring visibility in areas where contractor performance needs reinforcement. Your presence in these field visits ensures that virtual observations align with actual site conditions.
3. Preparation and Execution of Site Engagements
Before any field visit, you will develop a comprehensive plan detailing objectives, high-risk activities, documentation needed, and expected outcomes. During execution, you ensure full compliance with safety protocols and validate the implementation of hazard controls. Through meticulous preparation and structured execution, you help reinforce a culture of discipline, accountability, and proactive risk management.
4. Observation Follow-Up and Closure
An important part of your responsibility is to follow up on open safety observations. You will coordinate with CPMO and CSL to ensure that identified issues are promptly addressed. This includes remote field verification inspections to confirm corrective actions have been taken and are effective. Ensuring the timely closure of observations strengthens site safety and reduces the recurrence of hazards.
5. Direct Contractor Interaction
You will maintain regular and direct communication with contractors to discuss safety requirements, clarify expectations, review hazard controls, and address ongoing or potential concerns. Your ability to influence contractor behavior, reinforce compliance, and guide them toward safer practices is vital for maintaining a strong safety culture across multiple stakeholders.
6. Utilization of T-Pulse Data
Working closely with the CPMO, you will review and interpret T-Pulse data—an essential tool for monitoring safety performance through leading and lagging indicators. Your analysis will help identify behavioral patterns, uncover systemic weaknesses, and generate recommendations that support continuous improvement in contractor and field safety performance.
7. Monitoring High-Risk Work
You will be accountable for ensuring that all high-risk work activities are monitored through the Virtual Control Room. This includes verifying that proper controls are in place for tasks such as lifting operations, work at height, confined space entry, and excavation activities. Your oversight ensures that these tasks are executed safely, with the appropriate barriers and approvals fully implemented.
8. Implementation of HAZID Controls
The VCR Lead ensures that all Hazard Identification (HAZID) controls are clearly communicated, understood, and applied in the field. You will validate not only whether controls exist on paper but also confirm their practical implementation on site. This step reduces exposure to potential Serious Injury or Fatality (SIF) events.
9. Quality Assurance of Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)
You will assess the quality of JHAs before visiting the site, ensuring they accurately reflect the work scope and risks involved. During on-site engagements, you will verify that the steps outlined in the JHA match real-world execution and that workers understand their responsibilities within the hazard control process.
10. Contractor Compliance Oversight
You will monitor contractor compliance with multiple safety systems, including:
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Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) plans
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Safe Work Practices (SWP)
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Permit to Work (PTW) systems
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Daily Operations Performance Plan (DOPP)
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Contractor Task Instruction Plans (CTIP)
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Emergency Response Plan (ERP)
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Lift plans and other critical safety documents
Ensuring disciplined execution of these requirements reduces risk and improves contractor safety performance.
11. Trend Analysis and Solution Development
Using available data, you will analyze trends associated with Serious Injury or Fatality (SIF) potential and Risk Assessment Matrix Level 4 and above (RAM4+) incidents. Your findings will form the basis of targeted solutions and recommendations aimed at addressing root causes, eliminating systemic weaknesses, and reinforcing sustainable safety practices.
Qualifications and Required Skills
To excel in this role, you must bring a solid foundation of technical expertise, field experience, and leadership capability. The ideal candidate will possess:
Experience Requirements
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10+ years in the oil & gas, civil engineering, or construction sectors.
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5+ years of direct HSSE experience.
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Strong operational HSSE background, particularly in construction safety within project environments.
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Previous Shell site HSSE experience is an added advantage.
Technical Knowledge
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Strong understanding of safe work practices in civil and construction settings.
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Knowledge of IOGP RP 577 requirements.
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Familiarity with Shell’s Construction Site Safety Standardization (CSSS) is a significant asset.
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Experience with distribution and pipeline assets, including brownfield operations.
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Ability to implement global standardized safety processes across regional teams.
Certifications and Education
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Relevant certifications in Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety.
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Professional safety designations such as CSP, CHST, NEBOSH, or equivalent are preferred.
Leadership and Competency Skills
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Prior experience conducting HSSE audits for projects, contractors, and management systems.
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Ability to assess competency gaps in individuals and provide structured coaching.
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Experience developing and implementing training programs.
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Strong influencing, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
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Proven ability to lead, mentor, and support safety professionals.
Analytical and Communication Skills
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Excellent data analysis abilities to evaluate trends, identify risks, and recommend improvements.
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Strong written and verbal communication with the ability to manage cross-functional interactions.
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Proficiency in software tools for tracking, analysis, and reporting.
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Experience with the CSIP Program is an advantage.
Conclusion
The HSE Lead (Virtual Control Room Lead) plays a vital role in advancing safety performance, strengthening hazard control systems, and ensuring that field operations are executed safely and in compliance with global standards. This position requires a proactive mindset, strong technical knowledge, leadership capability, and the ability to translate data insights into meaningful actions.
By joining the global HSE team, you will be instrumental in shaping safety excellence, driving operational discipline, and protecting the workforce throughout the lifecycle of complex and high-risk projects.