Environment & Safety Officer - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

About Saudi Gold Refinery

Saudi Gold Refinery (SGR) is a Saudi mining and precious-metals company specialized in the refining of gold and precious metals, bullion production, and value-added precious-metal services. Operating within the Kingdom's mining value chain, SGR is aligned to the Vision 2030 mining pillar and to the regulatory framework set by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) and applicable Saudi and international standards. We produce responsibly sourced, traceable, and certified bullion, operate to LBMA Good Delivery and ISO-aligned quality standards, and invest in the people, processes, and controls behind every bar we produce.

Role Overview

Saudi Gold Refinery (SGR) is seeking an Environment & Safety Officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to manage daily HSE compliance across our refining operations, assay laboratory, and chemical handling facilities. The role focuses on enforcing permit-to-work protocols, monitoring environmental discharge limits, and ensuring safe execution of maintenance and contractor activities. This position operates directly on the plant floor to verify chemical storage standards, conduct routine inspections, and maintain readiness for regulatory audits.

The Environment & Safety Officer will report directly to the Environment & Safety Manager and will play a key role in maintaining continuous operational safety and environmental compliance. The position requires field presence across all shifts to address process hazards, manage hazardous waste streams, and deliver mandatory safety inductions to plant personnel and visiting contractors.

Key Responsibilities

The Environment & Safety Officer will execute the following responsibilities across refining, laboratory, and site support functions.

- Permit-to-Work & LOTO Administration: Administers the digital permit-to-work system and verifies lockout/tagout compliance for all maintenance interventions, equipment isolations, and contractor activities on the refining line.

- Daily Site Inspections: Conducts structured walkthroughs of the fire assay laboratory, acid storage bays, electrolytic refining cells, and general plant areas to verify PPE usage, chemical handling protocols, and machine guarding standards.

- Environmental Monitoring: Collects and submits wastewater, stack emission, and soil samples to accredited laboratories and compares results against NCEC permit thresholds and internal control limits.

- Incident Investigation & Reporting: Documents workplace injuries, near-misses, and environmental releases using root cause analysis methodologies and tracks corrective actions through the HSE management platform until closure.

- HSE Training Delivery: Delivers site-specific safety inductions and quarterly refresher courses covering chemical spill response, confined space entry, and emergency evacuation procedures to all new employees and contracted service providers.

- Emergency Preparedness Coordination: Organizes monthly emergency response drills for acid releases, fire scenarios, and medical evacuations while inspecting and maintaining eyewash stations, safety showers, and spill containment infrastructure.

- Contractor HSE Oversight: Reviews contractor safety plans before mobilization, verifies personnel competency certificates, and monitors on-site execution against contractual HSE clauses and MHRSD labor regulations.

- Audit & Compliance Documentation: Compiles evidence files for ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 surveillance audits and prepares monthly environmental performance reports for submission to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

- Process Safety Support: Participates in HAZOP reviews and pre-startup safety assessments to identify ventilation deficiencies, chemical handling risks, and equipment modification hazards before commissioning.

- Hazardous Waste Management: Oversees the segregation, labeling, and temporary storage of acid waste, spent catalysts, and laboratory byproducts until licensed disposal contractors execute removal in compliance with environmental permits.

Qualifications

- Holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, Occupational Health and Safety, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.

- Possesses a minimum of three years of direct HSE experience within a chemical processing, metallurgical, or heavy industrial manufacturing environment.

- Demonstrates working knowledge of Saudi environmental regulations, MIM industrial licensing requirements, and National Center for Environmental Compliance frameworks.

- Applies recognized incident investigation methodologies to document root causes and implement corrective actions for operational safety events.

- Maintains accurate records of environmental monitoring results, training completion logs, and permit-to-work approvals using digital compliance systems.

- Communicates safety directives clearly to shift supervisors, plant operators, and laboratory technicians during routine operations and emergency response scenarios.

- Executes field inspections independently and escalates critical process safety or environmental non-conformities to the Environment & Safety Manager without delay.

Preferred / Nice-to-have

- Holds prior experience supporting ISO 14001 or ISO 45001 certification audits in a continuous-process manufacturing facility.

- Has worked directly with acid handling, electrolytic refining, or fire assay laboratory safety protocols in a metallurgical environment.

- Demonstrates familiarity with Saudi contractor workforce management and HSE onboarding requirements under MHRSD regulations.

- Possesses experience preparing environmental impact monitoring reports for regulatory submissions to NCEC or municipal authorities.

Success Metrics

- Maintains a recordable incident frequency rate below the established industry benchmark for precious metals refining operations.

- Achieves zero environmental permit violations and sustains 100 percent compliance with NCEC discharge limits across all monitored effluent and emission parameters.

- Closes 95 percent of corrective actions from internal and external audits within the agreed 30-day remediation window.

- Completes mandatory HSE training for 100 percent of new hires and contractor personnel before granting site access authorization.

- Reduces average permit-to-work issuance time by 20 percent through implementation of a fully digital tracking workflow.

- Establishes a documented contractor HSE performance evaluation process that is integrated into the procurement onboarding cycle.

- Maintains 100 percent accuracy in monthly environmental monitoring submissions and regulatory reporting packages.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Saudi Gold Refinery welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. Hiring decisions are made based on role requirements, skills, experience, and alignment with Saudization and Vision 2030 priorities.