Rail Safety Manager

🚆 We're Hiring: Rail Safety Manager Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote) Employment Type: Full-Time Experience Level: Mid-Level to Senior Work Arrangement: Fully RemoteAbout Us We are a transportation organization committed to delivering safe, reliable, efficient, and resilient rail operations across passenger and freight networks. Our teams collaborate across Rail Operations, Engineering, Rolling Stock, Infrastructure, Signalling, Operations Control, Maintenance, Security, Emergency Response, Human Resources, Contractors, Regulators, and external stakeholders to maintain the highest standards of railway safety and operational performance.The Role We are seeking an experienced Rail Safety Manager to lead railway safety management, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, operational safety, incident management, safety assurance, emergency preparedness, contractor safety, safety culture, and continuous improvement across rail operations. The successful candidate will provide strategic and operational leadership to ensure railway activities are planned and executed safely, risks are systematically controlled, and safety performance continuously improves.Key ResponsibilitiesRail Safety Strategy - Develop and implement the rail safety strategy. - Establish safety policies, standards, procedures, and governance frameworks. - Align safety objectives with operational and business requirements. - Develop annual safety plans and improvement programs. - Promote a proactive, risk-based approach to railway safety.Safety Management System - Develop, maintain, and continuously improve the Railway Safety Management System. - Establish safety objectives, processes, responsibilities, controls, and assurance mechanisms. - Monitor SMS effectiveness. - Conduct regular management reviews. - Ensure safety processes are integrated into operational decision-making.Safety Governance - Establish clear safety responsibilities and accountabilities. - Maintain safety committees and governance forums. - Define escalation requirements for significant risks and incidents. - Ensure management receives accurate safety information. - Monitor implementation of safety decisions.Safety Risk Management - Identify, assess, control, and monitor railway safety risks. - Maintain safety-risk registers. - Conduct operational and engineering risk assessments. - Evaluate changes to infrastructure, rolling stock, signalling, procedures, technology, and operations. - Ensure risk controls are proportionate and effective.Hazard Management - Establish systematic hazard-identification processes. - Maintain hazard logs. - Assess hazard severity and likelihood. - Define mitigation measures. - Monitor residual risk. - Verify effectiveness of controls.Railway Risk Assessments Conduct and oversee risk assessments covering: - Train operations - Signalling - Track infrastructure - Level crossings - Stations - Depots - Rolling stock - Electrification - Maintenance - Construction interfaces - Passenger operations - Freight operations - Worksite activities - Emergency response - Security interfaces - Contractor activitiesOperational Safety - Monitor safety across daily rail operations. - Identify unsafe practices and operational risks. - Develop safety controls. - Conduct operational inspections. - Ensure compliance with approved procedures.Train Operations Safety - Oversee safety requirements for train operations. - Monitor operating procedures, speed controls, dispatch, shunting, degraded-mode operations, and operational communications. - Review operational incidents and near misses. - Coordinate corrective actions.Driver Safety - Support safety standards for train drivers and operating personnel. - Monitor competency, certification, fatigue, procedural compliance, and performance. - Identify recurring human-factor risks. - Coordinate corrective actions.Train Dispatch Safety - Ensure safe train dispatch procedures. - Review platform-train interface risks. - Monitor dispatch practices. - Address procedural or equipment-related hazards.Platform Safety - Assess passenger and staff risks at platforms. - Monitor platform-train interfaces. - Review crowding, access, signage, barriers, lighting, and emergency arrangements. - Develop risk-reduction measures.Passenger Safety - Establish passenger-safety standards. - Monitor passenger incidents and injuries. - Identify high-risk locations and behaviors. - Implement preventive measures. - Promote passenger safety awareness.Passenger Flow & Crowd Safety - Assess crowd-related risks at stations. - Establish controls for peak periods, events, disruptions, and evacuations. - Coordinate with Operations and Security. - Monitor congestion and passenger density. - Develop crowd-management plans.Level Crossing Safety - Assess and manage risks at level crossings. - Monitor warning systems, barriers, signage, visibility, and user behavior. - Investigate incidents and near misses. - Coordinate improvements with Infrastructure and Operations teams.Track Safety - Monitor safety risks associated with railway track infrastructure. - Coordinate with Engineering and Maintenance. - Review defects, worksite protection, track access, and maintenance risks. - Ensure appropriate controls are established.Signalling Safety - Coordinate safety requirements associated with signalling systems. - Review signalling incidents and failures. - Assess operational risks during degraded modes. - Work with signalling engineers to implement corrective measures.Train Control Safety - Monitor safety associated with train-control systems. - Assess operational risks during system failures. - Ensure appropriate fallback and degraded-mode procedures. - Coordinate emergency response requirements.Rolling Stock Safety - Coordinate safety requirements related to rolling stock. - Monitor technical defects and safety-critical failures. - Work with Engineering and Maintenance teams. - Investigate recurring safety issues. - Ensure corrective actions are implemented.Maintenance Safety - Establish safety requirements for railway maintenance activities. - Assess worksite risks. - Monitor isolation, access, lockout, protection, and safe-working procedures. - Conduct safety inspections. - Investigate maintenance incidents.Engineering Safety Assurance - Provide safety assurance for railway engineering projects. - Review safety requirements during design and implementation. - Assess hazards and risk controls. - Support verification and validation. - Ensure safety requirements are properly documented.Key Performance Indicators Performance may be measured through: - Fatalities - Serious injuries - Lost-time injuries - Train collisions - Derailments - Signal-related incidents - Platform-train incidents - Level-crossing incidents - Track-worker incidents - Safety-critical rule violations - Near-miss reporting rate - Hazard closure rate - Safety-audit performance - Corrective-action closure - Contractor safety performance - Training compliance - Emergency-exercise performance - Regulatory compliance - Safety-risk reduction - Repeat-incident reductionIdeal Candidate The successful candidate should have experience in Rail Safety, Railway Operations, Rail Engineering, Safety Assurance, Rail Risk Management, Transport Safety, or related disciplines. The candidate should demonstrate: - Proven experience managing railway safety programs or Safety Management Systems. - Strong understanding of railway operational safety principles. - Experience conducting rail safety-risk and hazard assessments. - Experience managing railway incidents, accidents, near misses, and investigations. - Strong knowledge of train operations, signalling, track, rolling stock, stations, and maintenance interfaces. - Experience developing and implementing safety procedures and controls. - Strong understanding of safety assurance, audits, inspections, and compliance. - Experience managing contractors and safety-critical suppliers. - Strong knowledge of emergency preparedness and railway emergency response. - Experience with safety-critical roles and competency management. - Strong understanding of human factors and fatigue-risk management. - Experience supporting new railway projects, system integration, testing, commissioning, or operational readiness is highly advantageous. - Knowledge of applicable UAE railway regulations is highly advantageous. - Knowledge of international railway safety standards and recognized industry practices is advantageous. - Experience with railway Safety Management Systems and structured risk methodologies. - Strong safety-data, KPI, reporting, and analytical capabilities. - Experience with operational resilience and business-continuity planning is advantageous. - Relevant degree in Railway Engineering, Transportation, Safety Management, Engineering, Risk Management, Operations, or a related field is highly advantageous. - Recognized railway safety, risk-management, engineering, or safety professional certification is advantageous. - Strong written and verbal English communication skills; Arabic is advantageous for UAE/GCC environments. - Excellent leadership, investigation, risk-assessment, communication, decision-making, planning, and stakeholder-management skills. - Ability to remain calm and decisive during serious incidents and emergency situations. - Ability to manage multiple safety risks, investigations, projects, contractors, and regulatory requirements simultaneously. - Ability to work independently in a fully remote and internationally distributed environment. - Strong safety-first, risk-based, compliance-oriented, analytical, proactive, resilient, accountable, collaborative, and results-driven mindset.