Safety Assurance Director - Rail

About Parsons Corporation and Role Overview

Parsons Corporation offers a career environment where you can thrive and work with exceptional individuals while being yourself. The organization values its people, promotes agility, and fosters growth through an innovative culture that empowers employees to reach their full potential. The Safety Assurance Director (Rail) role is a senior leadership position responsible for establishing and continuously enhancing the rail safety assurance framework within the organization. This role ensures compliance with applicable safety legislation, standards, and internal policies throughout the lifecycle of rail assets and operations, providing strategic governance and oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and sustain rail safety assurance strategies, policies, and management systems that comply with regulatory requirements and best industry practices.
• Define and manage the safety assurance framework covering operations, maintenance, capital projects, upgrades, renewals, and new rail lines.
• Chair or participate in executive safety committees, review boards, and technical assurance panels.
• Deliver assurance reporting and insight into safety performance for executive management and board members.
• Design safety assurance procedures including hazard identification, risk assessment, safety case development, and change management.
• Ensure safety requirements are documented, traceable, and verified throughout design, construction, testing, commissioning, operation, and decommissioning phases.
• Lead the development and upkeep of safety cases for rail infrastructure, rolling stock, signaling systems, and related components.
• Oversee use of systems engineering and safety methodologies within projects and operations.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant rail safety legislation, standards, and guidance.
• Serve as the primary liaison with safety regulators, accreditation bodies, and external stakeholders regarding safety assurance.
• Manage regulatory submissions, approvals, licenses, and certifications, including preparation and defense of safety documentation.
• Monitor regulatory and standards changes, assess impacts, and guide necessary implementations.
• Ensure operational and maintenance activities adhere to approved safety processes and risk controls.
• Supervise safety assurance related to timetable adjustments, route changes, rolling stock modifications, signaling updates, and infrastructure enhancements.
• Manage operational risk including safety risk assessments, route risk evaluations, and validations for operational changes.
• Review and authorize safety-related operational procedures, rules, and instructions.
• Provide independent safety assurance for rail projects including major renewals, enhancements, and new developments.
• Ensure systematic management of project safety risks, integrating safety into design and procurement.
• Oversee safety verification, validation, testing, commissioning, and readiness for service entry.
• Lead or sponsor independent safety audits, peer reviews, and technical evaluations of critical systems.
• Supervise investigations into major incidents, near misses, and safety events to identify root causes and ensure corrective actions.
• Facilitate capturing and embedding lessons learned into processes, training, and standards.
• Develop and manage a risk-based safety audit and inspection program with tracking of corrective actions through resolution.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety culture, performance, and competence organization-wide.
• Provide leadership and direction to the Safety Assurance team and affiliated functions.
• Promote a positive safety culture emphasizing openness, reporting, learning, and absence of blame.
• Mentor and develop rail safety professionals, enhancing internal capabilities in safety assurance and systems safety.
• Influence senior leaders and stakeholders to integrate safety into strategic and operational decisions.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Rail Technology, or related discipline.
• A minimum of 20 years of experience in rail safety, assurance, systems safety, or related roles within rail or mass transit sectors.
• Proven expertise in developing and managing safety cases, safety management systems, and assurance frameworks for rail operations or projects.
• Comprehensive knowledge of rail safety legislation and standards applicable in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary teams and ability to engage and influence senior-level stakeholders.
• Experience managing safety assurance for complex rail systems.

Diversity and Inclusion

The company ensures equal opportunity employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.

Additional Information

Parsons prioritizes employee well-being and provides extensive growth opportunities, encouraging aiming high in careers. The organization actively combats fraudulent recruitment and maintains stringent recruitment integrity practices.