Job position: Health, Safety, Environment and Social (HSES) Superintendent
Location: Ikelenge, North Western Province, Zambia
Reports to: General Manager, Zengamina Power Limited
Contract type: Fixed term contract (renewable subject to performance and operational need)
Closing date: 24 June 2026
Are you a senior HSES professional ready to lead and embed a world class safety, environmental and social management culture in a pioneering rural electrification utility?
Can you provide strategic direction on the Environmental and Social Management Systems and raise health, safety, environmental and social performance across Zengamina Power Limited operations to international benchmark standards?
Will you partner with investors, lenders, engineers, consultants and construction professionals to deliver an excellent HSES record as ZPL expands by an additional 5,000 customers over the next 5 years, with circa 4 MW of new generation, including the first in the region hybrid hydro solar scheme?
About Zengamina Power Limited (ZPL)
Zengamina Power Limited is a fully integrated private utility in Ikelenge District, North Western Province, Zambia, serving approximately 4,500 Zambians since 2007. Its grid connects households, institutions and businesses across the district from a 700 kW run of river hydropower plant and 39 km of medium voltage distribution lines. ZPL is currently delivering a circa 5 million United States dollar expansion that will hybridize the existing hydro scheme with photovoltaic generation and add over 3,000 new connections, in line with the company mission to electrify the whole of the rural Ikelenge District. ZPL is part of the Anzana Electric Group and operates to international lender and investor standards including the IFC Performance Standards and World Bank Group EHS Guidelines.
About the role
ZPL is seeking a seasoned HSES Superintendent to lead the company HSES function. Reporting directly to the General Manager, the post holder will provide strategic leadership, technical direction and day to day supervision of all health, safety, environmental and social activities across ZPL operations, the hybrid hydro solar expansion project and the distribution network.
The HSES Superintendent will own the design, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of the HSES Management System, the Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) and the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). The role carries accountability for the health, safety and welfare of all employees, contractors and visitors at every ZPL workplace, and for managing community and environmental impacts to the standard expected by investors, regulators and host communities.
The HSES Superintendent will line manage HSE Representatives across all divisions and act as the principal HSES interface with executive management, contractors, the Zambian regulator, the Anzana Electric Group HSES team, lenders and host community stakeholders.
The role is built around the following 5 leadership pillars:
1. Accountability: Embedding clear expectations for HSES action and behaviours at every level of the organisation, from executive leadership to field crews and third party contractors.
2. Culture: Building a positive, transparent HSES culture where every employee feels safe to speak up, raise concerns and contribute ideas that improve performance.
3. Process: Strengthening operational discipline, procedures, permit to work systems and assurance to prevent incidents and accidents before they occur.
4. Competency: Driving continuous education, training, mentoring and awareness so that every team member has the skills and knowledge to work safely.
5. Stakeholder engagement: Building durable relationships with surrounding communities, traditional leadership, regulators and lenders through effective engagement, grievance management and timely reporting.
The successful candidate will combine solid technical HSES expertise with strong leadership, close attention to detail, and the maturity to influence executive decision making. The candidate must embrace being based in a rural area, be resourceful, and have proven experience of community engagement in a comparable context. The role is based in Ikelenge with occasional travel to Mwinilunga, Solwezi and Lusaka in support of company operations and engagement with the regulator, lenders and the wider Anzana Electric Group.
ZPL strongly encourages local candidates, female candidates and candidates with a disability to apply.
Remuneration and benefits
This is a senior leadership opportunity in a fast expanding Zambian utility that is part of the Anzana Electric Group. The ZPL mission to sustainably electrify the whole of the rural Ikelenge District should be a core motivation for the applicant.
Compensation is competitive with the Zambian energy sector and aligned with experience. The package includes a base salary, a variable performance element linked to HSES key performance indicators, a housing allowance, relocation support, local transport within Ikelenge, a company mobile phone with talk time, access to local medical care, paid annual leave in line with Zambian law, and ongoing professional development support including training and certification sponsorship.
Duties and responsibilities
The HSES Superintendent will deliver the following duties and responsibilities:
1. HSES legal and regulatory compliance
- Ensure that all licences, permits, certifications and other HSES regulatory requirements are in full compliance and actively monitored.
- Maintain a current legal register and stay abreast of changes in Zambian legislation, lender standards and international guidelines, then implement those changes in company management systems, policies and procedures.
- Ensure all incidents are reported and investigated in accordance with statutory and lender requirements, and that corrective and preventive actions are closed out in a timely manner.
- Establish and chair Health and Safety committees in line with Zambian H&S regulatory requirements; liaise with regulatory authorities and coordinate authority site inspections.
- Manage the wayleave process for all new lines, including community consultations, compensation processes and grievance closeout.
2. Organisational HSES leadership and management
- Act as the principal HSES advisor to the General Manager and the executive leadership team, ensuring HSES is a central consideration in all strategic, operational, project and administrative decisions.
- Lead the bi weekly and monthly HSES management meetings, set the agenda, track action items, and report performance and risk to the General Manager.
- Line manage HSE Representatives across all divisions, coach their development, set performance objectives, and ensure consistent application of HSES standards.
- Implement a contractor HSES management programme to ensure third party employers and subcontractors comply with applicable legal requirements, company procedures and lender sustainability standards.
- Develop, maintain and review HSES policies, procedures and management plans, and own the annual HSES improvement plan.
3. Occupational health and safety
- Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of a comprehensive Health and Safety Management System aligned with ISO 45001 and international best practice.
- Own and continuously improve the ZPL H&S risk management programme, including baseline risk assessments, dynamic risk assessments and a consolidated corporate risk register covering all operational sites and construction projects.
- Oversee the development of site specific risk assessments, control measures, method statements, job hazard analyses and toolbox talks.
- Draft and approve Safe Work Procedures, provide input into Standard Operating Procedures, and ensure they are adapted to the local context.
- Establish and chair a permit to work system covering live electrical work, work at height, hot work, lifting operations, confined space entry and other high risk activities.
- Coordinate a schedule of regular site inspections, planned task observations and management safety walks to verify that Safe Work Procedures are being observed.
- Ensure adequate provision, fit, condition, training and usage monitoring of employee Personal Protective Equipment.
- Lead conclusive investigations of incidents and accidents, including root cause analysis, lessons learned and verified corrective action plans, in order to prevent recurrence.
- Own emergency preparedness and response, including site specific emergency and evacuation procedures, emergency equipment, drills, mutual aid arrangements and contingency planning.
- Coordinate the incident response team during any emergency and lead the post event review.
4. Environmental and social management
- Lead the ESMS and the ESMP to manage potential environmental and social risks and impacts and continually improve the sustainability of ZPL operations, in line with the IFC Performance Standards and World Bank Group EHS Guidelines.
- Ensure operational teams and contractors understand the applicable E&S policies, guidelines, protocols and standards, and facilitate implementation through appropriate ESMS tools, registers and dashboards.
- Identify HSES training needs and deliver, or sponsor delivery of, HSES training and awareness programmes that raise competence and accountability across the workforce.
- Report environmental incidents and non conformances such as spills, impacts and legal transgressions, and ensure timely corrective and preventive actions are taken and verified, with formal investigation reports for all medium and major environmental incidents.
- Drive the implementation of the ZPL Gender Action Plan and other social initiatives, in close partnership with the Community Liaison team.
- Monitor and manage biodiversity, water quality, waste, hazardous materials, air emissions and noise impacts associated with the hydropower station, the new photovoltaic plant and the expanding distribution network.
5. Training, awareness and competence
- Ensure all staff, contractors and visitors complete a documented HSES induction prior to commencing work.
- Identify, monitor and report leading and lagging KPIs, including inspections, audits, observations, near miss reporting, attitude surveys and training hours.
- Develop an annual HSES training matrix and ensure all mandatory and refresher training is completed and recorded.
- Mentor and develop HSE Representatives and other staff toward recognised HSES qualifications and professional registration.
6. Community and stakeholder management
- Coordinate and support stakeholder engagement with external stakeholders, particularly affected communities, traditional leaders and local authorities, ensuring accurate, diligent and timely capture and filing of records.
- Represent and minute ZPL in the Customer Committee meetings and other stakeholder forums.
- Implement and continuously improve the Grievance Mechanism procedure, ensuring all complaints are recorded, investigated, tracked, resolved and closed out within agreed service levels.
- Support the Community Liaison team in delivering livelihood, gender and community development initiatives linked to the expansion project.
7. Monitoring, reporting and assurance
- Maintain a daily presence on site and undertake regular inspections to verify compliance with environmental licences, permits, applicable Zambian legislation, the ESMP and other HSES requirements, including international standards of best practice.
- Monitor and report HSES indicators and KPIs on a monthly basis and against agreed lender and investor reporting frameworks.
- Compile the annual HSES performance assessment report in line with investor and lender requirements, with support from the Anzana Electric Group HSES team.
- Coordinate internal and external HSES audits, manage findings to closure and present results to the General Manager and the Board HSES sub committee.
- Compile and submit all required HSES reports to the regulator, lenders and the group HSES function within deadline.
8. HSES operational excellence and continual improvement
- Be the visible champion of a strong HSES culture across ZPL.
- Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the HSES management system, policies and procedures and recommend improvements based on review and audit findings.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives that reduce workplace risk, raise safety awareness and improve safe work practices.
- Assist the General Manager to minimise losses through incident prevention, including: Loss of man hours, Loss of production time, Loss of process stability, Loss of plant or equipment, Loss of product, Loss of shareholder confidence.
Minimum requirements
The ideal candidate will hold the following credentials and experience:
Education and professional registration
- A Bachelor degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering or a closely related discipline from a recognised institution of higher learning. A relevant postgraduate qualification is an added advantage.
- A recognised HSE qualification such as NEBOSH International General Certificate or higher (NEBOSH IGC, NEBOSH Diploma, IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent).
- Lead Auditor or Internal Auditor certification in ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 is highly desirable.
- Full member of a recognised professional body such as IOSH, NIOSH, IEMA, the Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) or a Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) accredited professional roster.
Experience
- A minimum of 7 years progressive HSES experience in the energy, utilities, mining, construction or heavy industrial sectors, with at least 3 years at supervisory or superintendent level managing teams.
- Demonstrated experience identifying HSES risks and designing mitigation measures to ensure compliance with good international industry practice.
- Excellent working knowledge of Zambian legislation and regulations pertaining to HSES matters, including the OSH Act, Factories Act, Environmental Management Act, Public Health Act and Workers Compensation Act.
- Demonstrated experience implementing International Best Practice standards, in particular the IFC Performance Standards, the World Bank Group EHS Guidelines and ISO management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 22000:2018).
- Proven track record of leading HSES on a capital project, ideally in the renewable energy or rural utility space.
- Strong understanding and demonstrated performance in community and stakeholder management in Zambia or elsewhere in Africa.
- Experience drafting and presenting HSES reports to investors, lenders and regulators.
Skills and attributes
- Excellent leadership, coaching and people management skills, with the ability to influence at executive level and motivate field teams.
- Strong analytical and report writing skills, including the ability to communicate complex HSES topics to non technical audiences.
- Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including proactive use of electronic media and platforms.
- Effective organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise tasks and juggle multiple assignments with competing deadlines.
- Highly resourceful, able to work independently in a self directed, entrepreneurial environment.
- Strong computer literacy, including proficiency in Microsoft Office and HSES management software.
- Ability to work flexible hours and respond to emergencies outside business hours.
- Holder of a Zambian driver licence (class B manual or class A is an added advantage).
- Additional languages relevant to the area, particularly Lunda, is helpful.
- Ability to work well in rural environments and collaborate with rural communities.
- Female candidates and candidates with a disability are strongly encouraged to apply.
Core competencies
- Strategic thinking and decision making
- Leadership and team development
- Self awareness and self management
- Social awareness and relationship building
- Responsible decision making and ethics
- Resilience and adaptability
Method of application
If you are interested and meet the criteria outlined above, please email the following to hses-superintendent@anzana.odoo.com with the subject line "ZPL HSES Superintendent, [insert your full name]" on or before 24 June 2026:
1. A current Curriculum Vitae (the file name must include your full name).
2. A cover letter addressed to the General Manager, ZPL, which must address the following:
- Why this role is of interest and why you are suited to it (HSES leadership experience).
- Confirmation that you can live and work in Ikelenge, with examples of previous rural postings and local languages spoken (Lunda is ideal).
- Your earliest available start date.
3. Certified copies of academic and professional certificates.
4. Names and contact details of three professional referees, including a current or most recent line manager.
Note: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. ZPL reserves the right to verify all qualifications, references and prior employment. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.