Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce today is more than 97 per cent Mongolian, and a major strategic focus for the company is to develop a skilled workforce that is continuously learning. We aim to attract the best talent, so that we can together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia.
Oyu Tolgoi LLC is operating a copper-gold mine in southern territory of Mongolia. The company aspires a vision ‘Natural wealth to enduring value, knowledge, and skill’, and pursues a mission, 'Together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia' to build one of the largest copper-gold mines worldwide.
Principal Advisor Health & Hygiene
- Make an impact and contribute to the development of a world-class project within a pioneering organization.
- Great opportunity to work for a global company at the forefront of mining.
- Dynamic work culture and great exposure to multicultural teams.
Join one of the world’s most exciting copper-gold mining projects
Oyu Tolgoi has been one of the most exciting projects in copper and gold mining for several decades. It contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. The project, managed by Rio Tinto, is expanding underground. With a high demand for skills required to complete the project safely and successfully, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to be a significant contributor to Mongolia’s development and the prosperity of the Mongolian people.
The Opportunity
We are looking for a Principal Advisor Health & Hygiene to act as the senior subject-matter expert (SME) in occupational health and hygiene, guiding Oyu Tolgoi’s strategic vision and execution. This role will lead multi-year projects, align risk-based health and hygiene initiatives with global and legal frameworks, and ensure sustainable, long-term risk management outcomes.
What the role entails
This role is a great opportunity to make an impact and contribute to the development of a world-class health and hygiene program. The working roster will be a mix of FIFO & Ulaanbaatar-based. The role will report to the Health & Safety Manager. Your responsibilities will be:
- Lead the development and planning of a 3–5-year occupational health & hygiene strategy, including assurance frameworks and site-wide plans.
- Create and monitor the execution of the 5-year Health & Hygiene plan to ensure delivery against strategic objectives.
- Serve as an in-house expert on emerging risks (e.g., silica, noise, diesel particulate matter, occupational illness, psychosocial hazards).
- Provide evidence-based advice on health and hygiene issues, regulatory changes, and industry best practices.
- Sponsor and lead major health, wellbeing, and hygiene projects across multiple sites.
- Oversee program rollout, data analytics, and trend identification, ensuring integration with broader HSEC objectives.
- Develop and maintain health and hygiene policies aligned with Mongolian law and Rio Tinto standards.
- Oversee audits, monitor control program and risk systems effectiveness, and support incident investigations related to health and hygiene.
- Mentor and coach team members to build internal occupational health and hygiene capability, including conducting capability assessments and supporting improvement plans.
- Support integration of community health priorities into site programs and engage local health partners to address shared risks and opportunities.
- Establish and maintain external networks with contractors, medical providers, regulators, and industry groups to foster partnerships and influence outcomes.
What you will need for this role
To succeed in this role, you will have:
- Tertiary degree in Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene or related fields.
- Certified Industrial/Occupational Hygienist (e.g., CIH, COH) preferred.
- Minimum 10 years of health/hygiene leadership, ideally in mining or heavy industry across multiple geographies.
- Proven experience designing and managing multi-year programs and technical projects.
- Strong competency in strategic planning and data-driven decision-making.
- Experience in mentoring teams, conducting capability assessments, and implementing improvement plans to build internal expertise.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and build strong partnerships to deliver outcomes.
- Proven capability to integrate across diverse stakeholder groups, fostering alignment to achieve organizational health and hygiene objectives.
What we offer:
Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking, and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.
- A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
- Excellent career opportunity with one of the world's leading mining organizations
- A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive program
- Private health insurance for employees
- Attractive share ownership plan
- Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
- Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
About us
Joining the Rio Tinto majority-owned Oyu Tolgoi operations is a great opportunity to be part of one of the most exciting developments in copper and gold mining for several decades. The mine contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits.
This mega project is expected to be a major contributor to Mongolia’s development. As part of the Oyu Tolgoi Operations team, you have the ability to contribute to something significant and learn and develop both personally and professionally. We offer a collaborative, high-performing environment where success is achieved by working together.
Discover more about Mongolia and Oyu Tolgoi
Mongolia is increasingly becoming a destination for tourism and expatriate residents. As a rapidly developing city, Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, is seen as a comfortable yet exciting place to live. With an array of cultural and social activities available and a growing network of international schools, housing options, and leisure facilities, it's home to a growing community of international expatriates.
Located in the South Gobi Desert, just 80 kilometers from the Chinese border, the Oyu Tolgoi mine and camp is a large, well-run, and comfortable site with multiple amenities, including recreational and sports facilities, a cinema, shops, restaurants, and bars, catering to a growing community. For more information about the OT site, please check out this video.
Where you’ll be working
Oyu Tolgoi is an operating Copper / Gold open-pit and underground mine. The site is located in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The reserves case for the underground project is in the order of 0.5 billion tonnes of ore to be mined from the 95,000 tonnes per day Hugo North Lift 1 (HNL1) panel cave mine with a 20-year operations life. There is also the potential for 3 further block cave districts to increase mine life beyond 100 years.
Every Voice Matters
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities, and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected, and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity, regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes us different.
Job application closes on Feb 4, 2026
#GTS
Respect and Inclusion
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.
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Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminum, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs—striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win and meet opportunities.
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities, and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes us who we are.
Start your application
Take your leadership career to the next level.
Where can Rio Tinto take you?
You’re passionate and ambitious with tremendous career aspirations. The breadth and growth of our organisation empowers you to define your ideal career path.
Take a look at Katie’s career journey
Take a look at Theresia’s career journey
- 2022 - PresentManager Projects - Energy DevelopmentBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 2021Superintendent Operations CentreBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 2020Development / Drill and Blast SuperintendentPilbara, Western Australia
- 2019Deputy Quarry ManagerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2018Development SupervisorPilbara, Western Australia
- 2017Senior Engineer of Drill, Blast and SurveyPilbara, Western Australia
- 2016Production EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2015Mine scheduler - 2 week plannerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2014Drill and Blast EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2012Graduate Mining EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
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- 2012 – 2013EcologistRichards Bay Minerals, KZN, South Africa
Working at Rio Tinto
Help us deliver the materials that make human progress possible.
The plane you’re flying in just landed. You fire up your phone and get your laptop out of the overhead bin. Immediately, you’re in work mode – thousands of miles from your office. Do you ever stop to think about all the materials that make life in the 21st century possible? At Rio Tinto, we discover, develop and deliver the materials that drive human progress. When you work with us, you’ll experience advantages you won’t find anywhere else.
Working in one of our function’s teams
We supply the materials that drive human progress. You make it all possible.
With business operations that stretch from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Perth, Western Australia, we have exciting opportunities in virtually every discipline imaginable. From HR to marketing, finance to technology, infrastructure to supply chain, and much more, the opportunities are endless. Join us and enjoy:
Our application process
01
Apply
The first thing you’ll need to do is apply to the role. You can do this with your LinkedIn profile or you can upload your resume. We’ll also ask you to complete a few questions before you submit your application.
02
Undergo assessments
Our assessments are designed to help us work out whether you are suitable for the role. We will let you know which ones you’ll need to complete.
03
Interview(s)
Our interviews could be in person or online. It’s a great opportunity for us to get to know you a bit better, answer any of your questions and talk about the exciting career opportunity you have applied for.
04
Offers and checks
At this stage, we will let you know if you have been successful. If you have been, we’ll need to conduct a couple of checks, such as a background or security check. You may also need to do a medical assessment depending on the role you have applied for.
05
Join the Rio Tinto team
Once the checks have been completed, we’ll be in touch to talk with you about your start date and answer any questions you may have before you start with us.