What are the responsibilities and job description for the Shift Supervisor/Petrochemicals/Chemicals position at Henpen Corporation?
Location: West Virginia, USA
Industry: Petrochemicals / Specialty Chemicals
Schedule: 24/7 Continuous Operation (Rotating Shifts)
Overview
A confidential chemical manufacturing organization is seeking a Shift Supervisor to lead plant operations within a continuous process environment. This role is responsible for supervising operators, ensuring safe and efficient plant performance, and driving operational excellence across a high-hazard chemical processing facility.
This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong technical knowledge of chemical processing equipment and the ability to troubleshoot and resolve operational issues in real time. The Shift Supervisor serves as the key leader on shift, ensuring alignment between plant operations, maintenance, and safety objectives.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and supervise a shift team of operators in a continuous chemical processing environment
- Promote and enforce a strong safety-first culture, ensuring compliance with all site, environmental, and regulatory standards
- Monitor plant conditions and direct operations to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant production
- Provide hands-on troubleshooting of equipment and process issues (mechanical vs operational)
- Support maintenance activities, including prioritization, coordination, and operator involvement
- Prepare and support permit-to-work systems (hot work, confined space, LOTO, etc.)
- Train, mentor, and develop operators to improve technical competency and process knowledge
- Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities related to uptime, efficiency, and safety
- Support emergency response readiness and execution as needed
- Maintain accurate shift logs, reports, and operational documentation
Technical Environment
- Pumps, compressors, boilers, heat exchangers
- Continuous chemical processing systems
- Utilities and process support systems
- Field and control room operations
Qualifications
- High School Diploma required; Associate or Bachelor’s degree preferred
- 5 years of experience in chemical, petrochemical, refining, power generation, or similar high-hazard process environment
- Prior shift leadership or supervisory experience preferred (or strong lead operator experience)
- Strong knowledge of process safety, environmental compliance, and PSM-regulated environments
- Proven troubleshooting and problem-solving ability in plant operations
- Ability to work rotating shifts in a 24/7 operation
Key Traits for Success
- Hands-on, floor-oriented leader
- Strong decision-making under pressure
- Ability to lead teams in high-risk, high-accountability environments
- Effective communicator across operations, maintenance, and leadership
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
- Combination of control room and field-based work
- Exposure to industrial environments (heat, noise, chemicals, PPE required)
- Ability to stand, walk, climb, and lift up to 50 lbs
- Must be able to work in outdoor and variable conditions and pass respirator fit testing