Senior Safety Manager

Summary

The Senior Safety Manager leads Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) programs in two food production facilities complemented by an offsite office with a focus on regulatory compliance, risk reduction, and fostering a proactive, team focused driven safety culture. This role drives continuous improvement through strategic policy development, hands-on training, and cross-functional collaboration. As a key safety leader, the position supports programs including food safety, quality, SQF, GMP, PSM, and USDA requirements, while empowering site teams to make safety a shared responsibility and a core value across the business.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

•  Champion a culture of proactive safety excellence through ownership, engagement, continuous improvement, and partner involvement across all facilities.
•  Lead and enhance multi-site EHS programs aligned with OSHA, PSM, SQF, GMP, USDA, while supporting environmental and company standards.
•  Oversee the development, implementation, and maintenance of safety programs (e.g., LOTO, Confined Space, Arc Flash, Hot Work, PPE, Ladder Safety), emergency response plans, SMS/SDS documentation, Master Chemical List, Product Specifications, and regulatory materials.
•  Provide strategic leadership and development for Safety Managers and site safety teams, ensuring consistency, accountability, and a high-performance safety culture across all locations.
•  Oversee the design and delivery of safety training programs for all personnel, including onboarding, emergency preparedness, monthly refreshers, and contractor compliance.
•  Drive continuous EHS improvement by tracking KPIs, leading incident investigations, and implementing sustainable corrective actions through collaborative platforms that ensure visibility, accountability, and consistent communication.
•  Support and coach leaders on safety systems, communication strategies, and cross-functional knowledge sharing to embed best practices across shifts and sites.
•  Lead site safety initiatives including ergonomic programs, safety committees, observation audits, and equipment compliance programs (e.g., lockout/tagout, forklift inspections) to drive engagement, ensure regulatory compliance, and promote a culture of accountability and recognition.
•  Conduct regular site audits, risk assessments, and hazard analyses to proactively identify and mitigate risks.
•  Manage hearing conservation, noise testing, PPE evaluation and distribution, and associated recordkeeping.
•  Collaborate with HR and Operations on injury case management, worker compensation claims, and return-to-work programs to support safe, timely reintegration and resolution.
•  Actively contribute to the environmental, PSM and emergency response teams, supporting readiness and compliance while owning external communications and relationships with community and regulatory agencies including but not limited to emergency county management, water treatment, OSHA, and DNR.
•  Partner with leadership to drive risk reduction strategies and ensure consistent application of safety standards across all locations.

Supervisory Responsibilities                                           

•  Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
•  Demonstrated keen eye for observing safety risks and hazards.
•  Proven experience in developing a safety-first culture by leveraging member ownership and personal accountability that leads us to be the safest company!
•  Strong understanding of relevant safety regulations, standards, and best practices. Familiar with OSHA, EPA, and industry-specific regulations to ensure compliance.
•  Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority.
•  Proven skill in developing people and fostering growth within the organization.
•  Demonstrated leadership and facilitation skills with the ability to widen the circle of engagement within the membership through multiple platforms including programs, project management and
•  Communicates effectively – strong written, verbal, and facilitation skills.
•  Educate and teach all teams on safety in ways that make it part of the day-to-day thinking to get to ZERO injuries/illnesses, and how to drive that success at the facilities.
•  Strong interpersonal skills, with a focus on empathy and working collaboratively.
•  Demonstrates values that align with our core values.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The ability to effectively implement teaching techniques and various multimedia training methods is essential.
• Basic knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local health and safety laws, regulations, and standards is required.
•  Knowledge of operational and safety procedures is required.
• Completion of the 40-hour OSHA Certification training program is strongly preferred.
• Must be self-motivated and a collaborator, with a personal commitment to integrity, honesty, respect, quality, and reliability.
•  Must have an unwavering commitment to safety in the workplace and enjoy teaching others.
• Must be available to train on all shifts.

Education and Experience                                             

• A bachelor’s degree in occupational safety, industrial training or related field is normally required.
• Must possess a minimum of five years of experience facilitating and developing safety programs in a manufacturing environment.
• Extensive knowledge of current company safety policies and applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.
• Previous experience in the processed meat industry is strongly preferred.

Communication Skills                                        

• Must possess excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and group situations.
• Must have the ability to develop and conduct training classes covering a wide variety of safety topics to a diverse work group, and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Bilingual skills in Spanish are strongly preferred.

Computer Skills

Must possess advanced computer proficiency, specifically with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the Internet.

Mathematical Skills                                            

Must possess basic math skills, with the ability to work with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.

Reasoning Ability                                               

• Must have the ability to solve problems using root cause problem solving methods and principles, and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists, and the ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, verbal, diagram, or schedule form.
• Must be able to interpret and apply OSHA regulations.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the partner is frequently required to sit, stand; walk, talk, and hear. The partner is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel. Must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to twenty-five pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and color vision.

Work Environment

The noise level in the office work environment is low, and in the production work environment is usually loud. There is a wide variation of temperatures ranging from 35° F to 100° F in the various production areas. The work environment is wet and slippery most times. Partners are required to wear frocks, earing protection, hairnets, and slip-resistant footwear always in the production areas.