Safety Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Heartland Food Products Group is a global leader in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, producing low-calorie sweeteners, coffee, coffee creamers and liquid water enhancers. We manufacture and market Splenda, the #1 brand in the low calorie sweetener category and the most recognized in the world.

We make coffee, tea and water taste better and help people live happier, healthier and longer lives by making it easy to reduce sugar.

We offer an excellent compensation and benefits package. Come grow with us!

This role is not a remote opportunity, it is on-site at our Manufacturing Plant in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Scope:

Hands on Senior Environmental, Health & Safety Manager leads the safety strategy and EHS programs for a multi-plant manufacturing campus and distribution center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This role has a strong emphasis on occupational safety, injury prevention, regulatory compliance, employee engagement, and operational risk reduction. The Senior EHS Manager will partner closely with plant leadership, operations, maintenance, warehouse/distribution, human resources, and employees at every level to build and sustain a proactive, safety-first culture.

The successful candidate combines strategic leadership with a highly visible floor presence, driving accountability, coaching leaders, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring effective implementation of EHS standards across all assigned facilities.

Essential Duties and Key Responsibilities:

Safety Leadership & Culture

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of site-wide safety programs across multiple manufacturing plants and the distribution center.
• Champion a visible, engaged, and behavior-based safety culture that prioritizes prevention, employee ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary EHS advisor to site and plant leadership, providing practical guidance on safety risks, compliance obligations, and corrective actions.
• Establish clear safety expectations, performance measures, and accountability mechanisms for leaders, supervisors, and employees.
• Conduct frequent floor and warehouse presence, safety observations, audits, and employee engagement activities.
• Facilitate safety committees, toolbox talks, leadership safety meetings, and employee training initiatives.

Risk Management, Incident Prevention & Investigation

• Identify, assess, and mitigate workplace hazards in manufacturing, maintenance, warehouse, logistics, and office environments.
• Lead and support job hazard analyses, ergonomic assessments, machine safety reviews, lockout/tagout assessments, and other risk-reduction activities.
• Ensure injuries, near misses, property damage events, and other safety incidents are fully investigated with root causes and timely, sustainable corrective actions determined.
• Analyze safety trends and leading/lagging indicators to identify systemic risks and prioritize improvement opportunities.
• Develop and implement strategies to reduce recordable injuries, lost-time incidents, near misses, and workers’ compensation costs.
• Ensure thorough documentation, follow-up, and verification of corrective and preventive actions.

Regulatory Compliance & EHS Programs

• Maintain compliance with applicable federal, state, and local safety regulations, including OSHA requirements and relevant Indiana regulations.
• Manage and improve core safety programs, including but not limited to:
• Hazard communication and chemical safety
• Lockout/tagout and hazardous energy control
• Machine guarding
• Confined-space entry
• Fall protection
• Powered industrial truck/forklift safety
• Warehouse and distribution-center safety
• Contractor safety management
• Personal protective equipment
• Emergency action and evacuation planning
• Electrical safety
• Bloodborne pathogens and first aid
• Ergonomics and material-handling safety
• Coordinate and support OSHA inspections, regulatory inquiries, audits, and reporting requirements.
• Maintain accurate EHS records, training documentation, incident logs, permits, and compliance reports.

Environmental & Sustainability Responsibilities

• Oversee environmental compliance activities for assigned facilities, with safety remaining the primary focus of the role.
• Ensure compliance with applicable air, water, waste, stormwater, hazardous-material, and chemical-management requirements.
• Manage environmental permits, inspections, reporting, waste-disposal practices, and third-party environmental service providers as needed.
• Partner with operations and maintenance teams to identify opportunities for waste reduction, spill prevention, and improved environmental performance.
• Lead response and reporting activities related to environmental incidents, releases, or compliance concerns.

Environmental & Sustainability Responsibilities

• Oversee environmental compliance activities for assigned facilities, with safety remaining the primary focus of the role.
• Ensure compliance with applicable air, water, waste, stormwater, hazardous-material, and chemical-management requirements.
• Manage environmental permits, inspections, reporting, waste-disposal practices, and third-party environmental service providers as needed.
• Partner with operations and maintenance teams to identify opportunities for waste reduction, spill prevention, and improved environmental performance.
• Lead response and reporting activities related to environmental incidents, releases, or compliance concerns.

Training & Capability Building

• Develop, deliver, and coordinate effective EHS training for employees, supervisors, managers, contractors, and temporary workers.
• Ensure training is role-specific, understandable, documented, and reinforced through on-the-job coaching.
• Build safety leadership capability among frontline supervisors and managers.
• Maintain training matrices and ensure timely completion of required recurring training.
• Support onboarding programs to ensure new employees understand site safety expectations before beginning work.

Emergency Preparedness & Business Support

• Lead emergency-response preparedness, including evacuation plans, fire prevention, severe-weather procedures, spill response, and coordination with emergency services.
• Plan and facilitate emergency drills and evaluate opportunities to improve readiness.
• Support business continuity and crisis-response planning related to EHS events.
• Manage EHS-related vendors, consultants, and contractors, including service quality, compliance expectations, and budget oversight.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Seven or more years of progressive EHS experience in a manufacturing, food production, consumer packaged goods, industrial, or distribution environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading safety programs across multiple facilities, departments, or complex operations.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations and practical application of safety-management systems.
• Proven success reducing workplace injuries and improving safety performance through proactive programs and employee engagement.
• Experience conducting incident investigations, root-cause analysis, risk assessments, and corrective-action management.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing and warehouse safety risks, including machine guarding, lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, ergonomics, and contractor safety.
• Ability to influence leaders and employees at all levels while balancing operational needs with EHS requirements.
• Excellent communication, training, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work on the production floor, in warehouse environments, and in varying industrial conditions as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certification such as Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), or similar credential.
• Experience in food manufacturing, beverage, packaging, consumer goods, or a high-speed production environment.
• Experience with workers’ compensation, return-to-work programs, OSHA recordkeeping, and safety data analytics.
• Experience managing environmental permits, waste programs, stormwater compliance, or chemical-management programs.
• Lean, Six Sigma, continuous-improvement, or behavior-based safety experience.

Key Competencies

• Safety-first leadership and personal accountability
• Operational credibility and strong floor presence
• Coaching, influencing, and employee engagement
• Sound judgment and practical risk management
• Root-cause problem solving and data-driven decision-making
• Regulatory knowledge and disciplined compliance execution
• Project management and ability to manage competing priorities
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Collaboration across manufacturing, maintenance, warehouse, logistics, and leadership teams

Physical Demands:

• Regular presence in manufacturing plants and distribution-center environments.
• Ability to walk production and warehouse floors; climb stairs; wear required personal protective equipment; and work around noise, equipment, moving vehicles, varying temperatures: ability to lift 40 lbs.
• Ability to respond to urgent safety or environmental matters outside normal business hours when necessary.
• Limited local travel may be required among assigned facilities or sites.