Safety Manager

Job Description

Job Description

SUMMARY:

The Safety Manager is responsible for building, sustaining, and continuously advancing a proactive safety culture that protects people, strengthens operational reliability, and supports long-term business performance. This role leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of site safety systems, programs, training, emergency preparedness, incident response, and risk reduction efforts across the organization. The Safety Manager partners closely with operations, maintenance, engineering, and HR to embed safety ownership, hazard anticipation, regulatory compliance, and corrective action discipline into daily behaviors, leadership practices, and decision-making.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Safety Strategy & Culture Leadership

• Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert and cultural leader for occupational safety, health, and risk prevention.

• Translate leadership priorities into practical, site-level safety expectations aligned with company values and business goals.
• Partner with leadership to reinforce safety as a core value, not a priority that shifts with production demands.
• Champion a “prevent before it happens” mindset consistent with OSHA Recommended Practices and Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) principles.
• Lead cross-functional safety governance through regular safety committee meetings, leadership reviews, and structured follow-up on site risks and improvement priorities.
• Exercise authority to intervene, stop work, and escalate conditions that present unacceptable risk to people, property, or operations.

Floor Presence & Engagement

• Maintain a consistent and visible presence on the production floor. Reinforce safe behaviors through observation, coaching, and real-time feedback.
• Partner with supervisors to integrate safety into daily operations, including job hazard analyses and pre-task planning.
• Promote employee engagement by encouraging participation in safety conversations, observations, and improvement efforts.  

Proactive Hazard Identification & Risk Reduction

• Lead job safety analyses (JSAs), risk assessments, and hazard identification processes across all operations.

• Own and maintain site safety programs including, as applicable, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, hazard communication, PPE, powered industrial trucks, ergonomics, hearing conservation, and other regulatory or site-critical programs.
• Ensure risks are clearly identified and corrective actions are implemented, assigned, monitored, verified for effectiveness, and sustained.
• Drive use of proactive tools such as near-miss reporting, safety observations, and leading indicator tracking.
• Partner with engineering, maintenance, and operations to review new equipment, process changes, and facility modifications to ensure risks are identified and controlled before implementation.

Incident Management & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure all incidents are investigated promptly using structured root cause analysis focused on system improvement.

• Establish clear expectations for investigation timelines, corrective action ownership, due dates, and completion.
• Analyze incident trends and communicate lessons learned to drive improvement across the organization.
• Partner with HR and operations on workers’ compensation case management, post-injury follow-up, and return-to-work planning to reduce repeat injuries and lost time.

Safety Performance & Reporting

• Monitor and analyze safety performance metrics, including TRIR, DART, near misses, and leading indicators.
• Provide regular reporting to leadership and use data to guide decisions and improvement efforts.
• Identify trends and recommend actions that reduce risk and improve overall safety performance.

Regulatory Compliance & External Interface

• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local safety and environmental regulations.

• Maintain accurate OSHA logs, reporting, training records, inspection documentation, and other required compliance records.
• Serve as the primary contact for OSHA, insurance carriers, auditors, and regulatory agencies.
• Support site readiness for inspections and audits.
• Lead emergency preparedness planning, drills, and response coordination for fire, medical, severe weather, chemical spill, and other site emergencies.
• Establish and maintain contractor and visitor safety requirements, including onboarding, permit controls, PPE expectations, and site compliance.

Training, Coaching & Capability Building

• Oversee the development and delivery of safety training programs that are practical and aligned to job risks.
• Coach leaders and employees on hazard recognition, safe work practices, and accountability.
• Reinforce employee ownership of safety through participation, reporting, and stop-work authority.  

Other Duties

• Perform other duties within the scope of this role as assigned by management in alignment with the employee’s skills and organizational needs.

OBJECTIVES:

• Reduce recordable injury rates through measurable improvement in leading indicators such as near-miss reporting, corrective action closure, and safety training completion.

• Establish consistent job hazard analysis coverage across all production processes and high-risk tasks.
• Achieve timely closure of corrective actions with clear ownership, due dates, and verification of effectiveness.
• Maintain emergency preparedness readiness through regular drills, documented response plans, and follow-up on identified gaps.
• Improve audit readiness and compliance performance through disciplined documentation, program reviews, and leader accountability.

COMPETENCIES:

• Communicates Effectively: Communicates respectfully and effectively with customers, fellow workers, and management, including communicating proactively when encountering issues or challenges that may affect the timely completion of tasks or projects.
• Customer Focus: Continuously pays attention to customer (internal and/or external) needs and adapts as relationships evolve. A customer focus means being open minded, responsive, agile, and driving innovation.
• Collaborates: Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives; Represents own interests while being fair to others and their areas; Partners with others to get work done; Credits others for their contributions and accomplishments; Gains trust and support of others.
• Job Knowledge: Has understanding and proficiency in job responsibilities, performs tasks efficiently, solves problems quickly, and makes informed decisions in addition to staying current with new technologies or developments within their field by seeking out training opportunities or continuing education courses.
• Safety: The ability to identify hazards and risks in your work environment. Leadership in safety compliance of all rules and procedures that are designed to protect you and others from harm. The ability to communicate and cooperate safely with your colleagues, managers, and other stakeholders. Demonstrated learning with a focus on improving safety by acquiring new knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enhance your safety performance and culture. The ability to exhibit safety leadership by influencing and inspiring others to adopt safe behaviors and attitudes.

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health, or a related field, preferred.

Experience:

• 5+ years of safety experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to influence leaders and drive safety culture improvement.
• Experience leading incident investigations, root cause analysis, corrective action management, and regulatory compliance programs.
• Experience developing training programs, conducting audits, and leading risk assessments in an industrial setting.

Licenses/Certificates

• OSHA 30
• First Aid / CPR
• Professional certifications such as CSP, ASP, or OHST preferred.

Technology/Equipment

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
• Experience with EHS management systems, LMS platforms, and data tracking tools

 

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS:

Based on job safety analyses, including regular presence on the manufacturing floor. Ability to observe work activities, move throughout the facility, and respond to dynamic production environments. May occasionally lift up to 30–50 lbs as required.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Manufacturing environment with moving equipment, variable temperatures, and potential exposure to noise, dust, and other industrial hazards requiring appropriate PPE.

EMPLOYER EXPECTATION

An individual in this position must be able to successfully perform the essential duties and responsibilities listed above. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions. This job description reflects typical requirements and conditions encountered while performing the role.