Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Manager
Position Overview
The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving programs that ensure employee safety, regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, Process Safety Management (PSM), and environmental stewardship within a pork processing facility. This role plays a key leadership position in creating and sustaining a culture of safety, ensuring all employees understand and embrace safe work practices.
Key Responsibilities
Lead and promote a strong culture of safety across all levels of the organization.
Develop, implement, and continuously improve facility-wide safety programs.
Design and administer safety incentive and recognition programs to drive employee engagement.
Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, including hazard communication, lockout/tagout (LOTO), confined space entry, machine guarding, and PPE.
Conduct routine safety audits, risk assessments, and job hazard analyses (JHAs).
Partner with operations and maintenance teams to proactively identify and mitigate risks.
Safety Training & Development
Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive safety training programs for all employees.
Ensure effective onboarding safety orientation for new hires.
Deliver and coordinate recurring training (e.g., LOTO, PPE, ergonomics, emergency response).
Evaluate training effectiveness and adjust programs to improve safety outcomes.
Build leadership capability by coaching supervisors and managers on safety responsibilities.
Partners with Human Resources to implement new-hire orientation training related to environmental health and safety.
Incident Management & Accident Response
Lead investigations for workplace incidents, injuries, and near misses.
Conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
Maintain OSHA logs (300, 300A, 301) and ensure timely and accurate reporting.
Serve as primary contact for regulatory inspections related to safety incidents.
Track, trend, and analyze safety data to drive continuous improvement.
Partners with Human Resources on Workers Compensation cases to determine root cause, implement preventative measures, implement accountability when necessary, monitor the level of care provided by approved providers, and facilitate return to work programs.
Emergency Preparedness & Response
Develop, implement, and maintain Emergency Action Plans (EAP), Fire Prevention Plans, and crisis response procedures.
Coordinate and lead emergency drills (fire, chemical release, severe weather, etc.).
Serve as incident commander or key emergency response team leader.
Ensure inspection and readiness of emergency equipment and systems.
Process Safety Management (PSM)
Development, implementation, management and maintenance of the facility’s PSM program (e.g., ammonia refrigeration systems).
Ensure compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 requirements.
Maintain process hazard analyses (PHAs) and ensure timely revalidation.
Oversee management of change (MOC) and pre-startup safety review (PSSR) processes.
Ensure mechanical integrity programs for critical systems are in place.
Reporting, Documentation & Continuous Improvement
Maintain accurate safety, environmental, and PSM records.
Develop and report key metrics (TRIR, DART, environmental KPIs).
Lead continuous improvement initiatives using data-driven insights.
Support internal and external audits and regulatory inspections.
Wastewater Monitoring and Compliance
Provide strategic oversight of wastewater compliance programs to ensure adherence to all regulatory requirements, including permits and discharge standards.
Monitor and analyze wastewater data, operational performance, and production impacts to identify risks and drive continuous improvement.
Serve as the primary point of contact with regulatory agencies and external partners, managing inspections, reporting, and compliance communications.
Direct the development and implementation of corrective action plans, guiding wastewater operators and cross-functional teams to resolve compliance issues.
Evaluate processes and systems to optimize wastewater treatment performance and support long-term environmental compliance and sustainability objectives.
Skills & Competencies
Strong knowledge of OSHA, EPA, and environmental regulations.
Proven ability to build and influence a positive safety culture.
Experience developing training programs and employee engagement initiatives.
Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Analytical mindset with experience in incident investigation and data analysis.
Ability to solve complex safety issues by identifying the root cause, filtering solutions through industry standard/regulated practices, and change behaviors to reflect those of an educated and informed workforce related to working safely and keeping each other safe.
Essential Job Functions
Education and/or Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or related field preferred.
Combination of Education/Formal Training and relevant experience accepted.
5+ years of experience in EHS, safety, environmental, or PSM roles in manufacturing or food processing.
Experience In Meat Or Food Processing Environments Strongly Preferred.
Experience with wastewater treatment systems highly desirable.
Experience With Ammonia Refrigeration Systems And PSM Compliance Preferred.
Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Reasoning: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of situations where only limited direction exists.
Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or other form.
Ability to solve complex safety issues by identifying the root cause, filtering solutions through industry standard/regulated practices, and change behaviors to reflect those of an educated and informed workforce related to working safely and keeping each other safe.
Other Skills and Abilities
Excellent communication skills, ability to handle multiple tasks, organize, and prioritize workload, excellent internal customer service skills.
Ability to mediate conflict without bias, providing a way-forward that meets business and individual needs.
Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to handle, feel, or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms.
Work Environment
Employee works under typical office conditions and the noise level is usually quiet but will also spend a large amount of their time on the production floor observing, coaching, and training.
When on the production floor, the employee will encounter louder noises and cold, wet environment.
Employee is expected to wear appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in any environment in which it is required.