Group HSE Manager

Position Overview:

Reporting to the COO, you will be responsible for driving forward the Health and Safety agenda across several sites, ensuring that appropriate management systems are defined and implemented, whilst guiding employees towards a positive health and safety culture and ensuring the company complies with all H&S legal obligations.

The role is site based and will also require regular travel to our sites in Yatton and Cardiff.  You will be supported with a H&S Co-ordinator on each site to ensure measures put in place are followed.

Location:

Based in Blackburn, with travel to Somerset and Cardiff.

Company Overview:

Pets Choice is a leading pet food manufacturer whose industry knowledge spans over 135 years. Based in Blackburn, Lancashire, the Pets Choice portfolio of brands offers a variety of products for pets and wild animals under its brands; Webbox, TastyBone, Meatiful, Spike’s World, Goodwyns, Davies, Oceanic and Vitakraft. Each brand offers a unique insight into animals from dogs to ducks and produces high-quality products that cater to a wide variety of consumer needs. As a trusted partner, Pets Choice provide private label goods including extruded food, wet food and retorted trays, and baked fresh meat treats. The business also offers additional services such as packaging design, fulfilment and logistics. With a broad range of capabilities and distribution channels worldwide, Pets Choice are proud to be a major supplier to the UK grocery, independents and pet speciality sectors.

Role:

• Implementing and improving on existing processes
• Lead on obtaining and retaining relevant accreditations
• Using process mapping to ensure optimum efficiency
• Setting up and maintaining health and safety reporting procedures
• Manage H&S Co-ordinators to ensure H&S regulations are being met across all sites in a consistent and aligned approach
• Propose sustainability initiatives, such as reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste and implementing eco-friendly practices
• Advising and helping action ideas for continuous improvement across health & safety
• Engaging with employees to implement safer ways of working
• Working with employees to implement effective visual management
• Coaching and mentoring employees to expected standards
• Developing and defining the company’s H&S programmes
• Providing leadership and guidance on all H&S matters
• Fostering a H&S culture and bring people on board with a “safety first” approach
• Delivering H&S inductions to the new starters
• Writing and delivering on site training programmes for job related H&S matters
• Responsible for Incident management: register of incidents, RIDDOR, root cause analysis, investigations, corrective and preventative actions, metrics and implement improvement plans
• Developing and maintaining a system of H&S inspections and audits
• Chairing regular HSE review meetings with the Management Team
• Develop Risk Assessments, COSHH Assessments and Safe Working Practices
• Managing First Aid and Emergency Evacuation teams
• Liaising with Departmental Managers and Supervisors to ensure that sufficient H&S systems and controls are present
• Leading H&S improvement teams as needed, specifically within Work at Height, Confined Spaces and liaise with contractors to review and agree methods of working
• Communicating H&S information to the workforce using dashboards, newsletters, bulletins
• Carrying out regular site tours to provide visible H&S leadership within the company
• Representing the company in all H&S matters
• Implementing and leading Lean 6 Sigma initiative across the group

Key attributes and skills:

We are looking for a driven and experienced Health and Safety Manager who has engineering and/or manufacturing expertise with a NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety. Involvement in the implementation of 6 Sigma would be an advantage, together with Green or Black Belt status. Experience of working at height, within confined spaces with gas safety and/or lifting operations would be beneficial.  A strong degree of competence in Microsoft applications, particularly Excel.. You will have excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to prepare operation manuals and have strong decision making and planning skills.