Manager Global WHS

Cochlear Limited; Sydney; On-site; AUD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Cochlear Limited is seeking a Global WHS Manager to shape and lead our worldwide Work Health & Safety strategy, ensuring health, safety and wellbeing across the organisation. You will partner with senior leaders to establish standards, governance, and risk controls, and build a robust WHS framework across diverse environments.

The role reports into global safety leadership and sits at Cochlear’s Macquarie University HQ, requiring strong leadership, stakeholder influence and expert knowledge of

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Health, Engineering, Science or related discipline.
• Extensive WHS leadership within a complex organisation with governance, assurance and strategy.
• Experience with 3 Lines of Accountability (3LOA) risk governance.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead Cochlear’s global WHS strategy, enterprise policies and safety governance frameworks.
• Build and continuously improve the global WHS management system and audit plan.
• Lead the WHS risk management framework, including risk profile, critical hazard IDs and corrective actions.
• Partner with regional leaders to establish consistent global standards and practical local implementation.
• Provide strategic advice and reporting on WHS performance to senior leaders and executives.
• Strengthen organisational WHS capability and accountability across leaders.

Skills

WHS Leadership

Governance & Assurance

Risk Management

3LOA / Risk Governance

Incident Investigation

Regulatory Compliance

Stakeholder Influence

Wellbeing & Psychosocial

Education

Bachelor’s degree in OHS/Env Health/Engineering/Science

Job description

Cochlear’s mission is to help people hear and be heard. As the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear is dedicated to helping people with moderate to profound hearing loss experience a world full of sound. We aim to transform the way people understand and treat hearing loss and innovate to connect people with future technologies. Our employees tell us that the number one reason they enjoy working for Cochlear is the opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives. Learn and grow with us as we tackle the most complex challenges in helping more people to experience a lifetime of hearing.**The Opportunity**Cochlear is looking for a Global WHS Manager to shape and lead our global Work Health & Safety strategy and strengthen the frameworks that support the health, safety and wellbeing of our people around the world.This is a highly influential global leadership role spanning enterprise strategy, governance, risk management, assurance, wellbeing and injury management. You will partner with senior leaders, executives and operational teams to establish clear standards, strengthen organisational capability and embed health and safety into business decision-making.You will work closely with operational safety leaders, including the Safety Manager, Australia Manufacturing, to ensure Cochlear’s global WHS strategy, standards and governance frameworks translate into effective operational practice. You will provide strategic direction and governance oversight, while operational leaders retain accountability for local implementation.This is a permanent full-time, based at our global headquarters in Macquarie University.**Key Responsibilities:*** Develop and lead Cochlear’s global WHS strategy, enterprise policies and safety and injury management governance frameworks, aligned with organisational priorities and emerging WHS practice.* Build, maintain and continuously improve the global WHS management system, including enterprise standards, procedures, assurance activities and the WHS audit plan.* Lead Cochlear’s global WHS risk management framework, including the enterprise risk profile, critical hazard identification, risk controls, incident governance and corrective and preventive actions.* Partner with regional and operational safety leaders to establish consistent global standards and minimum requirements while enabling practical, locally compliant implementation across diverse operating environments.* Provide strategic advice, governance oversight and clear reporting to senior leaders and executives on WHS performance, emerging risks, trends and opportunities for improvement.* Strengthen organisational WHS capability, consultation and accountability by supporting leaders to understand and effectively discharge their health and safety responsibilities.* Lead the effective management of workers compensation risks, injury management and return-to-work practices in Australia, in partnership with relevant internal and external stakeholders.* Lead a small team and a global community of WHS expertise, promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, continuous improvement and leading practice across Cochlear’s network.**About You**As we grow our operations, we are looking for people who share our passion for delivering quality hearing solutions to our customers. To add value to Cochlear in this role, you'll be able to demonstrate the following essential skills and experience:* Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Health, Engineering, Science or a related discipline.* Extensive WHS leadership experience within a complex organisation, with demonstrated experience providing enterprise-level governance, assurance, management systems and strategic WHS leadership.* Experience operating within a Three Lines of Accountability (3LOA) model or equivalent risk governance framework, providing strategic direction, governance oversight and assurance while enabling operational leaders to effectively manage WHS risks.* Experience in chemical and hazardous materials management, including the development and governance of enterprise standards, minimum requirements, risk controls and assurance frameworks.* Significant experience supporting manufacturing, engineering or other high-hazard operational environments, with a strong understanding of critical risk management and safety controls.* Qualifications or experience in workplace wellbeing, psychosocial risk management.* Broad expertise across WHS risk management, critical hazard identification, incident investigation, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement in complex and diverse environments.* Demonstrated ability to analyse complex WHS, workers’ compensation and organisational risk matters and translate insights into practical enterprise-level actions.* Proven ability to influence senior leaders and executives, build trusted partnerships and support leaders to adopt a proactive safety mindset.* Expert knowledge and experience in interpreting and implementing WHS legislation, with detailed knowledge of workers compensation, common law liability, and emergency management and business continuity principles.* Highly developed leadership, communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and lead collaboratively across organisational boundaries.At Cochlear, we value and welcome the unique contributions, perspectives, experiences and backgrounds of our employees and aim to build a culture that celebrates and leverages these differences, creating a sense of belonging and enabling our people to realise their full potential.**Why Join Us:*** Lead the global Work Health & Safety agenda for Cochlear, shaping enterprise-wide safety, wellbeing and injury management strategies that support a growing global workforce.* Play a pivotal role in embedding Cochlear’s Three Lines of Accountability (3LOA) model, strengthening governance, accountability and risk ownership across the organisation.* Partner with senior leaders, operational teams and regional safety teams to influence enterprise decision-making and drive a culture of proactive risk management.* Lead a global community of WHS expertise, driving best practice, continuous improvement and the adoption of consistent safety standards while enabling operational flexibility across diverse environments.* Join a purpose-led organisation where your work helps create safer workplaces for the people developing, manufacturing and delivering life-changing hearing solutions worldwide.If you feel that you have the skills and experience to be successful in this role and take on new challenges to build your career with Cochlear, please start your application by clicking the apply button below.