Safety Manager

Sharp and Carter; Geelong; On-site; AUD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp and Carter is partnering with a global manufacturer in Geelong to appoint a Safety Leader responsible for health, safety and wellbeing across the site. You will also support injury management and return-to-work processes for affected employees.

You will lead the safety strategy, coach leaders to model safe behaviours, and strengthen reporting while collaborating with a centralised safety function in Europe to deliver practical change and robust incident investigations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in a safety leadership role.
• Manufacturing/FMCG or industrial background preferred.
• Proven experience leading genuine culture change.
• Strong ability to operate within centralised/matrixed structures.
• Excellent stakeholder and leadership-level influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the site safety strategy and roadmap.
• Lead a cultural shift from compliance to genuine ownership.
• Coach and influence leaders to model safety behaviours.
• Support IM and RTW cases in partnership with HR.
• Review and improve safety observation processes.
• Strengthen reporting and visibility of safety metrics.
• Partner with a centralised safety function based in Europe.
• Drive practical, sustainable change management initiatives.
• Investigate incidents and embed genuine corrective actions.
• Build trust and credibility across all levels of the site.

Skills

Safety leadership

Stakeholder management

Culture change

Incident investigation

Education

Certificate IV WHS

Job description

About the Company

Our client is a global manufacturer, with a significant, well-established site based in Geelong. Backed by international scale and a centralised support structure, the local site operates with a strong sense of identity and a leadership team that genuinely cares about doing right by its people.

This is a business that values people, product quality, and doing things properly - and now needs a safety leader who can help it live up to that reputation on the ground.

About the Role

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced safety professional to step into a key, newly created position and genuinely shape the safety culture of the site. You'll take ownership of health, safety and wellbeing across the site, while also supporting injury management and return to work processes for affected employees.

Duties

• Own and drive the site safety strategy and roadmap
• Lead a cultural shift from compliance to genuine ownership
• Coach and influence leaders to model safety behaviours
• Support IM and RTW cases in partnership with HR
• Review and improve safety observation processes
• Strengthen reporting and visibility of safety metrics
• Partner with a centralised safety function based in Europe
• Drive practical, sustainable change management initiatives
• Investigate incidents and embed genuine corrective actions
• Build trust and credibility across all levels of the site

Skills and Experience

• 10+ years' experience in a safety leadership role
• Manufacturing, FMCG or industrial background preferred
• Proven experience leading genuine culture change
• Confident operating within centralised/matrixed structures
• Strong stakeholder and influencing skills at leadership level
• Comfortable identifying and fixing broken systems
• Relevant safety qualifications (Cert IV or higher, WHS)
• Experience with IM/RTW case management highly regarded