Health & Safety Manager

Silver Fern Farms Ltd; Takapau; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid sick leave

Subsidised health insurance

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Silver Fern Farms Takapau site is seeking a Health & Safety Manager to translate the site safety strategy into practical actions, build capability, and drive engagement across the operation.

Reporting to the Site Manager, you will lead a team of 3, collaborate with network practitioners, and participate in audits and continuous improvement to ensure a safe and compliant workplace.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading Health & Safety programs in manufacturing settings.
• Proven ability to translate safety strategy into practical actions at a site level.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills to influence staff and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and promote a health and safety culture at the Takapau site.
• Develop, implement and communicate the H&S framework and compliance processes.
• Maintain a health and safety strategy prioritising employee wellbeing.
• Lead post-incident investigations and management.
• Monitor compliance across all H&S areas and drive improvements.
• Refine injury management processes and ensure site-wide adherence.

Skills

Leadership

Health & Safety Management

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Auditing & incident investigation

Education

Level 6 Health & Safety Management qualification or equivalent

Job description

Te Tūranga | About the role:

The Health & Safety Manager is responsible for delivering the business Health & Safety strategy within the Takapau site, translating strategic priorities into meaningful actions that build capability, drive engagement, and improve Health & Safety performance and capability of our leaders across the operation.

Reporting to the Site Manager, they will lead a team of 3, work closely with other practitioners in the network and central people support services, and will be supported by the national Health & Safety team. They will be an active member of the SLT, including participating in audits/Gemba walks/BioGiene cleaning that can fall outside of usual dayshift working hours.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and promote the health and safety focused culture by developing cohesive, engaged relationships with site representatives
• Manage, implement and communicate the health and safety framework, improvement initiatives; and company and legislative requirements
• Maintain a health and safety strategy that ensures the safety and wellbeing of our employees
• Lead the post serious incident investigation and management
• Monitor compliance across all the health and safety functional areas
• Refine and optimise the injury management process, and ensure adherence and commitment across the site

Ōu Pūkenga | About You:

The successful candidate will have an extensive background in Health & Safety management; ideally in the manufacturing industry. They will be a key member of the site leadership team and need to be confident with communicating health and safety initiatives and strategy in a way that promotes buy-in from our staff.

Their background in Health & Safety policy development with a focus on Critical Risk activities will support their ability to identify continuous improvement opportunities to be achieved.

• Level 6 Degree in Health & Safety Management or equivalent industry experience with extensive training at this level
• Able to demonstrate a solid understanding of health and safety business solutions
• Understand the competing demands of safety and production, and develop solutions that work for all parties
• Ability to lead, motivate and manage cross functional teams, including building capability in leaders within the H&S space
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills to influence through negotiation
• Display leadership qualities and proactively drive a strong culture that aligns with Silver Fern Farms values – Unstoppable Together, Improving Tomorrow and Always Caring

Te Ahurea | Why work at Silver Fern Farms?

Silver Fern Farms are all about Creating Goodness from the Farms the World Needs. Creating goodness is about taking a broader view of what goodness means, how we can create it and the impact it can have. That Goodness is created through the work of our People, the skill and expertise of our Farmers and our customers around the globe. ‘Goodness’ is also about being good to people and communities, animal welfare, and showing care and respect for the environment.

For you, we offer paid sick leave from the date of employment (no waiting for the 6-month anniversary required), subsidized health insurance, and confidential employee assistance with career planning, financial advice and counselling.

Silver Fern Farms welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life. We are proud to have a diverse and inclusive environment and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all team members and applicants.

You can see more about our commitments to our people and their work by visiting our Belong Here webpage: https://careers.silverfernfarms.com/nz/en/belong-here

Applications close 12 October 2026.