Safety Manager

WestRock Company; Covington (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k with match

Tuition reimbursement

Employee discounts

Employee referral bonus

Job summary

Smurfit Westrock in Covington, VA seeks a Health and Safety Manager to join the mill leadership team. You will lead the site's health and safety strategy, champion a world-class safety culture, and drive continuous improvement programs that protect people while supporting operational performance.

You will partner with operations, engineering, and health resources; spend significant time in the field coaching leaders, leading incident investigations, and building capabilities across a safety team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in safety/engineering/related field.
• 8+ years of progressive safety leadership in heavy manufacturing or similar.
• Proven ability to lead safety teams and influence culture.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the mill's health and safety strategy, goals, metrics, and improvement initiatives.
• Champion a culture of safety excellence, accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Lead implementation of Safety Excellence System and HOP/Learning initiatives.
• Partner with operations, maintenance, engineering, reliability, and environmental teams to integrate safety into daily operations.

Skills

Safety leadership

Regulatory compliance

Industrial hygiene

OSHA knowledge

Communication

Field coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in safety, engineering, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Position: Health and Safety Manager

Job Code: OPHSM5 + Sr. Mgr, Safety

Location: Covington, VA

The Opportunity:

This is more than a traditional safety management role. As the Health and Safety Manager, you will serve as a key member of the mill leadership team, reporting directly to the General Manager and influencing one of our largest manufacturing operations. You will lead the site's safety strategy, champion a world-class safety culture, and drive continuous improvement programs that protect our people while supporting operational performance.

If you thrive in a visible leadership role, enjoy partnering with frontline teams, lead a professional safety team, and are passionate about creating safer, more reliable and engaged workplaces, we want to hear from you.

How you will impact Smurfit Westrock:

Lead Safety Strategy & Culture

• Develop and execute the mill's health and safety strategy, goals, metrics, and improvement initiatives.
• Champion a culture of safety excellence, accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Lead implementation and sustainability of Smurfit Westrock's Safety Excellence System.
• Serve as the site leader for Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) and Learning Culture initiatives.
• Foster an environment where employees actively identify risks, learn from events and near misses, and continuously improve work systems.

Partner with Operations

• Maintain a strong presence in the field, spending approximately 60% of your time engaging employees, coaching leaders, conducting observations, and assessing risk.
• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, engineering, reliability, and environmental teams to integrate safety into business decisions and daily operations.
• Support Process Safety Management (PSM) compliance and performance.
• Lead contractor safety programs, outage safety planning, and shutdown activities.

Develop People & Build Capability

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of safety professionals.
• Partner with Occupational Health resources to support injury prevention, workers' compensation, return-to-work programs, and wellness initiatives.
• Coordinate site safety training and compliance programs.

Drive Compliance & Organizational Learning

• Ensure compliance with OSHA, NFPA, ANSI, and company standards.
• Lead incident investigations, corrective action development, and organizational learning activities.
• Serve as the primary liaison with regulatory agencies, insurance carriers, and safety-related external partners.
• Manage site safety budgets, emergency preparedness programs, and crisis response processes.

What Makes This Role Exciting

• Opportunity to shape the safety culture of a large, complex manufacturing operation
• Lead emerging Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) and Learning Team initiatives
• Direct impact on employee well-being, operational reliability, and business performance

What you need to succeed:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in safety, engineering, industrial hygiene, or a related technical field; equivalent safety leadership experience will be considered.
• Minimum 8+ years of progressive safety leadership experience in heavy manufacturing, pulp and paper, chemical, energy, or similar industrial environments.
• Demonstrated success leading safety teams and influencing organizational culture.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations, safety management systems, industrial hygiene principles, and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Must be an effective speaker and be able to clearly articulate complex technical and regulatory requirements in simple and understandable terms.
• Experience driving measurable improvements in safety performance and organizational culture.
• Proven ability to influence leaders and employees at all levels of the organization.
• A self-starter with a proactive mindset and the ability to work independently.
• Proficient in use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and web-based data management systems.
• Committed to the values of Safety, Loyalty, Integrity and Respect.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Safety Professional (CSP) or equivalent professional certification.
• Experience with Process Safety Management (PSM).
• Experience implementing Human & Organizational Performance (HOP), Learning Teams, or operational learning programs.

Work Environment & Schedule

• Primarily Monday-Friday schedule supporting a 24/7 manufacturing operation.
• Flexibility required for emergencies, maintenance outages, investigations, and critical business needs.
• Participation in emergency response and leadership coverage teams.
• Limited travel (approximately 1-5 trips per year).
• Ability to work throughout a large industrial manufacturing facility, including production, maintenance, warehouse, utility, and outdoor environments.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in a heavy industrial manufacturing environment, including production, maintenance, warehouse, utility, and outdoor areas.
• Ability to walk extensively throughout the facility; climb stairs, ladders, and elevated platforms; and access industrial work areas.
• Ability to stand, bend, kneel, crouch, and perform field observations, inspections, and investigations for extended periods.
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to wear required PPE, including hard hats, safety glasses, hearing protection, steel-toed footwear, respirators, and fall protection equipment.
• Ability to work in varying environmental conditions, including heat, cold, humidity, dust, noise, and outdoor weather exposure.
• Visual, auditory, and communication abilities are necessary to identify hazards, conduct investigations, and effectively interact with employees and contractors.

What we offer:

• Corporate culture based on integrity, respect, accountability, and excellence.
• Comprehensive training with numerous learning and development opportunities.
• An attractive salary reflecting skills, competencies, and potential.
• Benefits package to include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k with match, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, employee referral bonus, and much more!
• A career with a global packaging company where Sustainability, Safety and Inclusion are business drivers and foundational elements of the daily work.