HSER Manager (12-month FTC)
Launceston (with occasional travel to Newport, Wales)
At DS Smith, safety and sustainability are fundamental to how we operate. We are committed to maintaining a zero-accident culture while protecting our people, our environment, and our communities. As HSER Manager you will play a critical leadership role in embedding a proactive safety and environmental culture that supports operational excellence.
You will lead and develop the site’s Health, Safety, Environmental and Risk (HSER) function, ensuring robust systems, processes, and behaviors are in place to meet legislative requirements, customer expectations, and internationally recognised management standards (ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001). Through your expertise and influence, you will position HSER at the forefront of decision-making and daily operations.
Working closely with the site leadership team, you will develop and deliver the annual HSER plan, setting measurable objectives and driving continuous improvement. You will act as the management representative for HSER systems, maintaining compliance and serving as the key liaison with regulators and insurers. Beyond the site, you will contribute to the wider central HSER network, helping shape strategy, policy, and best practice across the business.
Key Responsibilities
Champion a strong safety and environmental culture where employees are engaged, accountable, and actively involved
Build trusted relationships across all levels of the organisation to coach and influence safe behaviours
Support the leadership team in developing and delivering the annual HSER improvement plan
Deliver HSER training and develop organisational competence in roles and responsibilities
Monitor, analyse, and report HSER performance metrics to drive informed decision-making
Act as Management Representative for HSER systems, ensuring effectiveness and compliance
Manage internal and external audit programmes and coordinate improvement actions
Lead technical risk assessments including PUWER and COSHH compliance
Serve as the primary HSER contact for external stakeholders, including regulators and insurers
We are looking for a confident HSER professional with strong leadership capability, a strategic mindset, and the ability to influence positive change. You will be passionate about developing a culture where safety and environmental responsibility are embedded in everything we do.
What we would like our candidate to have
Experienced in delivering a Health & Safety culture across a large business
Experience with CDM
Excellent persuasion skills, with the ability to communicate at all levels
Leadership characteristics, and the ability to drive change in challenging environment
An understanding of ISO standards, eg: 14001 / ISO 5001 / ISO 45001
Experience providing hands on training
Experience in Management Systems
Excellent presentation skills
Strong numerical & verbal skills, and experience in handing information
Fully IT literate
The ability to travel to other sites when needed
What we can offer you
Competitive salary
Qualifying Sick Pay scheme
Pension scheme & Life insurance
Share Save scheme
Income Protection
25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
Employee Assistance Programme
Virtual GP, Occupational Health & free Flu vaccine
Cycle to Work and shopping discounts
We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.”
#LI-SP
Skills Required
- Experience delivering a health and safety culture across a large business
- Experience with CDM
- Excellent persuasion and communication skills across all organizational levels
- Leadership capability and ability to drive change in challenging environments
- Understanding of ISO 14001, ISO 50001, and ISO 45001 standards
- Experience providing hands-on training
- Experience with management systems
- Excellent presentation skills
- Strong numerical and verbal skills, with experience handling information
- Fully IT literate
- Ability to travel to other sites when needed
DS Smith Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about DS Smith and has not been reviewed or approved by DS Smith.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered okay to good across many roles, with some plants indicating competitive or above‑market hourly rates for operators and similar positions. This supports a broadly fair perception of base pay even as experiences vary by site.
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Healthcare Strength — U.S. offerings include day‑one medical/vision and dental, employer HSA contributions, and 100% company‑paid life and short/long‑term disability, alongside an EAP. Some role descriptions also highlight mental‑health and fertility options.
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Retirement Support — Packages commonly reference a 401(k) with company match and, in some locations, pension eligibility or company‑funded retirement contributions. This positions retirement benefits as a meaningful component of total rewards.
DS Smith Insights
What We Do
DS Smith provides innovative packaging solutions, paper products and recycling services with a commitment to sustainability and a circular economy. Our core purpose is to Redefine Packaging for a Changing World, and our expert teams work closely with like-minded partners to incorporate renewable resources for products that minimize our environmental impact, reduce complexity and increase profitability through supply chain optimization
