PRIMARY FUNCTION: The Health & Safety Specialist assists the Health & Safety Mgr with the day-to-day tasks for the department including equipment inspection, training, and the development and roll out of policies to prevent injuries to employees.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:
- Partner with internal departments to manage medical, workers compensation, DOT and Process Safety Mgmt activities including completing required paperwork and communication with medical, legal and insurance companies to investigate and resolve incidents
- Investigate and identify root cause of significant near misses, injuries, and safety events, implement safety abatement measures, and complete all required paperwork in a timely manner; communicate unusual outcomes to appropriate personnel
- Conduct job hazard and safety analyses, recommend solutions to correct
- Work with Complex Health & Safety Manager to revise and update safety programs ensuring a compliant, safe, and incident-free work environment
- Oversee Complex health & safety, environmental and DOT audits to ensure issues are addressed and mitigated, paperwork is completed, and unresolved or repeat issues are communicated to appropriate leader(s)
- Develop, revise, and deliver safety-based training and hold safety meetings to promote organizational safety and continuous improvement including analyzing current and repeat incidents and developing training to correct issues
- Analyze accident data, new processes, and machinery for potential safety and recommending resolution
- Conduct New Hire orientation to ensure onboarding employees understand safety protocols, resources, and contacts within the Complex safety team
- Perform ergonomic assessments and recommend improvements as needed
- Assist with the monthly supervisor safety training matrix including gathering required data for the appropriate reports
- Understand current safety emergency plans and formulate plans for newly identified potential emergencies, maintain and execute if emergency arises
- Perform additional relevant duties as assigned
SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- None. This is an individual contributor role with required competencies: Functional/Technical Skills, Action Oriented, Problem Solving, Learning on the Fly, and Interpersonal Savvy
EDUCATION and CERTIFICATIONS:
- Bachelors’ degree in Occupational Health, Safety, Engineering, Biology or other relevant discipline
- Combination of Associates’ degree and experience may be substituted for 4 year degree
- First Aid & CPR certification
- Completion of HAZWOPER training at technician level
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:
- Minimum three (3) years applicable experience in a similar environment
- Experience in applying OSHA, DOT, and Workers Compensation regulations
- Strong computer literacy (Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook)
- Must have good communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to communicate with all levels of the organization in a timely and professional manner; multi-lingual strongly preferred
- Ability to handle and resolve most issues in an efficient and effective manner while ensuring confidential information is relayed only on a need-to-know basis
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize projects, planning skills, and a high attention to detail
- Must possess a strong customer-centric attitude, high energy level and a strong sense of urgency
SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:
- Follow departmental and company safety policies and programs
- Wear required protective equipment in all areas where mandatory
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to work extended shifts (holiday, weekend and/or extended) as business need requires
- Ability to work consistently in cold/ humid or hot/ dusty environments with moderate levels of noise
- Ability to travel about the facility and around/ under equipment as needed in performance of job duties
- Ability to frequently reach, bend, stoop, kneel and crawl in performance of job duties
- Ability to lift/ move 40 lbs
- Ability to stand up to eight hours
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health, Safety, Engineering, Biology, or relevant discipline (Associates + experience may substitute)
- First Aid & CPR certification
- Completion of HAZWOPER training at technician level
- Minimum three (3) years applicable experience in a similar environment
- Experience applying OSHA, DOT, and Workers' Compensation regulations
- Strong computer literacy (Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook)
- Good verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate with all organizational levels
- Multilingual ability
- Ability to lift/move 40 lbs and perform physical tasks (reach, bend, stoop, kneel, crawl); stand up to eight hours
- Ability to work extended shifts, including holidays or weekends as needed
Wayne-Sanderson Farms Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Wayne-Sanderson Farms and has not been reviewed or approved by Wayne-Sanderson Farms.
-
Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is often characterized as fair or competitive for the local area, especially for entry-level plant roles. Overtime opportunities and shift premiums can materially improve take-home pay where available.
-
Affordable Benefits — Benefits are frequently described as affordable, with health and dental coverage viewed as a relative strength of the overall package. The breadth of options is often positioned as a meaningful offset to the baseline wage for many roles.
-
Retirement Support — The retirement program is positioned as a standout feature, with automatic enrollment and a dollar-for-dollar match on the first 4% of pay. External recognition of the plan’s design reinforces perceptions of a strong retirement offering.
Wayne-Sanderson Farms Insights
What We Do
Wayne-Sanderson Farms is an industry leader and the nation’s third-largest poultry producer, serving customers, consumers and communities with integrity, leadership and responsible farm, workplace and business practices. With a diverse portfolio of products, a strong operating culture and an industry-leading workforce of more than 26,000 people, Wayne-Sanderson Farms owns and operates 23 fresh and further-processing facilities across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. Wayne-Sanderson Farms produces affordable, high-quality poultry products for retail, foodservice, restaurant, industrial and institutional segments under the brand names of WAYNE FARMS® fresh and prepared chicken; SANDERSON FARMS® fresh chicken; COVINGTON FARMS® fresh and frozen chicken; PLATINUM HARVEST® premium fresh chicken; CHEF’S CRAFT® gourmet chicken; and NAKED TRUTH® premium chicken. For more information. visit our website at http://www.waynesandersonfarms.com







