Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products.
At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
Responsibilities:
- Provide leadership and support in all aspects of Process Safety Management (PSM), ensuring sites operate to agreed Safety, Engineering and Legal Compliance standards.
- Provide support for strengthening of global safety standards (SHEMS) standards, through internal auditing, training and sharing of best practices.
- Support sites in the development, reporting and analysis of Process Safety Performance Indicators.
- Be an active member of the regional and global PS Network to provide effective communication on SHE performance, lessons learnt and good practices.
- Facilitates risk assessment processes such as HAZID, HAZOP, HAC, SIL, LOPA, to support both operational and project-related studies.
- Support the implementation and timely delivery of Process Safety initiatives, including Hazard Reviews (PHA), Plant Modifications, Human Factors etc.
- Support delivery of site’s 3-year SHE Improvement Plans, aligned with the divisional and Group SHE strategy.
- Support strengthening of PSM by working with sites to analyse and reduce Process Safety Events, PS Weak Signal, Losses of Containment (LOC) and Safety Critical Equipment (SCE) failures.
- To act as the regional Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the handling and management of Butadiene.
The candidate:
- Degree in Chemical, Mechanical or Process Engineering preferred.
- 3-5 years’ experience within the chemical industry, preferably with experience of supporting CIMAH sites and/or Butadiene management.
- Safety qualification preferable (e.g. NEBOSH, Certified Functional Safety Engineer or equivalent)
- Demonstrated leadership skills, proven ability to work in a multi-disciplinary environment, and strong mentoring skills with technical staff.
- Experience in chemical process safety including Human Factors Analysis, HAZOP, PHA and Functional Safety (IEC 61511) programmes is desirable, although a thorough knowledge of the above would be acceptable.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
- Encourages and promotes a safe work culture with a positive attitude and team approach.
- Able to engage and communicate with peers and higher management on safety-related topics/issues.
- Demonstrates a commitment to continuing professional development and a willingness to travel within the Asia region.
🌍 Global Benefits Overview
💰 Competitive, market-aligned compensation
🎯 Discretionary global bonus scheme
📈 Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – for senior positions
🚗 Company car or car allowance – varies by region and role
🩺 Healthcare – tailored to regional locations
👶 Parental leave and family support – maternity, paternity, adoption (aligned with regional policies)
🏡 Working options – flexibility where it matters, based on role and business needs
📚 Learning & development opportunities – training, online platforms, buddy/mentorship programs, Internal Synthomer University with L&D offers
💙 Wellbeing support – employee assistance program (EAP), mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives
🌱 Retirement / pension contributions – plans vary by country
🤝 Culture of Inclusion – where everyone can thrive
🏆 Performance culture, global reward & recognition programmes
Skills Required
- Degree in Chemical, Mechanical or Process Engineering
- 3-5 years' experience within the chemical industry
- Safety qualification (e.g. NEBOSH, Certified Functional Safety Engineer)
- Leadership skills and ability to work in a multi-disciplinary environment
- Demonstrated experience in chemical process safety including HAZOP, PHA, and Functional Safety
What We Do
Synthomer is a business-to-business speciality chemicals producer. We create value for all our stakeholders by applying our expertise and innovation capabilities to provide high-performance water-based polymers and ingredients to a wide range of blue-chip customers in multiple attractive end markets. Synthomer are headquartered and stock listed in the UK. We have more than 30 operational sites across Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia including four innovation centres of excellence. The Company employs around 4,200 entrepreneurial, highly skilled employees with the expertise and experience to drive our success worldwide.
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