Title: Safety and Health Coordinator

Location: Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Position Overview

The Western Sugar Cooperative has a challenging opportunity for a Safety and Health Professional. This position is responsible for coordinating the safety and health systems for all Western Sugar Terminals in Nebraska and Colorado. This person will be asked to lead a significant change process using process tools and metrics like human performance, behavior-based safety, root cause analysis, and safety GAP analysis — with the goal of identifying, eliminating, and sustaining internal and external risk mitigation for the protection of Western Sugar Cooperative employees, facilities, and locations that we operate. The person must be very hands-on and work side by side with people to create a culture of safety and health, taking the lead in working closely with the terminals to build a safety-minded culture.

Essential Functions

• Be a safety leader with solid behaviors and demonstrated leadership
• Deploy tools and techniques to implement and improve behaviors such as preparedness, self-sufficiency, accountability, problem solving, and communication at the supervisor, lead, mechanic, operator, and seasonal employee level
• Must be a self-motivated, self-directed safety leader who can step in, assess our current systems, and drive meaningful change. This person must be comfortable taking initiative, engaging employees at all levels, and building a safety culture through action, communication, and accountability.
• Coach others in the application of safe behaviors and processes to build a high-performance safety culture
• Facilitate and support the facility Safety Committee

Programs & Compliance

• Promote, update, and manage the health & safety programs for all terminal facilities
• Use Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodology to mitigate and eliminate identified risks
• Maintain all safety and health regulatory records in compliance with OSHA, EPA, and applicable state and local regulations
• Stay current with changes to federal, state, and local safety regulations and proactively communicate impacts to operations leadership
• Ensure compliance with Process Safety Management (PSM) or applicable chemical handling regulations where relevant to sugar processing and storage operations

Training & Onboarding

• Develop and assist terminal supervisors and leads with training employees in health and safety expectations, including but not limited to HAZCOM, LOTO, Confined Space, forklift operations, and facility-specific programs
• Support new employee and contractor onboarding with facility-specific safety orientation

Incident Management

• Ensure appropriate and prompt reporting of injuries and incidents to Western Sugar Cooperative management and governmental authorities as required
• Oversee workers' compensation case management in coordination with HR, including return-to-work programs and modified duty assignments
• Manage and coordinate the facility's emergency response and crisis management plans, including participation in mock drills and tabletop exercises

Monitoring & Reporting

• Develop and assist the facilities with implementing and tracking proactive safety measures and appropriate behavioral initiatives
• Manage and monitor plant performance against Western Sugar Cooperative health and safety guidelines
• Track, analyze, and report leading and lagging safety performance indicators (e.g., near-miss rates, first aid events, TRIR, DART) to management on a regular basis
• Lead the facility in coordinating and conducting safety inspections, sampling, monitoring, and job hazard analyses
• Support and maintain the facilities' annual Safety and Health Action Plan

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely and collaboratively with all internal and external stakeholders: management, local safety teams, local regulatory agencies, and local emergency planning committees
• Provide technical safety input for capital projects and process improvements

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred, with an emphasis or degree in Health and Safety
• Professional certifications such as ASP (Associate Safety Professional), CSP (Certified Safety Professional), or CSHM (Certified Safety and Health Manager) are a plus
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry certification preferred

Experience

• 2-3 years of experience preferred; open to candidates with relevant education but limited field experience
• Demonstrated experience driving improvements in safety and health outcomes
• Experience using root cause analysis, behavior-based safety techniques, and safety auditing
• Experience in food processing, agricultural, manufacturing, or industrial environments preferred

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent verbal, written, group facilitation, and presentation skills
• Proficient computer skills (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, safety management software)
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
• Strong customer-focused mindset
• Solid leadership and influencing skills
• Friendly, results-oriented, and collaborative
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus, given workforce demographics common in agricultural processing facilities
• Ability to work in varying environmental conditions, including outdoor settings, confined spaces, and industrial plant environments

Travel Requirements:

• Up to 50%

Pay: $60,000.00 - $72,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person