Health Safety & Environmental Manager (HSE Manager)

Position Title: 

Health Safety & Environmental Manager (HSE Manager) 

Pay Rate:

$101,000- $134,600

Multiple factors, including Individual experience, skills, and abilities will determine where an employee is ultimately placed in the pay/PL range.  Variable pay may provide additional opportunities for financial awards. This job is eligible to participate in IP’s short–term incentive plan.

Physical Location:

Henderson Mill

1500 Commonwealth Drive
Henderson, KY 42420-4478

The Job You Will Perform:

The Mill HSE Manager is the leader of the Environmental, Health, and Safety programs, policies, and procedures at the Henderson Mill.  The HSE Manager is responsible for all facets of day-to-day operations for the environment, health, and safety department.   This includes responsibility for safety, environmental compliance, employee engagement, process productivity, efficiency, area financial performance, and quality for the HSE department.  Furthermore, the HSE manager interfaces directly with community leaders and regulatory agencies to represent the mill within the community.  This position reports directly to the Mill Manager and is a member of the mill’s lead team.   

The Skills You Will Bring:

The HSE Manager will be heavily involved in a broad spectrum of areas including operations, maintenance, and people. 

• Lead and continuously improve site Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) systems by engaging employees, contractors, and suppliers; reinforcing safe behaviors; ensuring compliance with company standards, OSHA regulations, and the IP Safety Excellence culture. 
• Develop, implement, and maintain safety programs, policies, procedures, and manuals in alignment with International Paper standards and all applicable local, state, and federal regulations, including regulatory reporting and permitting. 
• Build strong partnerships with employees and business partners to promote a culture of Safety Excellence that prioritizes both physical and psychological safety. 
• Conduct field observations, job audits, field verification of critical controls, and safety inspections (routine and formal) to ensure proper hazard controls are in place and that approved plans, permits, and procedures are followed. Track corrective actions through completion. 
• Actively intervene and promote a strong stop-work culture to prevent unsafe conditions, behaviors, injuries, environmental impacts, or property damage. 
• Lead incident investigations (injuries, near misses, and occupational illnesses), ensuring root cause identification, documentation, and effective corrective action implementation and verification. 
• Lead and manage the Workers’ Compensation program, including claims oversight, return-to-work coordination, and trend analysis to drive injury reduction and cost control. 
• Recommend and support engineering, process, and product improvements to reduce risk related to chemical, physical, and ergonomic hazards. 
• Oversee industrial hygiene programs, including coordination of contracted services and testing (air quality, noise, temperature, chemical exposure). 
• Develop and deliver safety training programs for employees and contractors, including onboarding, regulatory training, hands-on evaluations, toolbox talks, and pre-job safety planning. 
• Review and approve safety requirements for new equipment, process changes, facility modifications, and contractor work scopes to ensure risks are identified and mitigated prior to execution. 
• Serve as the primary HSE resource for employees, contractors and business partners, ensuring adherence to safety standards, professional expectations, and company values. 
• Track, analyze, and report safety performance trends; address repeated non-compliance, and drive continuous improvement in safety in the mill. 
• Partner with operations and maintenance teams to sustain Safety Excellence and maintain a strong, visible leadership presence in the field. 
• Support capital projects, outage coordination, and cross-functional HSE initiatives to optimize mill performance. 
• Drive continuous improvement through sustainable HSE management systems, process innovation, and performance optimization, including contributing to budgeting efforts and year-over-year cost savings. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS / WORKING ENVIRONMENT 

• Must be able to wear all required safety equipment 
• Noise levels in excess of 90 dB 
• Heat in excess of 100°F occasionally 
• Working environment is 24/7—ability to be on-call as need and/or required 
• Ability to work on concrete, and periodically move equipment/tools weighing up to 50 pounds 

REQUIRED SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE:

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety or Industrial Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, related engineering discipline or equivalent experience.    

• 5 years construction supervision or project management or 5 years heavy industrial contractor management (Pulp & Paper, Power, Refining, Steel or Chemical Industry).  

Preferred:  

• 5-10 years Safety experience at a paper mill and/or related business experience w/ experience managing heavy industrial contractors and suppliers.  

• Strong Technical understanding of Federal and State Safety and Health regulations.  

• Completion of The OSHA 500 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry  

Preferred Certifications:  

• Rigging, Scaffolding/Trenching, NFPA 70E, (PSM) Process Safety Management, HAZMAT  

• OHSA 30 Construction or completion of the OSHA 500 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety & Health Standards for the Construction Industry.  

Desired Skills 

Successful candidate should have the ability to: 

• Work closely with local community leaders to present the mill as a good corporate citizen for safety and environmental stewardship 

• Instill safety as a core value within the mill team and effectively communicate a shared vision for safety 

• Develop thorough knowledge of mill equipment and systems quickly 

• Utilize excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate to groups and individuals at all levels 

• Ability to relate well to peer group and influence and support mill lead team to deliver on multiple obligations including those in the HSE area 

• Approach positional responsibilities in an inclusive manner by engaging all team members in area, department, and mill 

• Exhibit the characteristics of the IP leadership model (Character, Capability, Catalyst) 

• Utilize strong organizational skills to handle multiple tasks effectively 

CAREER ARCHITECT COMPETENCIES 

Customer Focus                      Organizing                                  Planning  

Priority Setting                          Process Management               Managing Through Systems Dealing with Ambiguity               Developing Direct Reports  Directing Others 

Integrity and Trust                  Listening                                     Motivating Others       

Drive for Results                      Building Effective Teams              Understanding Others            

Action Oriented                        Technical/Functional Skills              Command Skills          

Conflict Management            Timely Decision Making              Decision Quality 

Learning on the Fly                Managerial Courage              Managing & Measuring Work 

Problem Solving                       Standing Alone