Safety Specialist

Hawkins, Inc. is a formulator, manufacturer, blender, distributer, and sales agent for thousands of industrial chemicals and reagent grade laboratory chemicals sold to municipalities and businesses throughout the Central United States. Thousands across a variety of industries have depended on Hawkins for the chemical products they need since 1938.

The Safety Specialist serves as a technical resource and leader in the identification, evaluation, and control of occupational health and safety risks across Hawkins’ chemical manufacturing and distribution teams. This role applies risk assessment methodologies to proactively identify hazards and implement effective controls aligned with the Hierarchy of Controls.

This position partners with cross functional teams to design, recommend and verify engineering, administrative, and procedural controls that reduce risk and improve system reliability. The Safety Specialist performs and supports industrial hygiene assessments (air monitoring, exposure assessments, and control verification), ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory and company standards. They will coordinate site level occupational health programs, employee safety training, and participate in safety committee meetings.

This role supports incidents investigations, safety program development/implementation, and continuous improvement initiatives, with a strong focus on prevention, data-driven decision making, and operational integration of safety practices.

• Coach and mentor leaders and employees to ensure compliance with all applicable company and government regulations.
• Lead and support incident investigations and corrective action process. Focusing on root cause analysis and documenting action plans to prevent reoccurrence.
• Proactively seek ways to improve overall employee health and safety performance. Working with leadership, update safety related policies and procedures; review regulations and compare with company policies to ensure compliance; verify that employees are adhering to the company policies and procedures as written.
• Manage Safety Training program including content, delivery and reporting.
• Lead and facilitate hazard reviews and risk assessments for operational tasks, new process development, and process changes.
• Conduct safety assessments and audits at plant locations, communicate findings, and help implement solutions.
• Maintain regulatory compliance obligations (OSHA 300 Logs, reporting, etc.) while driving beyond compliance performance improvements.
• Manage internal/external safety databases and report key metrics and trends to stakeholders.
• Conducts/coordinates industrial hygiene assessments; developing and recommending exposure control strategies. Determines compliance with appropriate government regulations and laws.
• Assist with Emergency Response Team structure and facilitate training and facility emergency response drills.
• Complete other tasks and compliance responsibilities. Perform other miscellaneous related duties, as needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, or equivalent experience
• Minimum five years’ experience in a safety or regulatory role required
• Process Safety Management experience preferred
• OSHA 30 and/or OSHA 511 coursework preferred
• HAZWOPER and Incident Commander experience required
• ASP/CSP certification preferred ISO Certification knowledge preferred (9001, 14001, 45001)
• Training development and delivery experience
• Excellent communication and time management skills
• Excellent follow-up and organizational skills
• Ability to work well both autonomously and as part of a collaborative group
• Ability to source information from internal and external sources
• Ability to read, interpret and present safety data
• Proficient at using Microsoft Office software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook

• Sit, stand, bend, reach, walk for extended periods of time in an office or manufacturing setting
• Work in manufacturing areas where conditions may include odors, varying temperatures, wet floors, and moderate levels of noise
• Wear personal protective equipment such as a respirator and chemical resistant suit
• Ascen…