Job Title: Environmental Health & Safety Manager I
Jackson, Michigan, United States
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Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.
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Why work for Dawn Foods?
PEOPLE. PRODUCTS. CUSTOMERS.
Why should you apply? We invest in you!
- Industry-leading health insurance on Day 1!
- Competitive Pay
- 401(K) + company match
- 10 Paid Company Holidays
- Paid Time Off
- Professional training
- Family-owned business with over 100 years in service
- An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce
Shift Schedule: This is a Monday–Friday ‘Day’ shift position supporting a 24-hour manufacturing facility. Occasional off-shift and weekend on-call support will be required.
Job Purpose and Overview
The EHS Manager I is responsible for leading and executing the plant’s environmental, health, and safety (EHS) program. This role provides both strategic oversight and hands-on leadership to ensure safe, compliant, and environmentally responsible operations across the site. Partnering closely with plant leadership and frontline teams, the EHS Manager I drives a proactive safety culture by identifying and mitigating risks, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and implementing effective EHS programs and initiatives. This position maintains a strong presence on the plant floor coaching team members, leading incident prevention efforts, and reinforcing accountability throughout the site. The EHS Manager I is accountable for the overall performance and continuous improvement of site EHS programs, leveraging best practices, and monitoring key performance indicators to achieve sustainable safety and environmental results.
What will you do as an EHS Manager I at Dawn Foods?
- Champion and sustain a 24/7 safety culture by driving engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement across all levels of the organization.
- Lead a proactive, risk-based approach to hazard identification and mitigation to protect team members, the community, and the environment.
- Develop, implement, and manage environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs, policies, and training to ensure compliance with company standards and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee site environmental compliance programs, including air permits, stormwater (SWPPP), spill prevention (SPCC), wastewater discharge, Tier II reporting, universal waste, and SARA Title III reporting, ensuring accurate and timely submissions to regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and state authorities.
- Support compliance with applicable National Fire Protection Association standards and insurance requirements, including combustible dust, flammable liquid storage, and property loss prevention programs.
- Lead thorough incident and near-miss investigations using root cause analysis methodologies; implement and track corrective and preventive actions to mitigate recurrence.
- Promote knowledge sharing by communicating best practices, lessons learned, and corrective actions across the manufacturing network.
- Facilitate and maintain records for all EHS training programs including onboarding, new content, regulatory, and ongoing refresher courses
- Coach and mentor EHS committee members and site leaders through inspections, behavioral and conditional observations, and risk assessments.
- Drive EHS performance through key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets:
- Reduce or eliminate workplace hazards and improve safe work practices.
- Monitor leading and lagging indicators to reduce injury and illness rates.
- Ensure ongoing compliance with environmental program requirements.
- Manage workers’ compensation cases in partnership with the corporate team, supporting effective case management and return-to-work programs.
- Manage the site EHS budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources to meet compliance and improvement goals.
- Lead and/or support internal and external audits to ensure compliance with OSHA (MIOSHA), EPA (EGLE), FDA (MDARD), and IFS standards.
- Manage DOT compliance with shipment of hazardous materials.
- Provide EHS expertise and guidance for capital projects and continuous improvement (CI) initiatives to ensure safe design and regulatory compliance.
- Model and promote company values, including Dawn Values and Circle of Excellence, in all aspects of leadership and decision-making.
What Does It Take to be an EHS Manager I at Dawn Foods?
Below are the minimum qualifications to be a fit for this job
- High School diploma or GED required
- Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Engineering, or a related field preferred
- Minimum 3 years of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or operations environment, including at least 1 year in a leadership or supervisory role, or an equivalent combination of education and certifications.
- Working knowledge of federal, state, and local EHS regulations (e.g., OSHA/MIOSHA, EPA/EGLE) and their practical application in a plant setting.
- Proven ability to develop, implement, and improve EHS programs, policies, and training.
- Demonstrated ability to lead incident investigations and conduct actionable RCA’s
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and EHS systems for reporting and documentation.
- Ability to effectively communicate, coach, and engage team members, vendors, and contractors across all levels, both internally and externally.
- Certification, or progress toward obtaining an EHS-related certification (e.g., ASP, CSP) preferred
- Experience in food manufacturing or a regulated environment with standards such as FDA or GFSI/BRCGS preferred
- Off-Shift response as needed to address EHS concerns for a 24/7 manufacturing facility
- Strong Leadership: Actively engages on the plant floor to coach safe behaviors and reinforce EHS expectations.
- Execution: High level of accountability, organization, and attention to detail.
- Communication: Effective communication and training skills, with the ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical applications.
- Hazard Recognition & Problem Solving: Identify risks and reduce exposure.
- Collaboration: Partners with all departments to support safe and compliant operations.
- Time Management: Prioritizes objectives and drive results in a fast-paced environment.
Physical Demands & Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those characteristics that a Team Member must endure to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Physical duties involved in performing this position include, but are not limited to, lifting, pushing, pulling, walking, sitting, bending, standing, crouching, stooping, kneeling, climbing, reaching overhead, and maintaining balance.
- Ability to use hands to grasp, move or utilize objects, tools or controls, reach with hands and arms, communicate clearly, and use senses such as sight, hearing, and touch.
- Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and regularly lift 5-10 pounds
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to focus.
- Tolerate potential allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, egg, dairy, wheat, soy and sesame.
- Position requires constant and continuous support of production and other departments with time spent both in an office environment and plant environment.
- Tasks may be performed inside and outside of the facility during various seasons with varying temperature ranges, noise levels, and exposure to chemicals, fumes or airborne particles.
- Work within the requirements of food manufacturing including GMP guidelines, PPE requirements, Quality standards, and Safety procedures.
If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click "Apply.”
About Our Benefits
Dawn is proud to employ the top talent in the baking industry, and we reward our people with comprehensive health and well-being coverage, competitive compensation packages, and award-winning benefit offerings. We also help protect your future financial health with a generous 401(k) matching program that provides additional retirement funds and many tools and resources on financial wellness. Dawn encourages professional growth through tuition assistance and educational programs, and we are always searching for ways to improve our industry-leading services and benefits.
Compensation
The base salary range for this position is $80,330 - $125,320 with bonus eligibility.
#LI-Hybrid #LI-JR1
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An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other status or condition that is protected by applicable law.
Requisition ID: 37922