Sr. Health & Safety Program Manager

Job Description

Job Title: Sr. Health & Safety Program Manager

Posting Start Date: 1/27/26

Job Description:

Job Information

New Jersey American Water is seeking a self-motivated, passionate health & safety professional to join our team in Plainfield, NJ. In the Sr. Health & Safety Program Manager role, you will drive home our core purpose of producing and distributing a safe, healthy, and reliable resource to our customers and the community. This position will support our Central region in New Jersey through evaluations, investigations, coaching & mentoring, and team collaboration.

Pay Range: $70,690-$118,100/annually

The base salary range represents a good faith salary range for this position. This position is eligible for annual incentive pay and has the opportunity for continued salary growth. If you are hired at American Water your base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as market, geography, skills, education and/or experience. At American Water, we are committed to pay equity.

In addition to compensation, you will be offered a comprehensive benefits package including 401(k), Defined Contribution Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, medical, prescription, dental and vision coverage, plus disability, paid time off, life insurance, voluntary benefits, health and wellness programs and much more!

American Water is also proud to offer employees learning opportunities and work experiences to grow professionally!

Primary Role

Develops and implements delivery and verification of enterprise health and safety programs aligned with Company policy, practices and procedures. This position will work closely with all management levels to assure policies and programs are effectively developed, implemented, communicated and supported throughout the enterprise.

Key Accountabilities

Program Execution (50%)

• Conduct internal safety program evaluations, physical safety inspections, industrial hygiene monitoring for chemical and physical hazards and ergonomic evaluations in office and field environments, develop recommendations and track corrective actions.
• Deliver safety training programs educating employees on safe working practices, appropriate equipment operation, and emergency procedures.
• Evaluate the impact of regulatory changes against existing practices and assists in the implementation of new regulations.
• Develop or update health and safety practices and procedures as needed.
  
  

Technical Support (30%)

• Provides health and safety technical support to field safety staff.
• Conducts and/ or reviews incident investigations and develops corrective action recommendations.
• Gathers, validates and analyzes safety performance statistics (leading and lagging) and makes recommendations for improvements.
• Review results of enterprise safety inspections and, based on data, identify areas for improvement and develop corrective actions.
• Stay abreast of regulatory changes, evaluate impact to the business and develop action plans to address in a timely manner
• Develop inspections checklists and utilize apps and centralized platforms for tracking inspection results, safety performance data and corrective actions enterprise wide.
  
  

Management/ Administration (20%)

• Actively engage mid level management, supervision and hourly employees in the development, implementation, delivery and verification of enterprise health and safety programs
• Actively participate in outside industry organizations that are involved in or promote health and safety for the water sector.
• Support the workers’ compensation management process to assure thorough and efficient claims management and investigation.
• Maintain health and safety training plans, training records and monitor progress towards annual training goals.
• Coordinate and verify enterprise safety recordkeeping and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses.
  
  

Knowledge/Skills

• Ability to influence and work with non-direct reports, peers and management to gain alignment and achieve goals in a complex matrix environment
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules and regulations, operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals and assess impact to the business.
• Ability to write technical reports, prepare presentations and correspondence and to communicate relevant information verbally to all levels of the organization.
• Ability to solve practical problems and respond to employee and public complaints effectively.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form. Must be able to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to create and execute SMART goals and meet deadlines
• Ability to technically manage staff of professionals
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision
• Ability to work well in a cooperative team environment, participate routinely in multi-disciplinary projects and activities
• Ability to recognize and deal appropriately with confidential and sensitive information.
• Knowledge of OSHA, Federal, State and Local regulations as applicable utilities, construction and related industries.
• Ability to generate trust and recognition as a coach and people leader.
  
  

Required Knowledge:

• Knowledge of and familiarity with health and safety program management and OSHA regulatory requirements for construction and general industry with increased opportunities to apply expertise across disciplines or organizational areas.
• Familiarity with safety systems development and implementation
  
  

Desirable Knowledge:

• Utility industry knowledge
• Water industry knowledge a plus
• Forward looking health and safety trends
  
  

Experience/Education

• Seven (7) applicable safety experience in a utility, construction or industrial setting.
• Minimum bachelor’s level degree from an accredited college or university in a safety health related field of study or an equivalent combination of undergraduate education.
• Highly desirable: At least one relevant/related nationally recognized professional Health & Safety certification
  
  

Work Schedule

• Full-time (on-site)
• Monday-Friday, daylight hours
• On-call responsibility
  
  

Travel Requirements

• Approximately 20%-30% overnight travel is anticipated in this position
  
  

Work Environment

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee occasionally works in construction environments, near moving mechanical parts and in outside weather conditions and could include a work environment where possible exposure to physical hazards, weather extremes, wet and/or humid conditions and chemicals exists.
• The ability to wear appropriate personal protective equipment is required.
• The employee occasionally works at elevation, in confined spaces and in a construction environment.
• Use of respiratory protection may be required in certain instances.
• There may also be instances of potential noise exposure.
  
  

Competencies

Champions safety

Collaborates

Cultivates innovation

Customer obsessed

Drives Results

Nimble learning