Operations and Safety Training Manager

Company Overview

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Inc. is the global leader in thermoset resins. Through a broad range of thermoset technologies and specialty products, Hexion serves and supports customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Hexion materials are found in products that touch nearly every facet of modern living. At Hexion, we believe that leadership begins with integrity, ethics and environmentally sound operations. When you work for Hexion, you are partnering with a company that is not only focused on delivering value but on doing it in a safe, ethical and environmentally responsible manner.

What We Offer

At Hexion, we prioritize providing progressive, inclusive, and competitive benefits that acknowledge the valuable contributions made by our associates while enhancing their overall well-being and promoting a healthy work-life balance. 

• Healthcare, Vision, Dental and Parental Leave
• 3 weeks’ vacation to start
• 401k Match 
• 16 hours paid volunteering time

Our commitment to investing in our employees goes beyond these exceptional benefits, as we also offer continuous training and certification opportunities that enable you to advance your career with Hexion. 

Position Overview

The Operations and Safety Training Manager, is critical to value creation for Hexion and its employees and should be personally motivated by the challenge of building a strong culture of operational excellence and safety for the company.  Ensuring that every Hexion associate has appropriate and effective safety, compliance and technical training for their role, some of the main duties and responsibilities of this position are:

Job Responsibilities

• Leverages best practices, both internally and externally, to develop comprehensive and standardized operator certification and safety/ compliance training programs and learning paths across Hexion facilities that meet all regulatory requirements and promote a culture of safety and operational excellence
• Develop standardized processes and procedures to provide Hexion associates, contractors and visitors with operational and safety-related information such as orientation, on-boarding, computer-based and in-person training sessions, and leadership and behavior-based training 
• Work closely with the Manufacturing, Environmental, Health & Safety and Engineering teams to review existing policies and procedures to ensure they are up to date and effective, and that all training requirements are built into the training curriculum and program
• Planning, organizing and conducting (in cooperation with Learning & Development and/ or outside resources) training sessions   on topics including compliance, safety, operational discipline, behavior-based safety, human and organizational performance and safety leadership skills. Recommend and establish leading and lagging key performance indicators to track effectiveness of operator certification and safety training programs
• Track all safety and operational training to ensure requirements are met, results of learning courses are documented and key performance indicators are readily available to managers 
• Implement a safety and operational training champion program to leverage experience across the organization and establish a culture of continuous learning and improvement 
• Identify and manage third-party operational and safety training content providers, including working with local managers outside the United States to ensure appropriate locally relevant content is available
• Recommend new training methods (e.g. virtual reality, game-based platforms) to enhance the effectiveness and engagement of Hexion operational and safety training programs. 

Competencies

• Strategic thinking, planning and evaluating – taking a long-term view and acting as a catalyst for organizational change.  
• Critical thinking – possessing the knowledge and skills needed to gather data, analyze problems, and develop and implement creative solutions.  
• Negotiating and influencing – ability to persuade others to accept recommendations and work with others towards agreement to drive necessary safety habits and behavior change.  
• Change management – continually improve operational and safety training and support services while maintaining focus, intensity and persistence in the face of competing priorities and interests.  
• Teamwork – encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust and group identity.  
• Leadership and empowerment – ability to influence, motivate and challenge others in the workplace while creating a culture which encourages others to be laser focused on safe work.  
• Emotional intelligence – self-aware of interpersonal style, strengths and blind spots.  
• Flexibility – open to change and new information and a willingness to adapt behaviors and methods to changing conditions.  
• Stress management – sets well defined and realistic personal goals and deals calmly and effectively in the face of high demands.  
• Communication skills – ability to express information in a succinct and organized manner and effectively listens to others and clarifies information as needed

Performance Scorecard for Success

1. CONDUCT AN OPERATIONAL AND SAFETY TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENTWITHIN THE FIRST 90 DAYS 

• Understand existing operator certification and safety training programs in place across Hexion
• Develop a comprehensive learning strategy based on the needs assessment results that will upgrade Hexion’s training programs and practices across all our geographic regions. 
• Develop a project plan for execution against the strategy. 
• Ensure full alignment with all key stakeholders 

2. INSTILL A SAFETY-FIRST MINDSET THROUGHOUT HEXION OPERATIONS AND MANUFACTURING FACILITIES 

• Develop and maintain world class operational and safety training guidelines, practices & metrics 
• Ensure consistent employee training to enforce protocols and minimize risks 
• Lead communications efforts to reinforce the importance of safety within the organization through training programs, including onboarding, orientation, certification, initial and refresher training
• Identify, track and support continuous improvement on critical operational and safety leading and lagging KPIs, including 
• Lost time and recordable incidents
  • Safety training completion rate
  • Increased competency assessment scores
  • Decreased variances to SOP’s 

Minimum Qualifications

• 10 or more years of experience in operational and safety training and management, preferably in manufacturing and/or the chemical industry with a specialized focus in adult learning.  Relevant certifications, such as Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) are preferred.  Additionally, s/he will have working knowledge of OSHA and international safety standards and other applicable laws, as well as excellent communication, leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills.    
• The individual will bring 10 years or more leadership experience and a desire to drive impactful change and improvement in Hexion’s operational discipline and safety culture.   The Operations and Safety Training Director will be critical to value creation for Hexion and its stakeholders and should be personally motivated by the challenge of building and delivering a leading class operational and safety training program for the company with measurable outcomes.  S/he will be experienced in cultural transformation and adult learning strategies.

EDUCATION:  

• The successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in occupational health and safety, industrial hygiene, engineering or a related field.

Other

We are an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, minority status, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any characteristic protected by law.

In order to be considered for this position candidates are required to submit an application for employment through our career site, be at least 18 years of age, willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation as part of the selection process, as well as additional periodic background checks as required by the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) or regulations adopted by the department of Homeland Security or other regulatory agencies.

Candidates are required to have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

If currently an employee of the Company, you must have current satisfactory work performance and in most cases, have been in your current role for 18 months.

Disclaimer: We are not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms/employment agencies for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails to any employee about this position. All resumes submitted by search firms/employment agencies to any employee of the Company via email, the Internet, or in any other form and/or method without a valid written search firm agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of the Company; no fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by the Company as a result of the unsolicited referral or through other means.