EHS Advisor

This is a globally recognised organisation operating across more than 60 countries with tens of thousands of employees worldwide. In Australia, they have a long-established presence with a significant manufacturing and maintenance facility in Melbourne's south-east, one of the most substantial operations of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. The site produces and services critical infrastructure for Australian operators and is a large, active, and complex industrial environment with a well-established workforce and strong union representation.

THE ROLE

This is a genuine senior advisory position, sitting as 2IC to the Site Safety Manager. The person in this role will be expected to operate with real autonomy across a busy and demanding manufacturing site facilitating risk management processes, coaching leaders and teams, and building visible, trusted relationships with the workforce at every level. When the Site Safety Manager is absent, this person steps in.

The organisation is clear about what it needs: someone who can walk onto a complex site, earn credibility quickly, and drive meaningful change in safety culture and behaviour. The leadership team has a clear mandate to get on with the work. All key stakeholders are accessible on-site, and there is genuine support to make things happen. There is a lot to do, and the right person will relish that. This role is available as a permanent appointment (ASAP start).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Facilitate risk assessment and risk management processes across the site, engaging teams of varied experience and maturity
• Drive tangible, practical control capture — not paper compliance
• Conduct safety inspections, audits, and incident investigations including root cause analysis and corrective action management
• Deliver tool box talks and safety briefings to the production workforce
• Review and approve SWMS; manage contractor safety requirements and inductions
• Engage with Health and Safety Representatives and participate in safety committees
• Coach team leaders and site managers on what good looks like in practice
• Act as Site Safety Manager in the absence of the Site Safety Manager

THE ESSENTIALS

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on EHS experience in a high-risk industry - construction, heavy manufacturing, mining, logistics, or critical services
• Confidence facilitating risk management and risk assessment processes with mixed audiences
• Strong communication skills - able to engage credibly from the shop floor to the leadership team
• Demonstrated ability to coach and build capability in others, not just manage compliance
• Resilience and the interpersonal presence to work effectively in a unionised environment
• Ability to validate and strengthen safety controls on the ground, not just on paper
• Cert IV in Work Health and Safety minimum; Diploma preferred
• Rail experience is an advantage but is not required

THE BENEFITS

This organisation takes the health, wellbeing, and development of its people seriously. Employees have access to a structured wellbeing program, a global learning and development platform, and genuine opportunities to grow within a large and complex international business. The site itself is well-resourced, with on-site parking and public transport access directly outside.

NEXT STEPS 

If this sounds like the right environment for your experience and your next career move, we'd like to hear from you. Apply with your current CV and a brief note on your background in high-risk environments. Applications are reviewed as received.

Alternatively call us direct, for a confidential discussion

James German | 0481 606 899 | james.german@zenergygroup.com.au