Department: Health, Safety, and Environment
Reports to: Regional Manager, OHSE and HR
Status: Full-time, onsite
The pay for the role is starting at $25 - $42. Plus bonus, comprehensive benefits, retirement savings plan, paid vacation, and other perks and opportunities.
Purpose:
Reporting to the Regional Manager, Health, Safety & Environment + Human Resources, and working in close partnership with site leadership and operational teams, Health, Safety and Environment supports the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the organization’s HSE management system. The role acts as a site-level subject matter resource for occupational health and safety, environmental compliance, risk reduction, incident prevention, employee engagement, and regulatory readiness across assigned manufacturing facilities.
Working collaboratively with Operations, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and other stakeholders, this position helps embed a proactive safety and environmental culture through visible leadership, effective communication, risk-based decision-making, and practical support to supervisors and employees. The role requires the ability to manage multiple priorities across different locations while maintaining a high level of accuracy in regulatory compliance, documentation, claims management, training coordination, corrective action follow-up, and local WSIB administration.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide day-to-day site HSE support and promote a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture aligned with applicable legislation, internal standards, and recognized management system practices.
- Support the implementation and continuous improvement of HSE policies, procedures, standards, safe work practices, and site-specific programs.
- Conduct and support workplace inspections, hazard assessments, risk assessments, job safety analyses, behavioural observations, and field-level audits to identify hazards and verify controls.
- Track, assign, monitor, and verify completion of corrective and preventive actions arising from inspections, audits, incidents, regulatory visits, employee concerns, and management system reviews.
- Support Joint Health and Safety Committee activities, including meeting preparation, workplace inspections, action tracking, documentation, and follow-up with site leadership.
- Coordinate and participate in internal, external, corporate, customer, insurance, and regulatory HSE audits and inspections, including timely response to findings, recommendations, and Ministry of Labour orders or requirements.
- Support incident, near-miss, spill, property damage, and non-conformance investigations using root cause analysis and ensure corrective actions are meaningful, documented, communicated, and verified for effectiveness.
- Maintain HSE records, dashboards, action logs, training matrices, incident data, inspection reports, and key performance indicators to support trend analysis, leadership reporting, and continuous improvement.
- Coordinate, deliver, and document HSE training, orientations, toolbox talks, safety communications, and competency verification activities for employees, supervisors, contractors, and visitors as required.
- Support contractor safety management, including pre-work requirements, orientations, documentation review, field monitoring, permit coordination, and follow-up on contractor HSE performance.
- Assist with return-to-work, modified work, claims management, accommodation support, and WSIB-related administration in partnership with Human Resources and site leadership.
- Support environmental compliance activities, including waste and hazardous materials management, spill prevention and response, wastewater and stormwater controls, and sustainability initiatives.
- Promote physical and psychological health and safety by supporting respectful, inclusive, hazard-aware, and mentally healthy workplace practices.
- Support emergency preparedness activities, including drills, inspections of emergency equipment, response planning, evacuation readiness, first aid coordination, and business continuity support as assigned.
- Maintain HSE communication materials, postings, bulletins, campaigns, and employee engagement initiatives that reinforce safe behaviours and regulatory awareness.
Qualifications:
- Post-secondary education in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, Human Resources, or a related discipline; equivalent experience may be considered.
- Two years of relevant HSE experience in manufacturing, food processing, industrial, construction, logistics, or a similarly regulated environment.
- Working knowledge of applicable occupational health and safety and environmental legislation, regulations, codes, standards, and recognized industry best practices.
- Knowledge of HSE management system principles, including risk assessment, hierarchy of controls, legal compliance, training, document control, incident investigation, corrective action management, auditing, and continual improvement.
- CRST, CHSC, CRSP, EP, or equivalent professional designation, or active progress toward certification, is considered an asset.
- Experience supporting Joint Health and Safety Committees, workplace inspections, audits, incident investigations, return-to-work programs, and contractor safety programs.
- Strong technical writing, documentation, presentation, facilitation, and adult-learning skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with employees, supervisors, leaders, contractors, and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to influence others, build trust, coach frontline leaders, and support change in a practical and collaborative manner.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, prepare reports, and recommend risk-based improvements.
- High attention to detail, sound judgement, discretion, and ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive employee, medical, claim, investigation, and regulatory information.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and the ability to learn and use HSE management systems, incident reporting tools, learning management systems, and data reporting platforms.
- Ability to travel between facilities, manage competing priorities, work independently, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, multi-site environment.
Gay Lea Foods is a Canadian, dairy farmer‑owned co‑operative with a clear purpose: to enrich life with dairy. Founded in 1958, the co‑operative produces high‑quality dairy products while creating lasting value for farming families, meaningful opportunities for employees, and positive impact in communities across Canada. As a co‑operative, Gay Lea Foods believes that when the business succeeds, its members, people, and communities should succeed along with it. To learn more, visit gaylea.com.
Gay Lea Foods is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity in our workplace.
Reasonable accommodation is available upon request throughout our recruitment and selection process.
Gay Lea Foods may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support aspects of the recruitment process, including screening and assessment.
We are currently accepting applications for this open position.
Thank you for your interest in Gay Lea Foods.
Wishing you all the best with your career search!
Pay: $25.00-$42.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
