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Senior safety specialist vs health and safety manager

The differences between senior safety specialists and health and safety managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior safety specialist, becoming a health and safety manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a health and safety manager has an average salary of $85,606, which is higher than the $70,067 average annual salary of a senior safety specialist.

The top three skills for a senior safety specialist include OSHA, corrective action and EHS. The most important skills for a health and safety manager are EHS, corrective action, and safety program.

Senior safety specialist vs health and safety manager overview

Senior Safety SpecialistHealth And Safety Manager
Yearly salary$70,067$85,606
Hourly rate$33.69$41.16
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs15,70671,325
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4542
Years of experience62

What does a senior safety specialist do?

A senior safety specialist is in charge of designing and developing safety measures and protocols in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around understanding every procedure and operations, identifying and assessing risks, examining existing safety policies to determine areas needing improvement, and implementing the company's safety policies and regulations. They may also investigate incidents and devise strategies to prevent them from happening again. Furthermore, as a senior safety specialist, it is essential to serve as a mentor to other safety officers, assisting them in creating programs to maintain a safe and productive work environment.

What does a health and safety manager do?

Health and Safety Managers oversee the company's compliance with occupational health and safety guidelines set by both governing bodies and company policies. They create company policies based on guidelines released by regulatory bodies. They also ensure that everyone follows these policies in the office. Health and safety managers are in charge of inspecting the workplace and ensuring no health hazards in the area. They are also in charge of signing off on materials and equipment used in the office to ensure that they are safe to use. Health and Safety Managers train health and safety officers to ensure that the same standard is applied to the department.

Senior safety specialist vs health and safety manager salary

Senior safety specialists and health and safety managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Safety SpecialistHealth And Safety Manager
Average salary$70,067$85,606
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $108,000Between $62,000 And $117,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaLouisiana
Best paying companyArkemaThe Walt Disney Company
Best paying industry-Energy

Differences between senior safety specialist and health and safety manager education

There are a few differences between a senior safety specialist and a health and safety manager in terms of educational background:

Senior Safety SpecialistHealth And Safety Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorOccupational Safety And HealthBusiness
Most common collegeSan Diego State UniversityStanford University

Senior safety specialist vs health and safety manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior safety specialists' and health and safety managers' demographics:

Senior Safety SpecialistHealth And Safety Manager
Average age4542
Gender ratioMale, 73.1% Female, 26.9%Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 9.6% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage7%4%

Differences between senior safety specialist and health and safety manager duties and responsibilities

Senior safety specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage all asbestos relate incidents/clean-ups.
  • Assist all pump stations in interpretation of OSHA regulations and implementation of proper safety procedures.
  • Create electrical procedures and training both classroom and hands on to comply with NFPA 70E.
  • Participate in internal and external audits including FDA audits and preparing complaint files/records for the audits, accordingly.
  • Collaborate with the university bio-safety officer to ensure timely training of new OSHA and human safety concepts.
  • Key management and operations lead focuse on plant functional and tactical EHS operations in chemical manufacturing environment.
  • Show more

Health and safety manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead district to earn distinction as first location in the company to adhere to rigorous EPA guidelines for hazardous materials handling.
  • Lead EHS management systems audits, conduct industrial hygiene evaluations, coordinate MSDS development and deliver EHS site-specific training.
  • Focuse on achieving the highest levels of HSE performance through behavior-base initiatives, auditing, mentoring and expeditiously implementing change.
  • Work with business units to identify opportunities for EHS improvement and develop and implement effective EHS management systems and best practices.
  • Assess payloads to assure compliance with NASA safety requirements.
  • Perform hazard analyses and safety assessments of NASA rocket motor tests, industrial facilities and operations.
  • Show more

Senior safety specialist vs health and safety manager skills

Common senior safety specialist skills
  • OSHA, 10%
  • Corrective Action, 4%
  • EHS, 4%
  • Regulatory Agencies, 3%
  • Training Programs, 3%
  • Safety Policies, 3%
Common health and safety manager skills
  • EHS, 6%
  • Corrective Action, 5%
  • Safety Program, 5%
  • Continuous Improvement, 5%
  • Management System, 4%
  • EPA, 3%

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