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.
Senior safety specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior safety specialist resumes:
- 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.
- Team with market leadership to efficiently resolve EHS relate issues and assist corporate safety in developing or improving safety processes.
- Prepare department to be inspection ready by participating in internal audits and maintaining familiarity with FDA and EMEA require documentation.
- Conduct site specific, LOTO and mobile equipment training.
- Implement LOTO system; including the procedures, training, periodic inspections, labeling, and auditing specifications.
- Utilize a pharmacovigilance workbench to prioritize daily work activities.
- Audit all departments on safety relate documentation and recordkeeping.
Senior safety specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Senior Safety Specialists are proficient in OSHA, Corrective Action, and EHS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Ability to use technology, Detail oriented, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Senior Safety Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- OSHA, 10%
Collaborated with the university bio-safety officer to ensure timely training of new OSHA and human safety concepts.
- Corrective Action, 4%
Conducted incident investigations and established root cause analysis committees that identified causal factors of accidents and implemented appropriate corrective actions.
- EHS, 4%
Teamed with market leadership to efficiently resolve EHS related issues and assisted corporate safety in developing or improving safety processes.
- Regulatory Agencies, 3%
Provided mentor and supervisor review of adverse event reports prior to submission to regulatory agencies.
- Training Programs, 3%
Developed and conducted numerous training programs in support of injury prevention and environmental compliance.
- Safety Policies, 3%
Provide consulting services to field management and supervision in achieving compliance with Contractor safety policies and safety requirements.
Most senior safety specialists use their skills in "osha," "corrective action," and "ehs" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior safety specialist responsibilities here:
Ability to use technology. One of the key soft skills for a senior safety specialist to have is ability to use technology. You can see how this relates to what senior safety specialists do because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to use advanced technology." Additionally, a senior safety specialist resume shows how senior safety specialists use ability to use technology: "prepared department to be inspection ready by participating in internal audits and maintaining familiarity with fda and emea required documentation. "
Detail oriented. Many senior safety specialist duties rely on detail oriented. "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians need to understand and follow safety standards and complex government regulations.," so a senior safety specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior safety specialist responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "insured that contractors were oriented to facility and regulatory ehs procedures. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior safety specialists is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday senior safety specialist duties, as "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to stand for long periods and be able to travel regularly." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted history and physical exams on patients in the poorest provinces and migrant workers on sugar cane fields and agricultural plantations. "
Communication skills. A big part of what senior safety specialists do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to senior safety specialist responsibilities because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to communicate safety instructions and concerns to employees and managers." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior safety specialist tasks: "facilitated communication with the clinical, safety and medical affairs teams for individual clinical trial and post-marketing sae reports. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for senior safety specialist responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior safety specialists all the time, as "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to solve problems in order to design and implement workplace processes and procedures that help protect workers from hazardous conditions." An excerpt from a real senior safety specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior safety specialist does: "directed ehs program for the sub-tier mechanical / electrical group, total facility solutions. "
The three companies that hire the most senior safety specialists are:
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Compare different senior safety specialists
Senior safety specialist vs. Public health internship
A public health internship provides students with a great learning opportunity to put into practice those educational principles and skills learned in the classroom. They will gain a better understanding and appreciation for the duties and responsibilities of full-time professionals in public health. This exposure will provide students with leadership skills and professional development learning opportunities. In addition, students have an opportunity to contribute to various health-related agencies and organizations. The internship location should be at a primary public health agency whose work reflects the best in the industry.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior safety specialists and public health internship. For instance, senior safety specialist responsibilities require skills such as "corrective action," "regulatory agencies," "training programs," and "safety policies." Whereas a public health internship is skilled in "environmental health," "patients," "public health," and "powerpoint." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, public health interns reach similar levels of education than senior safety specialists. Public health interns are 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior safety specialist vs. Safety engineer
The duties of a safety engineer depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the implementation of the safety policies and regulations in a company by conducting regular inspections and maintenance checks, coordinating with department personnel to gather data, assessing risks, and arranging precautionary measures. A safety engineer must also address issues and concerns, responding to them in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, there are instances when they have to lead safety orientations and seminars to maintain a safe and productive environment for everyone.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior safety specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "regulatory agencies," "risk management," "continuous improvement," and "fda." Meanwhile, a safety engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "safety regulations," "fmea," "safety equipment," and "fault tree analysis." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Safety engineers earn similar levels of education than senior safety specialists in general. They're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior safety specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Linsay Hale
Professional Standards Director/Interim Training Division Director, IADLEST Member - International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training
Senior safety specialist vs. Safety officer
A safety officer specializes in maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for employees in a building or establishment. Aside from adhering to the safety standards and regulations within a company, a safety officer also has to craft and improve policies that prioritize the physical and mental health of workers. Furthermore, it is essential to implement safety programs by educating workers on various precautionary measures, performing regular inspections of equipment and machines, and ensuring the proper disposal of any hazardous waste materials.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior safety specialist is likely to be skilled in "continuous improvement," "data entry," "safety performance," and "technical support," while a typical safety officer is skilled in "patients," "patrol," "safety regulations," and "customer service."
Most safety officers achieve a lower degree level compared to senior safety specialists. For example, they're 6.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior safety specialist vs. Safety manager
A safety manager is someone who ensures that a company is compliant and adhering to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines. Safety managers are responsible for planning and implementing OHS policies and programs. They regularly prepare educational seminars and educate employees on various safety-related topics. They conduct enforcement of preventative measures as well as risk assessment. Also, they prepare reports on accidents and violations and determine what caused them. Safety managers must have excellent attention to detail to find the hazards, discover ways to improve conditions, and execute safety programs.
Types of senior safety specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
