Job Description

• Exciting opportunity with an innovative, global and multiple award-winning Animal Health Organization.

• Bring your entrepreneurial curiosity and learning spirit into a career of purpose, personal growth and leadership

• Be part of Global EHS organization and work in close collaboration with site leadership team.

Our Animal Health division is a trusted global leader in veterinary medicine, dedicated to the health and well-being of animals. We are a global team of professionals working together to make a positive difference in animal care and the world’s food supply and have a deep sense of responsibility towards our customers, consumers, animals, society and our planet. We offer one of our industry’s most innovative portfolio of products, services and technologies that serve to prevent, treat, and control diseases across all major farm and companion animal species.
Our Manufacturing & Supply Division is committed to be the most trusted supplier of bio-pharmaceuticals worldwide. Our facilities, along with our external contractors, suppliers, and partners, create an interdependent global manufacturing network that’s committed to delivering a high quality, reliable supply to customers and patients on time, every time.

Role Overview:

As the AD- Health, Safety and Environment, you will lead a team that is accountable for providing and managing an efficient and effective health, safety and environmental management system for the Upper Hutt and Whiteman’s Valley facilities. You will direct HSE programs and influences site leadership to assure regulatory compliance, achieve continuous performance improvement, and integrate HSE performance objectives into standard work processes. Develop strategies to achieve these goals in alignment with site business goals and values. Develop and drives the safety culture and programs.

In this role, you will sit within the Global Safety & Environment organization and reports to the Director of Safety & Environment for the Asia Pacific Region.

What will you do in this role:

Leadership and Strategy - Be part of a developing High Performing Site Leadership Team through:

• Developing / adapting site strategy to identify and prioritize key site projects and KPI’s and track performance in senior leadership meetings.

• Sponsor site strategic workstreams and own translation of workstream strategy to specific site and department targets and projects.

• Continuous reflection with the Site Leadership Team to improve collaboration and Ways of Working and actively sponsor and participate in activities that build on a sense of belonging across the site

Manage Health, Safety and Environmental compliance by:

• Acting with considerable independence, directing professional HSE staff activities to ensure site wide HSE compliance and drive personal ownership and accountability for all employees.

• Coach site operational leaders to be visible HSE advocates in perspective areas of responsibility. Ensure comprehensive change management of all HSE and site initiatives to ensure ongoing compliance.

• Implement corporate HSE strategy at the site operations level: evaluate numerous competing initiatives, ensure robust process, systems, and resources are in place for all areas of accountability, complete internal audits and self-assessments to monitor program effectiveness.

• Assure completion of all regulatory submissions, notifications, inspections, etc. required to maintain compliance with government and local HSE requirements.

• Analyze and communicate (site, regional, and corporate levels) performance against expectations; provide feedback, establish and track required actions to improve. Lead development and ensure delivery of required HSE training programs.

• Monitor and influence local regulatory climate, negotiate and advocate with HSE agencies and external stakeholders. Develop guidance to site operations on impact of new regulations and how to meet new requirements.

• Collaborate with site senior management and legal representatives.

• Recruit, lead, and develop staff to achieve these outcomes and metrics.

• Interact frequently with the site senior leadership team and other senior level executives within the global business.

• Generate, analyze and communicate HSE metrics for the site.

• Communicate clearly and concisely, complex technical and regulatory information to both senior level leaders and shop floor employees at the site.

• Exercise good judgment to discern critical issues and events for escalation to senior level management.

What should you have:

Essential

• Degree or diploma in a Health, Safety, Environmental or related discipline.

• Minimum of 10 years professional work experience in vaccine manufacturing or a related field e.g. Pharmaceutical Manufacture, Dairy Industry, Brewing, Petrochemical or Pulp and Paper manufacture coupled with 7 years applied professional HSE work experience.

• At least 3 years of demonstrated experience managing direct reports, attracting talent & building a strong team.

Desirable

• Strong leadership and change leadership skills.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Experience with GMP, GLP or ISO 9000 in a Production environment.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

WHO WE ARE

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.
We are a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Our mission is built on the simple premise that if we “follow the science” and that great medicines can make a significant impact to our world. And we believe that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to world-class science can succeed by inventing medicine and vaccine innovations that make a difference for patients across the globe.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us — and start making your impact today.
We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Required Skills:

Animal Biotechnology, Animal Biotechnology, Budget Management, Business Management, Business Operations, Change Management, Chemical Management, Communication, Continual Improvement Process, Customer Experience Management, Customer Loyalty, Customer Service, Decision Making, Driving Continuous Improvement, EHS Compliance, EHS Program Management, Emergency Response, Environmental Audits, Environmental Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Risk Assessments, GMP Compliance, Incident Investigations, Industrial Hygiene, Market Penetration, Oral Communications {+ 4 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

11/6/2025

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.