Job Description:
Since 1987 Valley Pride, Inc. is one of California's leading harvesting companies of high quality produce and is headquartered in Castroville, California, near Monterey Bay. Valley Pride, Inc. has harvesting operations throughout California and Arizona.
The Safety/Food Safety Specialist will support the execution and implementation of Valley Pride Inc. Safety & Food Safety programs. Coordinates and implements safety, injury and illness prevention programs, conducts related training, investigates accidents and identifies possible causes, recommends corrective action and provides general support, assuring operations is adhering to all applicable Food Safety policies.
Will report to the Human Resource Manager located in Castroville, CA. Full-time, year-round, Monday - Friday, with occasional on-call weekends and holidays; occasional travel to Coachella, CA, Yuma, AZ and other business operation regions will be required. Will work independently with limited supervision.
All of our opportunities include broad responsibilities for continually improving the processes. This job description is intended to describe the general nature of the work performed by employees in this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all the job responsibilities.
Safety
- Provide assistance and resource for corporate, federal, state and local regulatory compliance and required documentation.
- Coordination and administration of company safety programs to include, but not limited to, the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), Return to Work Program and Hazard Communication.
- Inspect and evaluate workplace environments, equipment, and practices, in order to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
- Develop, conduct and facilitate safety training and education programs, and demonstrate the use of safety equipment and machinery.
- Collaborate with safety management, maintenance, facilities and respective departments to institute control and remedial measures for hazardous and potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
- Investigate accidents to identify causes or determine how to prevent recurrence, make recommendations for corrective action and provide follow up related training.
- Provide employer level investigation for workers’ compensation claim, defense litigation and/or regulatory request for investigation.
- Implement Post Injury Management with Return-to-Work interactive process with injured employee(s), supervisor and Workers Compensation Manager.
- Provide on-boarding safety orientations to newly hired or promoted employees and develop materials for these presentations.
- Conduct crew visitations, address concerns regarding safety, food safety, workers’ compensation insurance benefits, employee relations or other concerns.
- Serve as a member of the safety board meetings and activities.
Food Safety
- Coordinate and enforce current policies and programs that provide guidance and education on food safety and food defense.
- Coordinate and oversee third-party audits as well as in-house inspections of fields.
- Food safety recordkeeping.
- Assist with mock recalls.
- Serve as a Food Safety Board Member.
General
- Assist with governmental inspections and independent audits.
- Support and back up the existing H-2A Program when necessary.
- Support all aspects of Human Resources team activities or execute other projects or process improvements as assigned.
- Maintain confidentiality, i.e., HIPPA laws.
Compensation/Salary:
DOE
Requirements:
- Minimum of 3 – 5 years experience related in safety, workers’ compensation and human resources, preferably in an agricultural environment. Strong knowledge of current OSHA regulations, IIPP and compliance requirements.
- Bilingual fluency in English & Spanish is required. This includes reading, writing legibly and communicating clearly and concisely. Must be able to communicate issues in a constructive manner and handle difficult and/or confidential situations in a professional and confidential manner.
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of applications and other HRIS systems is required. Familiarity of Famous is highly desired.
- Valid class “C” California Driver’s license is required and must be insurable; possess or ability to obtain a valid passport for international unrestricted travel to Mexico is highly desired.
Education:
- Bachelors Degree in Occupational Health & Safety or related field preferred but not required.
Skills:
The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Ability to work in an office environment, often sitting for long periods of time; ability to use telephone, computer keyboard, fax, photocopy machine and other clerical and office equipment.
- Must have ability to travel to office, cooler, field locations and various domestic and international locations to meet with employees, clients and vendors;
- Majority of time spent working in an office environment often sitting, standing, walking, talking, kneeling, hearing, using hands to handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls and reach with hands and arms. Ability to perform other functions such as standing, walking, sitting, twisting and carrying objects for at least 8 – 10 hours per day. Ability to stoop, reach, and walk and other physical activities associated with an office and field environment; lift 30 pounds without undue physical exertion.
- Requires sufficient sight and hearing to perform all duties; ability to carry out defined procedures and duties with specific instructions. Vision abilities required by this job close vision and the ability to adjust focus; turning, reaching, climbing stairs, operating computers and other physical activities related to the office environment for long periods of time; the noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet.
- Working conditions may include an outdoor weather conditions, indoor cold room warehouse environment, heavy machinery, forklift traffic and loud noises.
Ideal Candidate:
- Accountability: Ability to accept responsibility and account for his/her actions. Self motivated and ability to work with limited supervision; must be able to work both independently and as part of a team; able to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment; capability to manage multiple high visibility projects simultaneously.
- Accuracy: Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
- Analytical Skills: Ability to use thinking and reasoning to solve a problem. Ability to work both independently and manage a project from its initiation to completion with minimal supervision;
- Applied learning: Ability to participate in needed learning activities in a way that makes the most of the learning experience.
- Assertiveness: Ability to act in a self-confident manner to facilitate completion of a work assignment or to defend a position or idea.
- Communication, Oral: Ability to communicate effectively with others using the spoken word.
- Detail-oriented: Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task.
- Ethical: Ability to demonstrate conduct conforming to a set of values and accepted standards. Must be able to maintain effective working relationships in a cross-cultural environment with employees, supervisors, customers and peers.
- Organized: Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.
- Presentation Skills: Ability to effectively present information publicly. Excellent presentation, analytical, and decision-making skills; ability to learn new duties with minimal repetition; prior experience managing vendors and/or project management skills preferred.
- Safety Awareness: Ability to identify and correct conditions that affect employee safety.
- Technical Aptitude: Ability to comprehend complex technical topics and specialized information.
