HSE Manager- Palestine, TX

Verdant Specialty Solutions•Palestine, TX

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Verdant Specialty Solutions is seeking an HSE Manager to lead health, safety, and environmental performance at its Palestine, Texas manufacturing facility. This is a highly visible, plant-facing leadership role requiring daily presence on the production floor and close work with operators, supervisors, plant leadership, and other teams. The manager will build a proactive safety culture through frontline engagement, behavior-based safety, coaching, and real-time risk management, integrating safety into production rather than treating it as a separate compliance function. The role owns site safety systems and risk management, workforce training and development, incident investigation, environmental and regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement. It also partners with Operations, Maintenance, and Quality, supports Management of Change and capital project safety, and adapts corporate HSE initiatives to site-specific needs. The work environment includes exposure to chemicals, noise, and industrial operations; PPE is required. The role involves frequent walking, stair climbing, field observations, participation in incident response and emergencies, and occasional travel of 5–10%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Biology, or a related field.
Minimum 3 years of experience in a chemical or industrial environment.
Strong knowledge of OSHA and EPA regulations.
Experience with environmental permitting and reporting.
Familiarity with process safety and industrial hygiene principles.
Proven ability to lead safety initiatives in a plant environment.
Strong field presence and ability to influence at all levels.
Coaching mindset and ability to change behaviors, not just enforce rules.
Deep understanding of industrial safety and risk management.
Ability to balance regulatory compliance with operational realities.
Strong investigative and root cause analysis skills.
Effective communication across frontline teams and leadership.
Independent, action-oriented problem-solving ability.

Nice To Haves

7 or more years of experience in a chemical or industrial environment.
Experience with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.

Responsibilities

Maintain a strong daily presence on the production floor and engage operators and supervisors.
Observe, coach, and reinforce safe behaviors in real time; intervene to correct unsafe actions using a coaching-based approach.
Build trust with frontline teams and promote a strong stop-work culture.
Identify behavioral trends and address systemic risks.
Design and deliver safety training monthly and as needed, and improve training based on incidents and observations.
Coach supervisors to reinforce safety expectations across shifts.
Lead incident investigations focused on root cause and human factors.
Drive near-miss reporting and a learning culture.
Oversee job safety analysis and hazard identification processes.
Ensure the effectiveness of Permit to Work, LOTO/Energy Isolation, Confined Space, and Line Break/Process Safety systems.
Drive closure and sustainability of corrective actions.
Maintain compliance with OSHA, EPA, and applicable state regulations.
Prepare and submit required reports, including SARA, TRI, and EPA reports.
Serve as the site contact for regulatory agencies; maintain permits and compliance systems.
Lead audits and support inspections.
Partner with Operations, Maintenance, and Quality to align safety with execution and address risks created by production demands.
Support Management of Change and capital project safety, and participate in daily plant and leadership meetings.
Identify gaps in safety performance and systems and implement practical, sustainable improvements.
Eliminate low-value check-the-box activities and adapt corporate HSE initiatives to site-specific needs.