SHE Executive
Unilever · Mumbai HURC
Job Tite: Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) Executive
Location: Mumbai HURC
The Opportunity
The R&D Centre brings together laboratories, pilot plants, engineering systems and a diverse technical community working with chemicals, enzymes, solvents, fragrances, scientific equipment & instruments, engineering projects, pressure systems and emerging technologies. This role will translate SHE strategy into disciplined daily execution, strengthen risk controls and help teams innovate safely, responsibly at R&D centre and satellite sites.
Role Purpose
Drive end-to-end Safety, Health and Environment performance across the R&D Centre and associated locations. The role will embed robust risk management, regulatory compliance, process and laboratory safety, site security and surveillance systems, contractor safety, emergency readiness and a proactive safety culture, while using digital tools and data to improve assurance and decision-making. The position is expected to convert plans into visible field action, personally drive priority interventions and ensure disciplined closure of commitments with clear owners, timelines and evidence of effectiveness.
Key Accountabilities
1. Risk Assessment, Laboratory Safety & Process Safety
- Lead and facilitate HIRA, task hazard analysis, environmental risk assessment, HAZOP and other fit-for-purpose risk studies for laboratories, pilot plants, utilities, R&D as well as Infrastructure projects and new technologies.
- Strengthen controls for chemical handling, storage, segregation, labelling, dispensing and disposal, including flammables, compressed gases, enzymes and other sensitising or hazardous materials.
- Maintain risk registers and ensure actions are prioritised, owned, verified for effectiveness and closed on time.
- Support process hazard analysis, pre-start-up safety reviews, safe operating limits and critical control verification for pilot-scale and engineering systems.
2. SHE Management Systems & Compliance
- Implement applicable Unilever SHE standards and site procedures covering occupational safety, health, environment, chemical management, contractor safety and process safety.
- Maintain legal and other requirement as per Factory Act and Shop & Establishment act as applicable, coordinate inspections, licenses, returns and statutory examinations with relevant authorities and competent persons.
- Support compliance with applicable factory, fire, environmental, electrical, pressure-system and radiation-safety requirements, where relevant to the site.
- Plan and execute internal audits, workplace inspections and compliance reviews; drive timely corrective and preventive action closure.
- Support BSC,ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and relevant quality/GMP management systems, as applicable.
3. Incident Prevention, Investigation & Learning
- Promote timely reporting of incidents, near misses, unsafe conditions and safe/unsafe behaviours.
- Lead or support evidence-based incident investigations using appropriate root-cause analysis methods; define CAPA and verify sustainable closure.
- Identify high-potential events and deploy lessons learned across laboratories, pilot plants, projects and support teams.
- Use leading and lagging indicators to identify trends, anticipate risk and focus preventive action.
4. Emergency Preparedness, Fire Safety & Crisis Readiness
- Maintain site emergency response plans, scenario-based response protocols, evacuation arrangements and mutual-aid interfaces.
- Coordinate emergency response team capability, drills and exercises covering fire, chemical spill, medical emergency, utility failure and severe weather scenarios.
- Assure readiness and maintenance of fire detection, alarm, hydrant, sprinkler, suppression and portable firefighting systems.
- Conduct fire and loss-prevention reviews for laboratories, pilot plants, chemical stores and project activities.
5. Contractor, Project & Permit-to-Work Safety
- Own or govern contractor SHE prequalification, induction, competency verification, field supervision and performance review.
- Ensure effective permit-to-work controls for hot work, confined space, work at height, electrical isolation, excavation, lifting and other high-risk activities.
- Provide SHE input to design, procurement, installation, commissioning and handover of new or modified facilities and equipment.
- Embed safety-by-design, Management of Change and pre-start-up assurance in capital projects and operational changes.
6. Occupational Health, Ergonomics & Wellbeing
- Partner with Occupational Health to identify and control exposure to chemicals, dusts, vapours, noise, biological agents and ergonomic risks.
- Coordinate exposure monitoring, health surveillance inputs and workplace improvement plans based on risk.
- Promote inclusive workplace safety, accessible emergency arrangements and fit-for-task controls.
7. Safety Culture, Capability & Stakeholder Partnership
- Coach leaders, line managers, safety committee members and safety champions to strengthen visible ownership and proactive risk leadership.
- Design and deliver engaging inductions, toolbox talks, role-based training, campaigns and emergency-response capability programmes.
- Partner with scientists, technical project leaders, engineering, facilities, procurement, HR, security and external specialists to integrate SHE into everyday work.
- Facilitate safety committees and cross-functional governance forums, ensuring decisions and actions are documented and followed through.
8. Digital SHE, Data & Continuous Improvement
- Use digital systems for permit-to-work, incident and CAPA tracking, inspections, training, chemical inventory and compliance assurance.
- Build clear dashboards covering leading indicators, critical controls, audit findings, action ageing, training and incident trends.
- Apply data analysis and practical automation to reduce manual dependency, improve visibility and enable predictive risk management.
- Drive continuous improvement using PDCA, Kaizen or equivalent structured problem-solving approaches.
9. Environmental Performance & Resource Stewardship
- Support environmental aspect-impact assessments and controls for waste, effluent, emissions, water, energy and hazardous-material management.
- Promote waste minimisation, responsible disposal and sustainability improvements without compromising product, process or people safety.
- Monitor environmental performance and support regulatory reporting and improvement plans.
10. Site Security & Business Continuity Interface
- Coordinate with site security to align access control, surveillance, visitor/contractor management and protection of critical or sensitive areas with SHE risk controls.
- Support business continuity, crisis response and high-profile visit readiness from a safety and operational-risk perspective.
11. Operational Execution, Field Assurance & Closure
- Translate annual and monthly SHE priorities into practical execution plans with defined deliverables, owners, milestones and measurable outcomes.
- Maintain a strong field presence and directly lead routine safety walks, critical-risk verifications, permit checks, contractor interventions and follow-up reviews across laboratories, pilot plants, utilities and project areas.
- Coordinate day-to-day execution of statutory inspections, audits, drills, training, exposure monitoring, equipment testing and compliance activities, ensuring readiness of people, systems and records.
- Drive actions to closure through structured tracking, regular review and escalation of overdue or ineffective controls; validate completion through field evidence rather than administrative closure alone.
- Support safe execution of shutdowns, installations, commissioning, high-risk work and operational changes by aligning stakeholders, resolving constraints and assuring controls at the point of work.
- Plan and execute site improvement projects relating to safety, environment and surveillance, from need identification and scope definition through budgeting, stakeholder alignment, procurement, implementation, commissioning and handover, ensuring delivery to agreed safety, quality, cost and schedule requirements.
- Develop project charters, risk assessments, execution schedules and progress trackers; coordinate internal teams, contractors and specialist agencies; manage interfaces and change controls; and ensure timely closure of punch points, documentation and post-implementation effectiveness reviews.
- Respond promptly to incidents, unsafe conditions and emerging risks; initiate immediate containment, mobilise relevant teams and sustain follow-through until risk is reduced to an acceptable level.
- Own preparation and execution of the site SHE calendar, including inspections, committee meetings, campaigns, drills, statutory activities and management reviews.
- Demonstrate a hands-on, solution-oriented approach that balances compliance, operational continuity and practical risk reduction.
- End to end delivery of Safety, environment and surveillance projects with robust governance, timely commissioning, complete handover documentation and demonstrated improvement in site risk controls.
- Lead and maintain FDAS
Candidate Profile
Education & Professional Credentials
- Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Environmental, Fire & Safety or a related engineering/science discipline.
- Diploma / Advanced Diploma in Industrial Safety from a recognised institution is mandatory.
- Certification or formal training in ISO 45001 / ISO 14001 auditing, HAZOP, incident investigation, fire safety or process safety is desirable.
- Professional membership or certification in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, fire safety or environmental management is an advantage.
Experience
- 4-10 years of relevant SHE/EHS experience in FMCG, chemical, pharmaceutical, specialty materials, manufacturing or a comparable high-hazard environment.
- Hands-on experience in laboratory and/or pilot plant safety, chemical risk management and process safety is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience with statutory compliance, audits, incident investigation, permit-to-work, contractor safety and emergency response.
- Experience supporting capital projects, commissioning, Management of Change and operational readiness is desirable.
- Experience working with diverse technical stakeholders in a matrixed R&D or innovation environment will be an advantage.
- Proven ability to independently plan and execute SHE activities on the ground, coordinate multiple stakeholders and deliver timely closure in an operational environment.
- Experience in independently executing site SHE, environmental or surveillance-system improvement projects, including scope development, vendor coordination, implementation, commissioning and handover, is desirable.
Core Skills & Competencies
TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP & BEHAVIOURAL
• Laboratory & chemical safety
- Ownership and bias for action
- Process safety and risk assessment
- Risk-based judgement
- Industrial hygiene & occupational health
- Influencing without authority
- Fire safety and emergency management
- Clear written and verbal communication
- Contractor safety and permit-to-work
- Coaching and capability building
- Incident investigation and CAPA
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Statutory and environmental compliance
- Planning, prioritisation and follow-through
- Digital SHE systems and data analytics
- Learning agility and curiosity
- Audit and management systems
• Integrity and courage to intervene
Digital & Analytical Capability
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365 tools and digital EHS/SHE platforms.
- Ability to structure and interpret safety data, build practical dashboards and translate trends into preventive action.
- Comfort with mobile inspections, digital workflows, learning platforms and basic automation; familiarity with Power BI or equivalent analytics tools is desirable.
Working Style & Role Requirements
- Hands-on execution mindset with the ability to move comfortably between planning, field intervention, coordination, documentation and closure.
- Visible field presence across laboratories, pilot plants, utilities, projects and contractor work areas.
- Ability to respond to site emergencies, drills, inspections and critical activities outside normal working hours when required.
- Confidence to stop unsafe work and escalate material risk while maintaining constructive stakeholder relationships.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-moving research environment with a strong focus on disciplined closure.
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