HSE Operational Lead

Job Description

To support our ambition of building the most collaborative and trusted team in agriculture, Syngenta Seeds is looking for a Europe Seeds Field Crops HSE Operational Lead – SD & P&S.

Reporting to the Head of Seeds Field Crops HSE – SD & P&S, you will drive HSE Excellence and Performance across the Europe Seeds Field Crops organisation, supporting both Seeds Development and Production & Supply.

You will lead and develop a regional team of up to eight HSE Coordinators. Your objective will be to establish harmonised and practical HSE processes and standards, strengthen the HSE culture, and enable risk-based decision-making through reliable performance intelligence and digital solutions.

Working closely with Site HSE Leads, regional HSE, Seeds Development and Production & Supply leadership, you will ensure that HSE priorities are aligned and that the regional HSE strategy is effectively implemented.

Key responsibilities: 

• Lead, coach and develop the regional HSE Coordinator team, including objective setting, capability development, mentoring, performance management and succession planning.
• Establish and maintain a practical regional HSE management-system framework, including common procedures, minimum standards, templates, visual management and assurance routines.
• Coordinate audits of HSE management systems across sites and satellite locations.
• Lead the regional HSE culture-improvement roadmap, using audit findings, incident learning, workforce feedback and maturity assessments to prioritise interventions.
• Own the HSE performance-management system, including KPI definitions, data quality, dashboard governance, insight generation and regular performance reviews.
• Identify and implement digital solutions that improve reporting quality, visibility, compliance, risk control and frontline usability.
• Facilitate cross-site learning and replication of good practices, ensuring incidents, audit findings and improvement actions lead to sustainable change.
• Partner with relevant stakeholders to align priorities, remove barriers and implement the HSE strategy.
• Support initiatives that reduce the environmental footprint of sites and embed sustainable practices.
• Lead regional change and continuous-improvement projects, monitoring adoption, effectiveness and benefits after implementation.

Qualifications

Required:

• Recognised HSE qualification, such as a NEBOSH Diploma or equivalent.
• More than five years of practical HSE experience, ideally in Seeds, agriculture, manufacturing or another operational environment.
• Demonstrated experience in leading teams and working independently within a complex matrix organisation.
• Sound knowledge of relevant statutory provisions, legislative requirements and corporate HSE standards.
• Strong leadership, influencing and stakeholder-management skills across functions, cultures and geographies.
• Structured, analytical and continuous-improvement mindset, with the ability to turn performance data into risk-based actions.
• Experience partnering with site teams to deliver projects and embed change.
• Ability to identify operational needs and translate them into practical, user-centred digital solutions.
• Fluency in English, written and spoken.

Preferred:

• Experience within the Seeds industry or a comparable agricultural environment.
• Fluency in French.
• Experience in environmental sustainability initiatives at site or regional level.

Additional Information

The role can be performed remotely within Europe; proximity to a Syngenta site is preferred. Occasional travel across Europe Seeds sites is expected, approximately four to five trips per year.

Syngenta is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate in recruitment, employment, training or promotion on the basis of any legally protected characteristic.