Health and Safety Graduate Programme

Kepak Health & Safety Graduate Programme 2027

We are seeking to recruit for the 2027 Health and Safety Graduate Programme in our Kepak Cork site in Watergrasshill, Co. Cork

Start date: 6th September 2027

Salary: €33,500 Year 1 and a potential increase of €1,500 at the start of Year 2

Duration: 2 Years

Check out our Graduate Hub on : https://www.kepak.com/careers/graduates/

The Programme:

Our Health & Safety (H&S) Graduate programme is to help us to develop our H&S leaders of the future, and allows dynamic, motivated, hardworking, and passionate Graduates an opportunity to start their career with one of Ireland & UKs leading meat businesses.

You can expect:

To be fully immersed into our Culture from day 1, working alongside key industry experts and Kepak leaders

Gain an in depth understanding of our brands and products, and our relationships with customers and consumers, and how they underpin our financial performance

To learn key aspects of our business, whilst you develop your skills and knowledge

The opportunity to develop personally and professionally through exposure to key projects, tasks and development activities that challenge you, all supported by a detailed learner journey and training plan

A dedicated mentor and development program to support you both on the programme and into a role that best fits your skills

Kepak is one of Europe’s leading food companies operating 12 manufacturing sites across

Ireland and the UK with sales offices in Europe, US and Asia. The group has a turnover of €1.5bn and employs over 4,500 people. Our company purpose “Meat at our heart, innovation our driver and nutrition our future” is underpinned by our values of “Responsibility, Ambition, Passion for Food and Teamwork”.

ROLE LOCATION:

Kepak, Watergrasshill, Co. Cork

Full time, On-site position

ROLE PURPOSE:

Reporting to the Site health and Safety Manager, the H&S Graduate will be responsible for the development and implementation of Health and Safety management systems within the Site and for ensuring that advice and support is available for all business Unit Managers in order for them to fulfil their own responsibilities.

Liaising closely with Group H&S support services to ensure site management system is aligned with Group safety strategy.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Policies and Procedures

• Ongoing development and implementation of improved Health and Safety practices, policies and procedures on the site.   
• Enforce the effective operation of Safety and Health practices and policies in conjunction Business Unit Managers
• Develop and budget with the Site Manager and Health and Safety Manager effective Training policies for implementation on the site.

Safety Personnel

• Facilitate, support and advise the Site Risk Management teams. Chair the Site Safety meetings to update all business unit managers on developments at site level.
• Ensure all personnel are fully safety trained and competent for the role.

Risk Assessment

• Assist business unit Managers undertake Risk Assessments for all operations on site.
• Review Risk Assessments on a regular basis.
• Implement Internal Audit processes at site level and measure performance and action planning.

Review and Assist

• A written safety report will be presented each month to the site manager for discussion with the Site H&S team identifying areas of risk, concern and recommendations for implementation on site.

Audits

• Undertake regular unscheduled Safety audits on the site to ensure compliance with Group policy.
• Enforce policy by identifying breaches and reporting to the Site Manager and the Group Health and Safety Manager

Liaison

• Liaise with HSA and other outside agencies in relation to H&S matters including reporting, auditing and ensuring recommendations and guidelines are fully complied with.

ROLE DELIVERABLES:

• Meeting Reporting Deadlines %.
• KPI’s will be set out and reviewed by the Site Manager for each period defined (month / quarter / year) reflecting achievement of agreed objectives and initiatives.

Requirements

• Who are we looking for?
• We are looking for hardworking and ambitious Graduates, who want to learn and grow in a challenging and fast paced environment, by performing real roles as part of your rotations.
• You must be mobile and willing to travel throughout the programme to undertake development activities at any of our sites in the UK and Ireland.
• We will be looking for alignment with our Core Values:
• Responsibility – Ability to work on your own initiative and take accountability for your actions
• Ambition – You will have the willingness and confidence to challenge yourself to be the best you can be and be driven to succeed
• Passion for Food – this is at the heart of everything we do, you must be passionate about every aspect of our industry
• Teamwork – ability to build positive relationships quickly with people from all cultures and career stages is pivotal
• Strong communicator with well-developed interpersonal skills.
• Organized, energetic and self-motivated.
• Demonstrate the ability to work on your own initiative without immediate hands on support.
• Ability to identify continuous improvement initiatives and ability to challenge status quo.
• Strong IT sills and familiarity with Microsoft Office, Excel, Power Point and other common software tools.
• A high level of analytical, methodology and time management skills required.
• A high level of attention to detail and accuracy.

Benefits

• Employee Discount Scheme
• Service-Related Annual Leave
• Discounted Health Insurance
• Educational Assistance/ L&D
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme