Company Description
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.
Job Description
Process Safety Management
- Develop, implement, and continuously improve site process safety management systems, procedures, and standards to prevent major accidents and incidents in line with legal, site, and corporate requirements.
- Lead safe process design reviews and introduce new products and processes from a process safety perspective, ensuring all hazards are identified and adequately controlled prior to operation.
- Chair, facilitate, and document HAZOPs, LOPAs, and other structured risk assessments across new and existing processes; track and close out action items to completion.
- Complete Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSRs) for new and modified processes, equipment, and facilities, ensuring all safety-critical elements are verified before operations commence.
- Apply and maintain compliance with relevant process safety legislation and standards including COMAH, ATEX, IEC 61508/61511, and applicable PSM frameworks.
- Interact with the Management of Change (MOC) and change control processes, providing EHS approval and process safety input for all significant changes affecting people, plant, process, or environment.
- Review and maintain process safety documentation including HAZOP reports, safety cases, relief system designs, and capital project lifecycle deliverables.
- Propose, develop, and drive implementation of process safety improvement initiatives across the site.
- Maintain process safety KPIs and metrics; prepare and present regular performance reports to site leadership and global EHS teams.
- Engage with global process safety SMEs and networks to benchmark performance, share learnings, and incorporate best practice on site.
Emergency Preparedness & Business Continuity
- Maintain and enhance site emergency response plans, procedures, and preparedness arrangements, ensuring integration between project activities and live operational emergency response.
- Support business continuity planning from an EHS perspective, identifying and mitigating risks to continued safe operation during periods of significant change or construction activity.
- Provide EHS support for product campaigns, ensuring all process safety and emergency preparedness elements are adequately addressed and communicated to relevant teams.
Training, Auditing & Continuous Improvement
- Design and deliver process safety and EHS training programmes for site personnel, contractors, and project teams, building EHS capability and awareness across the organisation.
- Plan and conduct EHS audits across both the operational site and the capital project; share findings, drive improvement actions, and support the development of a proactive safety culture.
- Support safety investigations and troubleshooting activities, contributing technical process safety expertise to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of the site Safety Management System (SMS), identifying gaps and implementing enhancements in line with regulatory changes and corporate standards.
Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Health and Safety, or a related engineering or science discipline.
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in the process or pharmaceutical industry, with demonstrated expertise in both process safety management and EHS leadership.
- Strong working knowledge of PSM principles and standards, including HAZOP, LOPA, ATEX, COMAH, IEC 61508/61511, and applicable Irish/EU safety legislation.
- Demonstrated experience managing EHS on construction, engineering, or capital projects within live operational or regulated industrial environments.
- Proven ability to review and approve method statements, JSAs/JHAs, risk assessments, MOC and permit-to-work documentation for high-risk construction and maintenance activities.
- Strong knowledge of regulatory compliance frameworks including construction safety legislation, environmental obligations, and contractor management.
- Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills; ability to engage confidently at all levels from contractors to senior leadership.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; high attention to detail and a compliance mindset.
Preferred
- Experience supporting aseptic or pharmaceutical manufacturing projects in a GMP environment.
- Familiarity with brownfield project execution challenges including segregation, interface management, and concurrent operations.
- Chartered Engineer status or working towards chartership.
- Relevant professional certifications or memberships (e.g., CMIOSH, MIEI, or equivalent).
- Experience supporting major capital projects from design through startup and handover.
THIS IS A SITE BASED ROLE.
Additional Information
AbbVie's Cork site, located in Carraigtwohill, is a world-class biologics manufacturing facility and one of the company's most strategically important global operations. The site produces life-changing medicines for patients around the world and is undergoing continuous expansion, including significant capital investment in aseptic manufacturing capabilities. Our Cork team operates in a live GMP environment where safety, compliance, and operational excellence are non-negotiable.
We are committed to building a culture where every individual feels valued, safe, and empowered to speak up. EHS leadership at AbbVie Cork means more than meeting regulatory requirements — it means actively driving a safer, healthier, and more sustainable workplace every day.
AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.
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