Health and Safety Coordinator, Ahafo South Underground - Newmont

Newmont Mining Corporation is a leading global gold producer with key assets in Nevada, Peru, Australia, Ghana and Suriname.

Newmont’s Africa Operations holds two gold mining operations in Ghana: the Ahafo Mine located in the Brong-Ahafo region and the Akyem Mine located in the Eastern region. There is also near mine exploration and development focus in Ghana to annually replace gold reserves. Newmont Africa also has early-stage exploration programs in the African countries of Ethiopia and Morocco.

Our Africa operations employ approximately 5,900 employees and contractors, with the majority working at the Ahafo Mine. We offer an unparalleled blend of opportunity and career satisfaction with all the benefits you would expect from a global company. This, combined with our growth opportunities, makes Newmont a great company to work for.

Our Akyem and Ahafo mines have made significant sustainable community development investments in our host communities. These include establishing Development Funds at our Akyem and Ahafo operational areas with each mine contributing US$1 per ounce of gold sold and 1% of net pre-tax annual profit into its community development fund.

The only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index, Newmont in 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Newmont’s industry-leading performance is reflected through our Africa operations’ high standards in environmental management, health and safety for our workforce and creating value and opportunity for our employees, host communities and Newmont’s shareholders.

ABOUT THIS ROLE:

• To support with building, implementing and overseeing the Health and Safety (H&S) programs and initiatives relating to underground operations.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

Health & Safety Standard, Procedural and Program Development

• Facilitate the development and review of Health and Safety standards and procedures, in accordance with site, Newmont and local Ghanaian regulations and legislation.

• Work with the underground management to design, develop and administer Newmont programs that link to the current Health and Safety strategy to protect employees from workplace hazards and prevent incidents/accidents.
• Facilitate and promote the adoption of new Health and Safety programs and practices.

Health & Safety Operational Execution

• Facilitate inspections to verify that Health and Safety requirements and governmental legislation is being followed at all times.
• Provide technical expertise in investigating H&S events.
• Write detailed reports documenting the findings of the Health and Safety investigations.
• Support with H&S audits, risk assessments, reviews and inspections.
• Act in the capacity of a team leader for task forces and teams when required.
• Partner with site leadership to optimize the on-site safety programs and systems in Ahafo underground.
• Facilitate post-activity reviews to determine if all Ahafo underground employees and contractors are adequately trained and coached to perform their roles effectively.

Health & Safety Reporting, Compliance and Continuous Improvement

• Participate and facilitate event investigations to discover root causes and identify the appropriate corrective actions to be taken.
• Identify potentially hazardous situations and report to the underground department owner for immediate action and correction.
• Maintain and report on Health & Safety records and statistics.

• Monitor, analyse and suggest improvements from lead and lag H&S indicators.
• Review internal and external H&S reports within the contractor areas that need improvement and implement measures to minimize the occurrence of unfavorable events.
• Suggest improvements to correct any deviations from planned leading and lagging indicator targets.

Health and Safety Stakeholder Management, Communication and Capacity Development

• Assist line management regarding Health and Safety hazard identification exercises, risk management processes, safety rules, regulations and trends.

YOUR TRAINING, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE CHECKLIST:

Formal Qualification (including Professional Registrations):

• A Bachelor’s degree in Science and/or Health and Safety discipline.
• Minerals Commission of Ghana (MINCOM) Health and Safety certifications.

Additional Knowledge:

• Thorough knowledge of underground H&S legislative requirements.
• Sound understanding of safety management systems.
• Sound knowledge and experience of underground H&S risk management processes.
•  Additional auditing qualification is desirable.

Experience: 

• A minimum of 3 – 5 years working experience as a Health and Safety Officer with an understanding of underground risks.

Technical Skills:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer literacy skills – MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
• Sound conflict management skills.
• Sound information monitoring and management skills.
• Sound planning, organizing and prioritizing skills.