About the role 

We have an exciting opportunity for a dedicated transformation and learning professional to join our team as Safety Excellence Learning Manager. This is an essential role within DS Smith’s multi-year Safety Excellence programme—a cultural transformation initiative focused on elevating how we work safely every day, at every level.

As Safety Excellence Learning Manager, you will be responsible for driving the successful implementation and sustainability of two critical pillars within our Safety Excellence strategy: Safety Leadership Development and Safe Decision-Making. You will manage day-to-day project activities, coordinate training deployment, coach site-level stakeholders, and support leadership teams to embed new safety behaviours across the enterprise. A key part of this role will be developing a sustainable training model to reinforce adoption of our safety culture for new employees, refresher courses, and new trainers. In partnership with a leading third-party safety consultant, you will engage teams through strategic workstreams that target key drivers of safety performance.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading implementation of ELWS, SafeAlign, and Making Safe Decisions at plant, sub-regional, and enterprise levels
• Partnering closely with DEKRA consultants to align priorities, resources, timelines, and site-specific needs
• Working with the Project Manager to analyse and agree hub site locations
• Tracking progress across 30+ countries, ensuring high-quality rollout of training and coaching touchpoints
• Reinforcing core tools such as the Leadership Diagnostic Instrument (LDI), Safe Align, and Making Safe Decisions modules
• Facilitating communication between pillar leads, governance teams, and site champions
• Monitoring engagement, managing feedback mechanisms, and helping resolve adoption barriers
• Contributing to overall project communications, reporting, and success metrics.
• Supporting upgraded safety training by implementing a sustainable training model for continuous learning and capability development
• Managing participant lists in conjunction with Workstream Leads and ensuring smooth delivery of hub site events

About you  

• Demonstrable experience in learning and development, cultural transformation, or safety leadership within a complex, global organisation
• Proven success in managing large-scale training programmes and embedding behavioural change
• Strong project management skills with the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders and timelines
• Excellent communication and coaching skills, with the ability to influence and engage at all levels
• Highly organised, proactive, and resilient, with a passion for driving continuous improvement and cultural change

Location:  This is a hybrid role, split between the office in London Paddington (3 days in office) and home (2 days).