Principal Advisor Process Safety

• Be part of a group that is safety driven and values inclusion
• Our friendly teams look after each other because your safety and wellbeing are always our priority
• Join a leading global company

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future.  Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

Principal Adviser Process Safety

About the role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are seeking a Principal Adviser Process Safety to lead and advance process safety practices across Rio Tinto Lithium. This role is responsible for identifying, guiding, and embedding best practice process safety standards, ensuring consistent and effective application across operations.

Operating as a technical expert and trusted adviser, this role will:

• Set the culture for process safety across all lithium operations
• Lead process safety improvement initiatives across Lithium operations
• Drive implement of Rio Tinto Process Safety standards and establish programs to ensure sustained compliance
• Strengthen hazard identification, risk management, and control effectiveness
• Embed consistent process safety practices across the full asset lifecycle

Working closely with operations, technical services, and peer networks across Rio Tinto, this role ensures process safety is effectively integrated into how Lithium designs, operates, and improves its processing systems.

Reporting to the Manager Process Improvement of Lithium, this role entails:

Process safety leadership and expertise

• Act as a subject matter expert in process safety, guiding sites and functions on best practices and standards
• Lead strategic process safety initiatives with meaningful impact at site and business unit level
• Influence leaders and teams by providing expert advice and practical solutions

Standards and best practice

• Identify leading, fit-for-purpose process safety practices and support their embedding across Lithium operations
• Ensure alignment with Rio Tinto standards and the consistent application of process safety frameworks
• Support the development and improvement of process safety tools, systems, and ways of working

Risk and compliance assurance

• Utilize capability assessments and compliance activities to evaluate the effectiveness of process safety programs
• Support identification of process hazards, definition of critical controls, and management of residual risk
• Ensure robust implementation of process safety technologies and control systems

Collaboration and knowledge sharing

• Proactively collaborate with peer groups and technical networks across Rio Tinto
• Lead or support workshops, reviews, and cross-site engagement to drive learning and continuous improvement
• Promote consistency in process safety practices across sites and regions
• Embed a culture of process safety in lithium operations

Lifecycle integration

• Embed process safety considerations across the full asset lifecycle, from design through to operations and improvement
• Support integration of process safety into projects, operational planning, and continuous improvement activities

What you’ll bring

• Deep expertise in process safety within a chemical manufacturing environment
• Strong understanding of hazard identification, risk assessment, and critical control management
• Demonstrated ability to influence leaders and teams and drive adoption of best practices without direct authority
• Experience leading or contributing to process safety initiatives across multi-site operations
• Ability to translate technical requirements into practical, scalable solutions
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills across operational and technical environments
• A structured, risk-based approach to problem solving and continuous improvement
• Experience working across multiple technologies and processing environment
• Experience supporting organisational integration or rapidly evolving operations

Where you will be working

Rio Tinto Lithium

Rio Tinto Lithium is part of Rio Tinto’s global portfolio of critical minerals, supporting the materials needed for electrification and the energy transition. With operations spanning multiple continents, Lithium plays a pivotal role in enabling sustainable technologies worldwide.

Location

Bessemer City, NC, USA

Salary Band

Band G

This role will remain open for applications through Friday, July 3. 

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

What we offer

• Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.
• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority.
• Competitive base salary is reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive bonus.
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program.
• Attractive share ownership plan.
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all the moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.
• A generous parental leave policy, which ensures you’re able to spend quality time with your new family.
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides confidential counselling or expert guidance for you and your family to help get through life’s challenges.

About Rio Tinto
 

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
 

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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