The Opportunity
- Join a leading global coatings manufacturer with a strong overall EHS record, positioned for significant growth through a new state-of-the-art facility in 2-2.5 years that will transition to 95% automated operations.
- Contribute to a high-maturity organization that's already invested millions in CapEx for safety enhancements, offering stability while allowing you to drive meaningful improvements in a mid-maturity US/North America EHS environment.
- Enjoy high visibility and direct support from leaders who are deeply committed to safety and will champion your initiatives.
- Participate in global collaboration through monthly EHS calls and a dotted line to the global EHS director, providing international exposure and resources.
- Build your career in a role with long-term potential, including the chance to create policies from scratch for the new facility and potentially lead a small team.
- Work in a supportive environment where you're empowered to advance from foundational safety controls to advisory improvements, making a tangible impact on a company that's on an exciting journey of EHS evolution.
What You'll Do
- Prioritize and finalize multiple EHS projects from global, US, and Mexico sources, ensuring compliance with US regulations and corporate policies.
- Focus on health and safety (HS) aspects, including preventing loss of containment with pumps, old machinery, hoses, proper connections, equipment usage, and PPE enforcement.
- Spend more than 50% of time on the shop floor, building relationships, selling policies/SOPs to employees, and ensuring buy-in for compliance.
- Act as a controller for EHS basics like training, tools, PPE, safety mindset, and highlighting/shutting down unsafe conditions or activities.
- Develop and advise on process improvements to advance EHS maturity, drawing on your experience in less mature environments.
- Play a meaningful role in setting up EHS policies and processes for the new facility, creating much of it locally (about 85%) without relying on global templates.
- Help transition employees from manual to automated equipment in the new facility from an EHS perspective.
- Interact with global EHS teams via monthly calls, the global EHS director, and local management, while engaging stakeholders at all levels.
- Complete RCRA/DOT hazardous waste training within 6 months and annually, and pursue continual education on regulatory changes.
- Use consultants for environmental (E) needs if required, while overseeing overall safety across the organization as an individual contributor.
Candidate Profile
- Degree in EHS-related field, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or equivalent technical background fitting manufacturing EHS (e.g., operations management with relevant experience).
- 5+ years experience in EHS compliance within the chemicals industry.
- Knowledge of common industrial statistical tools.
- Strong critical thinking and decision-making capabilities in a team-oriented environment.
- Hybrid skillset as both a hands-on doer (controller for compliance, training, PPE) and manager/advisor for improvements, - ability to be an influencer even without direct management authority.
- Demonstrated experience journeying from basic execution in low-maturity EHS environments to advisory roles in mature environments, using metrics to track progress and owning changes. It’s essential that you are comfortable on this journey, with a “builder” mindset, not just a “maintainer” working with established processes and procedures.
- Comfortable with ambiguity, risk, and uncertainty along the way; willing to assess strengths/weaknesses, make hands-on improvements, and drive initiatives in changing procedures – you prefer to be an active participant not a bystander.
- High emotional intelligence: skilled at engaging diverse stakeholders (easy/difficult, new/old guard), building trust, and using collaborative approaches to achieve compliance.
- Not a box-checker from overly structured/best-in-class environments; rather, you appreciate high visibility to seniors and actively use/leverage that to advance projects effectively.
- Comfortable spending >50% time on shop floor, not just in office; able to sell policies to frontline employees.
- RCRA/DOT hazardous waste training (to be obtained within 6 months and annually); commitment to continual education on regulatory changes.
- Based on-site in Chicago area (this is NOT a remote role); prefer local, but lump sum relocation assistance available for the right person.