Director – Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability (HSES)

S&C Electric Company•Chicago, IL

12d•$182,820 - $242,178•Hybrid

About The Position

As an S&C Electric team member, you’ll work on projects that have real-world impact. You’ll help transform the grid for resilient and reliable power worldwide. S&C has more than a 100-year history of innovation and has been 100% employee-owned since 2012. We continue this legacy as a trusted, forward-thinking leader in the electrical industry. You will advance a safer, more reliable, and more resilient electrical grid. Our products help the grid adapt to severe weather and transition to clean energy. We’re big enough to be a respected industry leader but small enough for you to impact our company directly. Our commitment gives you opportunities to impact on and off the job positively. Join S&C to make an impact on tomorrow’s energy challenges and become an employee-owner! The Director – Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability (HSES) is responsible for leading the development and execution of HSES programs across S&C’s domestic operations. This role ensures compliance with all applicable legal and corporate requirements while fostering a culture of safety, environmental stewardship, and sustainability. The Director builds and maintains a high-performing HSES team, driving continuous improvement through strategic leadership, collaboration, and innovation. This position requires a proven ability to lead change, engage team members at all levels, and deliver measurable results in safety performance, environmental impact reduction, and operational excellence. Accountable for resolving complex safety, health, environmental, sustainability improvement opportunities and driving a “Safety First” culture with “Respect for People” team behaviors toward achieving an “Injury Free” work environment. This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and works closely with senior executives, value stream leaders, HR, local communities, and government agencies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Business, or a related technical field.
Formal education or training in health, safety, environmental, or sustainability disciplines.
10+ years of progressive experience in HSES- related roles, with 5+ years in managerial or leadership position.
Experience in dealing with governmental compliance entities (e.g. OSHA, EPA, MWRD) and any other local city, state, or federal compliance authorities.
Ability to assess current state and implement changes necessary to drive meaningful results. Stays calm under pressure.
Strong experience in managing complex HSES escalations.
Familiarity with regulatory standards impacting HSES, including OSHA and EPA standards.
Commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the HSES function.
Great project management skills, able to successfully lead project teams through ambiguity and constantly changing business needs.
Sound organizational and multitasking skills, with demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced working environment.
Great leadership skills with an ability to lead, guide, motivate, and delegate to deliver results, build teams and capabilities, embrace change, drive decisions and results, embrace culture and inclusion, and exhibit integrity.
Excellent attention to detail with an analytical mindset and excellent problem-solving skills.
Sound interpersonal skills to establish meaningful relationships built on mutual trust and respect, navigate and resolve conflict, moderate behaviors, and foster collaborative working relationships amongst a diverse audience.
Excellent communication skills (written, verbal, listening, and presentation). Able to liaise with key stakeholders outside the HSES function in technical and non-technical roles and present compelling information to achieve buy-in. Routinely communicate with team members at all levels.
Sound financial acumen and numerical ability to manage budgetary resources to maximum effectiveness.
Commitment to promoting and maintaining a safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly, sustainable culture that is aligned with the Company Vision, Values, Objectives and Policies that meets the needs of stakeholders especially those of our individual team members.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.), including excellent Excel skills and experience using Power BI.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related field.
Additional coursework or certification in leadership, organizational development, or change management.
Project Management Professional (PMP) or PRINCE2.
Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)
Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH)
Six Sigma (Green Belt / Black Belt)
Certified Environmental Professional (CEP)
Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
OSHA Safety Certification (30-hour)
ISO Certification
Experience in a large (2+ billion-dollar revenue) B2B manufacturing company.

Responsibilities

Advance a best-in-class HSES culture: Lead initiatives that measurably improve health, safety, environmental stewardship, and sustainability across domestic operations, balancing excellence with cost-effectiveness to ensure solutions are impactful and fiscally responsible.
Health, Safety, Environmental, Sustainability Strategy: Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for HSES, ensuring alignment with corporate goals and regulatory requirements including OSHA and EPA standards. Leverage customer feedback to influence company-wide HSES objectives.
Strengthen organizational performance: Create and maintain policies that support HSES and sustainable practices, ensuring consistency and excellence in execution.
Drive continuous improvement: Use performance data to identify trends, set goals, and implement sustainable corrective actions Analyze HSES feedback and metrics to identify trends and improvement opportunities. Set team targets for various KPIs. Implement a data-driven decision-making process to enhance overall HSES effectiveness and efficiency. Staying informed on industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously improve HSES programs.
Ensure readiness and responsiveness: Oversee occupational health services and ensure effective management of health-related cases with discretion and care. Lead and maintain the Emergency Response Team to ensure preparedness for incidents, rapid response, and recovery across all operational sites.
Subject Matter Expertise: Serve as a subject matter expert in Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability, staying abreast of industry best practices, standards, and technological advancements and ensuring the greater Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability function is well-versed in the latest methodologies and tools, facilitating a high level of technical proficiency.
Customer Escalation and Resolution: Oversee the resolution of critical customer safety, health, environmental and sustainability issues, ensuring timely and effective corrective actions. Lead high-visibility projects to address systemic safety, health, environmental, and/or sustainability challenges and foster trust with key stakeholders.
Cross-Functional Safety, Health, Environmental, and Sustainability Leadership: Partner with production and central function teams to embed safety into operational processes, ensuring alignment on safety standards, compliance, and performance goals.
Leadership & People Management: Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing team. Role model appropriate and professional workplace behaviors, address/mediate conflicts to restore harmony, and support a positive, healthy, and inclusive workplace culture in accordance with S&C’s mission, vision, values, and guiding principles. Manage departmental administrative team member processes, including but not limited to recruitment, induction, vacation management, performance reviews, performance improvement plans, and workforce/succession planning. Proactively establish, monitor, and hold team members accountable to clear responsibilities and accountabilities, provide ongoing performance feedback, both positive and developmental, address performance gaps promptly, recognize and reward achievements, and initiate decisions for corrective actions and terminations where required. Foster a culture that supports the growth and development of team members and proactively train, mentor, and coach team members.
Thought Leadership: Provide global thought leadership and best-practice direction to the quality assurance team, ensuring the execution of quality goals that contribute towards the larger goals of S&C.
Root-Cause Analysis: Lead an advanced problem-solving process that uses various systematic techniques to identify root causes of safety issues, communicating necessary enhancements to cross-functional teams to implement effective countermeasures.
Compliance: Understand and comply with all applicable content standards, brand guidelines, company policies, and rules.