Director, Product Stewardship & Regulatory Programs
About The Position
Baxter is seeking an experienced leader to oversee Product Stewardship and the execution of environmental and social product-related regulatory programs across the enterprise. This role is responsible for monitoring emerging regulations, assessing business applicability, establishing implementation roadmaps, and driving cross-functional execution to ensure compliance across Baxter's global portfolio. The leader will work closely with business segments, drive collaboration with other functions such as R&D, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, and Legal, and Operations teams to translate evolving requirements into practical and timely actions. Success in this role requires exceptional program management, organizational leadership, and execution capabilities. The individual must be skilled at coordinating complex initiatives across multiple stakeholders, driving accountability, and ensuring that Baxter remains ahead of regulatory requirements while proactively identifying opportunities to develop products and solutions that meet future market needs. The role serves as a critical connection point between regulatory developments and commercial opportunity. By helping the business understand where regulations are heading, this leader will enable segments to make informed product, packaging, materials, and portfolio decisions that strengthen Baxter's competitive edge and support evolving customer expectations.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Regulatory Affairs, Life Sciences, Business, or related field.
- 10+ years of experience in product stewardship, regulatory affairs, environmental compliance, product compliance, quality systems, or related disciplines.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex global compliance or regulatory implementation programs.
- Strong understanding of environmental and social regulations impacting products, packaging, chemicals, materials, and supply chains.
- Exceptional project management and execution skills.
- Proven ability to lead large cross-functional initiatives and drive organizational accountability.
- Strong business acumen and ability to translate regulatory developments into practical business actions.
Nice To Haves
- Medical device, pharmaceutical, healthcare, or other highly regulated industry experience.
- Experience with REACH, RoHS, PFAS regulations, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), conflict minerals, and human rights due diligence requirements.
- Experience working directly with product development, R&D, quality, and regulatory teams.
- Program Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent project management experience.
- Experience supporting customer sustainability requests, tenders, or product-level regulatory disclosures.
Responsibilities
- Lead Baxter's global monitoring and assessment of environmental, product, packaging, chemical, circular economy, and social regulatory developments.
- Establish structured processes for evaluating applicability across business segments, product categories, and geographic markets.
- Develop risk assessments and implementation plans for emerging regulations.
- Maintain an enterprise regulatory roadmap and prioritization framework.
- Provide actionable recommendations to segment leaders regarding potential business impacts and required actions.
- Lead execution of product stewardship programs addressing chemicals compliance, packaging regulations, extended producer responsibility requirements, product environmental requirements, human rights due diligence, and other emerging obligations.
- Establish governance, timelines, milestones, and accountability mechanisms to ensure on-time implementation.
- Drive enterprise-wide readiness activities and compliance programs.
- Track progress, escalate risks, and ensure effective issue resolution.
- Develop and oversee internal reporting mechanisms for compliance status, milestones, and program performance.
- Partner with business segments to identify areas where Baxter can proactively address future regulatory requirements.
- Translate regulatory trends into opportunities for product and portfolio innovation.
- Support the development of sustainable product, packaging, and material solutions that position Baxter ahead of future requirements.
- Enable "first-to-market" approaches where emerging regulatory trends create opportunities for competitive differentiation.
- Ensure product stewardship considerations are incorporated into new product development and lifecycle management processes.
- Lead large-scale, cross-functional initiatives involving R&D, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Legal, Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, and Commercial teams.
- Establish clear ownership, decision-making structures, and implementation plans.
- Drive execution through disciplined project management practices.
- Remove barriers, resolve conflicts, and maintain momentum across multiple concurrent programs.
- Build repeatable processes and operating mechanisms to scale regulatory compliance efforts across Baxter.
- Partner with Commercial Sustainability and segment leadership teams to understand evolving customer requirements and market expectations.
- Provide regulatory and product sustainability expertise to support customer tenders, audits, questionnaires, and product inquiries.
- Help commercial teams understand how regulatory trends may influence future purchasing decisions and customer expectations.
- Support development of product-level sustainability information and compliance documentation needed for customers and health systems.
- Lead the Product Stewardship function and associated governance forums.
- Provide regular updates to the Sustainability Leadership Team and executive leadership.
- Build strong partnerships across business segments and functional organizations.
- Foster a culture of accountability, execution excellence, and proactive problem solving.
Benefits
- medical and dental coverage that start on day one
- insurance coverage for basic life, accident, short-term and long-term disability, and business travel accident insurance
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), with the ability to purchase company stock at a discount
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), with options for employee contributions and company matching
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- educational assistance programs
- paid holidays
- paid time off ranging from 20 to 35 days based on length of service
- family and medical leaves of absence
- paid parental leave
- commuting benefits
- Employee Discount Program
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- childcare benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
