Director Safety Health & Environment

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

2d • $146,583 - $219,875 • Onsite

About The Position

The Director Safety, Health & Safety leads the deployment and continual improvement of the site’s SHE Management System, providing strategic guidance and independent assurance across Site Operations functions including hard services, workplace services, and lab operations. The role sets direction for contractor safety, construction safety, and high-hazard operations, ensuring robust risk identification, assessment, and control. The Director collaborates across the AstraZeneca SHE leadership team to drive compliance, risk reduction, culture strengthening, and performance improvement aligned to AstraZeneca standards and provides primary SHE support for US R&D satellite offices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Engineering, Environmental Science, Industrial Hygiene, or a related field.
• Minimum 7+ years in SHE, with at least 3 years in pharmaceutical manufacturing and/or R&D environments.
• Demonstrated knowledge of US SHE regulations (e.g., OSHA general industry and construction) and relevant consensus standards (e.g., NFPA, ANSI/AIHA, ASME) and management system standards.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence senior stakeholders, and drive culture changes in high-science, high-compliance settings.
• Strong written and verbal skills; able to translate complex technical risks into actionable priorities; effective training delivery and incident reporting.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a related field (e.g., Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Engineering, Public Health).
• Contractor and construction safety leadership, process safety, radiation/biosafety program oversight, high-hazard operations, and capital project SHE integration.
• CSP (Certified Safety Professional), CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist), or PE (Professional Engineer)
• Familiarity with SHE data systems, leading indicators, critical control verification, and analytics to inform decision-making.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence senior stakeholders, and drive culture change in high-science, high-compliance settings.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Site Operations leadership to set annual SHE objectives and targets; track progress using leading and lagging indicators; report performance and drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Establish systematic risk processes delivering effective controls for SHE risks; verify control effectiveness through monitoring, inspections, testing, and assurance activities.
• Serve as principal advisor to hard services, workplace services, lab operations, and project teams on SHE risks, regulatory obligations, and design/operational decisions; translate complex risks into practical options and investment priorities. Lead site programs for contractor qualifications, onboarding, permit-to-work, job safety analyses, lockout/tagout, confined space, hot work, energized work, and excavation
• Assure contractor and construction safety management program across operations, capital projects and fit-outs, pre-task planning, audits, and incident/event learning.
• Embed process safety and high-hazard control frameworks (e.g., hazardous energy, pressure systems, hazardous materials, reactive chemistries) and verify barriers via critical controls assurance.
• Plan and execute risk-based assurance (inspections, audits, self-assessments, leadership walks, compliance reviews); issue clear findings and actions; confirm closure and sustained effectiveness; prepare for and support regulatory inspections.
• Ensure compliance with applicable US federal, state, and local requirements (e.g., OSHA, MOSH, EPA where applicable), relevant consensus standards (e.g., NFPA, ANSI), and AZ SHE standards; manage permits, licenses, notifications, and reporting.
• Define role-based SHE competency needs; deliver or arrange training; verify training effectiveness through observation and assessment.
• Ensure effective incident reporting, investigation, root cause analysis, and corrective actions; promote learning via near-miss capture and communication; trend analysis to prevent recurrence.
• Partner with Site Operations on emergency plans (fire, medical, spill, severe weather, laboratory incidents, utility outages), drills, and coordinate with local authorities and campus partners.
• Provide SHE input to facility and equipment design in capital projects; lead or assure SHE management of change (MoC) for process, infrastructure, and laboratory changes; verify pre-start-up safety reviews where relevant.
• Provide primary SHE support for US R&D satellite offices, aligning local programs to AZ standards; advise facilities safety, contractor controls, incident management, and emergency preparedness; coordinate audits, training, and regulatory interfaces; share learnings and standardize practices across sites.
• Work collaboratively across the AZ SHE leadership team and Site Operations to build a proactive, learning-oriented approach; influence senior stakeholders; recognize and scale best practices across the site and network.

Benefits

• short-term incentive bonus opportunity
• eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles)
• to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles)
• commission payment eligibility (sales roles)
• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director