Environmental Health & Safety Leader

Caldic • Elgin, IL

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The US EHS Leader leads environmental, health, safety, and regulatory compliance programs across U.S. operations. The role ensures safe, compliant, and efficient work environments by implementing EHS standards, reducing operational risk, supporting regulatory requirements, and building a proactive safety culture across manufacturing, warehouse, laboratory, and office locations.

Reporting to the North America EHS Leader, the position partners with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Human Resources, Maintenance, Engineering, Logistics, and site leadership. It combines practical field leadership with consistent execution of company EHS expectations, policies, training, audits, and corrective action processes.

The role also oversees environmental programs and supports sustainability initiatives, regulatory reporting, permit compliance, waste minimization, and recycling. It provides EHS guidance for operational activities, capital projects, facility changes, and cross-functional initiatives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of progressive EHS experience in manufacturing, warehousing, chemical processing, food ingredients, food-grade blending, logistics, or industrial operations.
• At least 3 years of experience leading EHS programs, initiatives, audits, or site-level EHS resources.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA, EPA, DOT, hazardous materials, environmental permitting, incident investigation, and risk management requirements.
• Experience with EHS management systems, action tracking, training systems, incident reporting tools, and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and field execution skills.
• Excellent communication, training, facilitation, and employee engagement abilities.
• Advanced understanding of regulatory compliance, risk assessment, incident investigation, and corrective action management.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to translate data into practical improvement actions.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills in fast-paced operational environments.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and build strong working relationships across multiple sites.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, behavior-based safety, ergonomics, and operational discipline principles.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities, audits, projects, and deadlines.

Nice To Haves

• CSP, ASP, CHMM, CIH, OSHA 30, HAZWOPER, DOT, Lean Six Sigma, or equivalent professional certification.
• Experience supporting multi-site operations across the United States.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and support site leaders and EHS resources in executing U.S. EHS programs and initiatives.
• Establish EHS goals, KPIs, and performance expectations aligned with business objectives and North American EHS strategy.
• Foster accountability, employee engagement, hazard recognition, continuous improvement, and safety ownership.
• Support development of site-level EHS capabilities, training plans, and succession readiness.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local EHS regulations, including OSHA, EPA, and DOT requirements.
• Maintain and improve EHS policies, procedures, work instructions, permits, reporting requirements, and regulatory documentation.
• Lead internal EHS audits and compliance assessments, and follow up on corrective actions across U.S. locations.
• Monitor regulatory changes and work with site leadership to implement required updates and controls.
• Support regulatory inspections, agency communication, response planning, and closure of findings.
• Lead hazard assessments, job safety analyses, and risk reviews, and develop practical controls to reduce injury and environmental risk.
• Investigate incidents, near misses, environmental releases, and unsafe conditions; determine root causes and corrective actions.
• Drive completion and verification of corrective and preventive actions.
• Implement injury prevention, behavioral safety, ergonomics, machine safety, chemical safety, and contractor safety initiatives.
• Partner with Maintenance and Engineering on safe equipment design, facility improvements, and management-of-change processes.
• Develop, coordinate, and verify required EHS training for employees, contractors, supervisors, and site leaders.
• Promote participation in safety committees, safety observations, toolbox talks, Gemba walks, and employee-led improvement efforts.
• Communicate safety alerts, lessons learned, regulatory updates, and best practices across U.S. sites.
• Maintain accurate, current, audit-ready training records, inspection logs, incident documentation, and EHS files.
• Oversee environmental programs related to air, water, waste, stormwater, chemical management, spill prevention, and emergency response.
• Support environmental reporting, permit compliance, waste minimization, recycling, and sustainability-related initiatives.
• Partner with operations and supply chain teams to improve environmental performance and reduce operational risk.
• Integrate EHS expectations into daily management, production scheduling, and operational execution in partnership with Operations.
• Collaborate with Quality and Food Safety teams on applicable GMP, PPE, sanitation, allergen, and plant safety requirements.
• Work with Human Resources on workers compensation, return-to-work, employee engagement, and safety-related employee matters.
• Provide EHS risk review and compliance guidance for capital projects, new product introductions, facility changes, and strategic initiatives.
• Participate in cross-functional projects that improve safety, compliance, operating discipline, and end-to-end business performance.

Benefits

• Global opportunities with rapid career growth and development.
• An inclusive, diverse, and dynamic work environment.
• The opportunity to help shape specialty ingredient solutions across industries including food, pharma, and personal care.

What This Job Offers

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