Executive Director, Environmental Health & Safety

University of Louisville•Aurora, CO

14d

About The Position

The Office of Research and Innovation is seeking an Executive Director of Environmental Health and Safety to provide enterprise-wide leadership, institutional accountability, and strategic direction for the University of Louisville’s comprehensive environmental health and safety portfolio. Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Executive Director serves as the University’s institutional authority and principal advisor on EHS governance, regulatory compliance, risk management, operational readiness, and continuity of critical safety functions across research, teaching, clinical, and administrative environments. The Executive Director establishes institutional strategy, governance frameworks, internal controls, performance expectations, and resource priorities; exercises judgment regarding risk acceptance and mitigation; and leads partnerships across the University and with external agencies to protect people, the environment, and institutional assets while supporting the responsible growth of the University’s research and academic missions. The role provides oversight for a broad range of EHS programs and regulated research-safety processes, leads and develops DEHS personnel, stewards departmental resources, and directs preparedness and response for significant EHS events. This position may require access to export-controlled or sensitive technology. The University is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of a work visa. Compensation will be commensurate with candidate experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field and ten years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to obtain and maintain all federal and institutional approvals, registrations, suitability determinations, and security clearances required for assigned regulated programs.
Ability to provide enterprise and strategic leadership, anticipate emerging risks, and translate University priorities into integrated EHS governance and measurable outcomes.
Ability to make timely, defensible, risk-based decisions and accept accountability for enterprise EHS outcomes, internal controls, and matters requiring institutional action or escalation.
Ability to integrate scientific, operational, and regulatory considerations and represent the University in complex compliance, inspection, investigation, and enforcement matters.
Strong communication and influence skills, including the ability to communicate material risks, options, and recommendations to leadership, deans, faculty, committees, employees, regulators, and external stakeholders.
Ability to establish decision rights and accountability, develop leaders and technical professionals, manage performance, and strengthen succession, workforce resilience, and service continuity.
Ability to align budgets, staffing, technology, facilities, and contracted services with institutional risk, mission priorities, service expectations, and long-term sustainability.
Ability to use reliable data, dashboards, audits, incident learning, trend analysis, and stakeholder feedback to strengthen controls, transparency, and decision-making.
Ability to provide coordinated leadership during significant incidents, regulatory matters, operational disruptions, and other high-consequence events.
Demonstrated ethical leadership, protection of confidential information, prompt attention to concerns, and ability to sustain trust.
Ability to apply governance and risk controls in a practical, proportionate manner that protects people and the environment while enabling University missions.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a scientific field.
Ten years of progressive experience in environmental health and safety, research safety, or a closely related safety and compliance field, including at least five years of leadership responsibility for a major program, unit, or department.
Demonstrated experience leading comprehensive EHS programs in a complex, regulated organization with research, laboratory, healthcare, academic, or similarly diverse operations.
Experience interacting with regulatory agencies, leading inspections or investigations, managing corrective actions, and communicating significant risks to leadership.
Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, budget and resource management, organizational leadership, personnel development, and cross-functional decision-making.
Leadership experience at an R1 or comparable research-intensive university, academic medical center, or similarly complex research institution.
Experience with high-containment research, Select Agent programs, institutional biosafety oversight, radiation safety, occupational health integration, and research compliance governance.
Experience implementing enterprise EHS information systems, analytics, dashboards, automation, and performance-management practices.
Demonstrated success strengthening safety culture while enabling responsible growth in research and complex academic programs.

Responsibilities

Provide enterprise-wide leadership and strategic direction for DEHS, integrating EHS governance with the University’s research, academic, clinical, operational, and institutional priorities.
Advise the AVP, EVPRI, and other executive leaders on significant EHS risks, regulatory developments, high-consequence events, institutional vulnerabilities, resource requirements, and matters requiring leadership action or risk acceptance.
Establish and maintain an enterprise EHS governance framework, including policies, management systems, internal controls, standards, decision rights, and accountability mechanisms.
Oversee institutional EHS programs covering research and teaching laboratory safety, biosafety and high-containment research support, radiation safety, chemical safety, occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, environmental compliance, hazardous materials and waste management, and occupational health coordination.
Integrate EHS programs with research administration and institutional priorities to support teaching, research, clinical activity, innovation, and service while maintaining proportionate risk controls.
Oversee and administer institutional committees and regulated research-safety processes, including the Institutional Biosafety Committee and Radiation Safety Committee.
Serve as the University’s authorized institutional representative for EHS regulatory matters; direct inspections, inquiries, permits, reporting, investigations, formal responses, corrective and preventive actions, and compliance verification.
Maintain communication pathways and working relationships with deans, principal investigators, research administration, legal counsel, risk management, emergency management, public safety, facilities, occupational health, and other partners.
Lead and directly supervise DEHS personnel, including workforce planning, recruitment and selection, work assignment, performance management, staff development, succession planning, and accountability.
Steward departmental financial, human, contractual, facility, equipment, and technology resources, setting priorities and recommending investments based on risk, mission impact, service demand, and long-term sustainability.
Oversee enterprise EHS management systems, digital platforms, analytics, performance dashboards, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
Advance a proactive and accountable safety culture based on shared responsibility, consultation, education, practical risk reduction, respectful engagement, and institutional learning.
Direct preparedness, response, continuity, and recovery for significant EHS events, including notification, technical coordination, incident investigation, regulatory communication, corrective action, and organizational learning.
Represent the University with regulatory agencies, peer institutions, professional associations, governmental entities, and community partners.
Perform related responsibilities and assume other duties as assigned.