Global Director, Environmental, Health, Safety & Security - Manufacturing

AFL•Duncan, SC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, EHSS - Manufacturing leads environmental, health, safety, and security strategy and execution across AFL's global manufacturing operations. The role serves as the senior EHSS advisor to manufacturing leadership and helps the business recognize risk early, strengthen critical controls, maintain regulatory and management-system discipline, and build EHSS capability throughout the organization. The Director leads and develops the manufacturing EHSS team and integrates EHSS into business planning, operational execution, capital projects, and continuous improvement. Success means leaders and employees actively identify and manage risk, corrective actions are effective and sustained, sites apply consistent standards while addressing local requirements, and EHSS supports safe, predictable operations and business performance. The position is based with the Manufacturing Operations team in Duncan, South Carolina. Work takes place in office and active manufacturing environments, with regular exposure to production operations. Travel to manufacturing sites is expected and is generally less than 15%. Personal protective equipment and compliance with site access requirements may be required.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in environmental health and safety, environmental science, engineering, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least 10 years of progressive EHSS experience, including leadership responsibility for a large manufacturing site or a multi-site manufacturing organization.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing EHSS professionals in a complex, matrixed organization.
Strong working knowledge of occupational safety, environmental compliance, industrial hygiene, emergency preparedness, and security principles relevant to manufacturing.
Experience designing, implementing, or improving EHSS management systems, audit programs, risk assessments, and performance measures.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, communicate with executive presence, and convert technical requirements into practical operating expectations.
Experience leading serious-incident or high-potential-event investigations and verifying corrective-action effectiveness.
Ability to work effectively across cultures, functions, and manufacturing locations.
Know the business and connect EHSS priorities to operating objectives.
Recognize risk early and focus attention on the controls that matter most.
Build trust through field presence, sound judgment, candor, and follow-through.
Influence across boundaries and create shared ownership for EHSS performance.
Develop people through clear expectations, coaching, feedback, and accountability.
Solve complex problems collaboratively and communicate in concise, practical terms.

Nice To Haves

Professional certification such as CSP, CIH, CHMM, PE, or equivalent.
Experience with ISO 14001, ISO 45001, or comparable management systems.
Experience supporting manufacturing growth, major capital projects, acquisitions, or operational transformation.
Experience working with contractors and construction activities within active manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

Lead the EHSS function for the global manufacturing organization and serve as the trusted EHSS advisor to senior manufacturing leadership.
Translate enterprise EHSS strategy into manufacturing priorities, annual plans, standards, and measurable objectives.
Understand site operations, business goals, growth plans, and risk profiles, and align EHSS support accordingly.
Maintain a visible presence in manufacturing operations and engage with leaders, supervisors, employees, and contractors.
Provide fact-based insight into operational risk, regulatory exposure, and tradeoffs involving risk, schedule, cost, and execution.
Lead, coach, and develop manufacturing EHSS professionals; establish expectations, accountability, and development plans.
Build a cohesive EHSS network across sites and promote consistent practices, knowledge sharing, and peer learning.
Strengthen line-leader and supervisor capability in hazard recognition, control selection, field verification, incident learning, and regulatory responsibility.
Lead identification, assessment, prioritization, and mitigation of EHSS risks across manufacturing operations.
Establish and sustain risk registers, task risk assessments, pre-job planning, and critical-control verification processes with line leadership.
Focus resources on high-consequence exposures and Significant Injury and Fatality potential while managing routine risks.
Integrate EHSS requirements into operational changes, new equipment, capital projects, facility modifications, contractor work, acquisitions, and expansion activity.
Use operational and EHSS data to identify trends, test assumptions, prioritize action, and verify control effectiveness.
Provide governance and assurance for compliance with applicable environmental, occupational health, safety, and security requirements across manufacturing locations.
Guide sites in applying OSHA, EPA, NFPA, NIOSH, other applicable standards, and company requirements.
Lead the design, implementation, and continual improvement of EHSS management systems, including ISO certification where appropriate.
Oversee environmental compliance and risk management related to permits, waste, air, water, chemical management, and spill prevention as applicable to site operations.
Coordinate significant EHSS matters with Legal, Human Resources, Operations, Engineering, Facilities, Security, and other functions.
Provide leadership and governance for reporting and investigating incidents, near misses, high-potential events, hazards, and employee concerns.
Promote learning-focused investigations that identify system factors and failed or missing controls, and result in practical actions.
Verify corrective actions are completed, effective, and sustained; escalate overdue or ineffective actions when needed.
Identify cross-site trends and share applicable lessons with manufacturing leaders and employees.
Develop and maintain a risk-based audit and assurance program covering regulatory compliance, management-system health, and field execution.
Create and monitor a balanced EHSS scorecard covering leading indicators, control effectiveness, learning, compliance, and outcomes.
Report performance and risk to manufacturing and enterprise EHSS leadership, including material gaps, decisions needed, and recommended actions.
Partner with sites to close audit findings and verify that improvements address underlying risk.
Advance a culture in which employees and leaders identify risk, raise concerns, stop work when needed, and participate in problem solving.
Improve safety conversations, hazard reporting, employee engagement, and learning from everyday work.
Collaborate with customers, regulators, insurers, contractors, auditors, and other external stakeholders as required.
Represent manufacturing on enterprise EHSS forums and lead deployment of company-wide EHSS initiatives across manufacturing.
Provide governance for site emergency preparedness, business-relevant response plans, drills, and improvement actions.
Partner with site and corporate stakeholders to identify and manage physical security risks affecting employees, facilities, operations, and continuity.
Lead special projects and perform other duties consistent with the scope and level of the role.