Global Head of EHS

Cushman & Wakefield • Chicago, IL

18h • $255,000 - $300,000

About The Position

The Global Head of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) is responsible for helping set, execute, and oversee the enterprise-wide strategy for environmental, health, and safety across all regions and business lines. Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel and preferably located in Chicago, IL, USA, this leader will drive a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture and ensure the company’s operations meet or exceed global regulatory requirements, sustainability goals, and public company disclosure standards. The Global Head of EHS also leads crisis management, business continuity, and oversees the development and continuous improvement of EHS programs, standards, and technology platforms, leveraging data analytics for real-time risk management and reporting. As a trusted advisor to executive leadership and an ambassador for EHS quality and excellence, this position leads global and regional teams, manages complex stakeholder relationships, and drives a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture by championing continuous improvement of standards and systems, and promoting operational excellence, talent development, and change management to protect people, assets, the environment, and the company’s reputation. The position requires strong influence and partnership across a complex matrix organization and representation of the company externally with clients, regulators, and industry bodies.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continuously enhance the global EHS strategy, standards, and performance metrics to ensure alignment with business objectives, risk reduction, sustainability goals, and regulatory compliance, while driving governance through executive-level reporting, risk reviews, and collaboration with corporate teams and leadership.
• Oversee global EHS programs and partner with internal departments and clients to align and address leading injury and illness prevention, contractor safety, fire and life safety, environmental compliance, hazardous materials, ergonomics, emergency preparedness, business continuity planning, and workplace violence prevention; implement robust risk assessment methodologies with corrective and preventive actions; trainings; return-to-work program; site inspections and security assessments; and manage incident response, investigations, root cause analysis, and global communication of lessons learned.
• Ensure global compliance with all applicable EHS regulations by overseeing audit programs, inspections, and internal controls; maintaining ISO certifications (ISO 45001, ISO 14001) and client-mandated standards; and driving corrective actions to uphold regulatory and operational excellence across all jurisdictions
• Provide strategic leadership for global and regional EHS teams by mentoring and ensuring alignment and accountability; provide executive leadership and key business functions as the senior advisor; and represent the organization externally to clients, regulators, and industry bodies on critical safety, compliance, and risk matters.
• Champion a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture globally by developing and governing comprehensive EHS training frameworks for employees and contractors, leading scenario planning and executive tabletop exercise, and delivering impactful communication strategies including campaigns, alerts, performance reporting, and engagement initiatives to ensure competency and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Sustainability teams to integrate EHS initiatives with climate, energy, waste, and GHG objectives; support client Sustainability reporting and corporate sustainability disclosures; and drive environmental stewardship and regulatory compliance across global operations.
• Support business development and client engagement by representing the EHS function in proposals and presentations; lead change management initiatives to drive adoption of new EHS policies, practices, and systems; and ensure effective succession planning and talent development within the global EHS team.
• Oversee and, as applicable, lead the selection, implementation, and optimization of global EHS technology platforms, data analytics, and digital transformation to drive real-time visibility and reporting.

Benefits

• Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work.
• In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed