National Director, Health & Safety - USA

GFL Environmental Inc. • Mokena, IL

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

The National Director, Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) - USA provides strategic, executive, and operational leadership for EH&S programs across national operations, high-hazard facilities, field sites, and refinery operations. The role establishes national standards, continuous improvement frameworks, a culture of safety excellence, and operational alignment with applicable regulatory requirements across the United States and North America.

The director bridges enterprise strategy and operational needs by developing digital EH&S platforms, overseeing high-severity risk mitigation, leading incident-management governance, and directing cross-functional teams. The position also oversees environmental compliance and stewardship, integration of acquired business units into corporate EH&S systems, emergency response, incident investigations, and EH&S reviews for commercial proposals and client submissions.

This is a hybrid role involving corporate and regional offices, operational yards, waste-processing facilities, and refinery sites. Approximately 25% travel across North American operations is required for site inspections, team support, senior leadership initiatives, and frontline leadership engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Engineering, or Occupational Safety.
• 10–15 years of relevant experience in a senior EH&S leadership role.
• Multidisciplinary experience spanning operations, hazardous waste management, environmental management or consulting, emergency response, engineering, and Process Safety Management.
• Expert knowledge of enterprise EH&S management system architectures and development of corporate policies, manuals, and SOPs.
• Extensive expertise in North American environmental protection legislation; federal, provincial, and state OHS regulations; Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG); WHMIS; and municipal environmental bylaws.
• Deep technical understanding of Process Safety Management, pressure systems safety engineering, Lockout/Tagout standardization, and hazard identification in complex industrial services and resource-sector operations.
• Functional implementation experience with digital EH&S management platforms and data visualization platforms.
• Technical background in environmental earth sciences, Phase I/II/III environmental site assessments, Decommissioning & Reclamation Plans, spill contingency planning, and regulatory reporting.
• Ability to influence and align senior operations executives, regional directors, and frontline teams.
• Ability to analyze complex operational data and incident trends to develop proactive mitigation strategies.
• Track record of cross-functional collaboration integrating EH&S into HR, Legal, Claims, IT, and Finance workflows.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills for board-level reporting, regulatory negotiations, and company-wide safety messaging.
• Valid work authorization in the country where the job is located; GFL does not provide visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Formulate, govern, and continuously enhance the enterprise-wide health and safety management system, including KPIs, EH&SMS, corporate safety standards, policies, and SOPs.
• Promote a company-wide culture of safety excellence through executive-led initiatives, training, proactive risk mitigation, standardized safe operating practices, hazardous-task controls, and engineering risk mitigations.
• Establish senior leadership oversight and executive reporting protocols for critical incidents.
• Align EH&S stewardship goals with business objectives, operational sustainability, compliance, and long-term organizational success.
• Provide strategic direction and executive oversight for risk management across operations and client industrial sites.
• Oversee EH&S onboarding and integration of acquired business units, personnel, and infrastructure into corporate systems and safety cultures.
• Oversee environmental compliance, facility monitoring, site remediation, and land-stewardship strategies.
• Direct responses to complex regulatory inquiries, permitting requirements, and third-party compliance verification systems, including ISNetworld and Avetta.
• Provide senior oversight for environmental emergency responses, including internal facility emergencies and third-party technical consultants.
• Direct root-cause investigations using methodologies such as SCAT and RCA, and ensure systemic trend analysis and corrective and preventive action frameworks.
• Partner with Human Resources on employee retention, safety leadership training, and Workers' Compensation Board disability claims management.
• Collaborate with Fleet Compliance on driver safety, National Safety Code alignment, and fleet technology integration.
• Coordinate with Risk & Insurance on certificates of insurance, asset and vehicle coverage, and enterprise risk management.
• Provide EH&S oversight and technical reviews for commercial proposals, RFPs/RFQs, and client pre-qualification submissions.
• Oversee the functional design, optimization, and rollout of digital management software, including Enablon, SEMS, and GFL Learning Hub.
• Use EH&S dashboards to track real-time KPIs, audit findings, KPI logs, and critical incident trends across business units.
• Travel approximately 25% across North American operations to support EH&S team members, conduct site inspections, participate in senior leadership initiatives, and provide frontline leadership engagement.

Benefits

• Four medical plan options, including an HSA with employer contribution and match program.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• Employee Assistance Program with free counseling services.
• Paid time off.
• 401(k) with employer match.
• Competitive wages.
• Growth opportunities.
• Continuous learning opportunities.

What This Job Offers

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