Sr. Director of EHS

Panasonic•DeSoto, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director, Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) provides enterprise leadership, governance, and oversight for PECNA's environmental, occupational health, people safety, and production/machine safety programs. This leader sets the North American EHS strategy, ensures regulatory and corporate compliance, strengthens enterprise risk management, and builds a proactive safety culture across PECNA's growing manufacturing operations. The role leads a centralized EHS leadership team, partners closely with site and functional leaders, and serves as the primary EHS liaison with Japan-based stakeholders to align priorities, standards, reporting, and continuous improvement. This position oversees our Sparks, NV, and De Soto, KS, sites and may be based at either location.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Occupational Health & Safety, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, Safety Management, or a related field
15+ years of progressive EHS experience within complex manufacturing or industrial operations
10+ years of leadership experience with responsibility for multiple EHS disciplines, teams, and/or sites
Demonstrated knowledge of environmental compliance, occupational health and safety, enterprise risk management, machine safety, industrial hygiene, and emergency response
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence across executive, site, functional, and global stakeholder groups
Enterprise EHS strategy, governance, and risk management in complex manufacturing environments
Expert knowledge of environmental, occupational health, industrial hygiene, machine safety, and emergency response requirements and management systems
Strong understanding of regulatory compliance, permitting, audit, investigation, corrective action, and assurance processes
Executive-level judgment with the ability to identify, prioritize, escalate, and mitigate material operational and compliance risks
Ability to translate global and corporate standards into practical, consistent site-level operating requirements
Data-driven leadership; able to use metrics, leading indicators, analytics, and trend analysis to improve EHS outcomes
Strong cross-functional influence and stakeholder management across Operations, Engineering, HR, Legal, Facilities, EPC, and global teams
Demonstrated capability leading organizational change, centralization, and continuous improvement in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
Executive communication skills with the ability to communicate complex risks clearly and drive accountability at all levels
Global collaboration and cultural agility, including effective partnership with Japan-based leadership and stakeholders
Talent development, succession planning, and leadership capability building
High standards of integrity, ownership, operational discipline, and continuous improvement
Up to 40% travel
Valid authorization to work in the U.S. without restriction.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in a related discipline or MBA
15+ years of progressive EHS leadership experience in manufacturing, industrial, automotive, battery, energy, or a related environment, including 10+ years leading multiple EHS disciplines and teams
Demonstrated success building, centralizing, or transforming enterprise-level EHS programs across complex, multi-site operations
Experience partnering with global organizations and international stakeholders, including Japan-based leadership
Proven track record strengthening safety culture, regulatory compliance, operational discipline, and continuous improvement
Experience providing strategic oversight of EPC/construction safety, contractor safety management, and safety integration for major capital projects
Professional EHS certification such as CSP, CIH, CHMM, or equivalent preferred

Responsibilities

Set and execute PECNA's enterprise EHS strategy, vision, governance framework, and annual operating priorities across all North American operations.
Serve as the principal advisor to executive and site leadership on EHS risk, regulatory obligations, emerging issues, and organizational performance; ensure EHS considerations are integrated into business, operational, capital, and expansion decisions.
Lead and develop the centralized EHS organization spanning Environmental Compliance & Sustainability, People Safety, and Production/Machine Safety; clarify accountability, build capability, and evolve the organization as business needs and risk profiles change.
Establish consistent PECNA standards, policies, management systems, and operating rhythms that translate enterprise expectations into effective site-level execution.
Ensure compliance with applicable environmental, occupational health, and safety regulations, permits, corporate requirements, and global standards; maintain effective systems for compliance monitoring and assurance.
Provide enterprise oversight for hazard identification, risk assessment, mitigation, incident management, corrective and preventive actions, emergency management, business continuity, and crisis response.
Lead executive review of significant safety incidents, environmental events, regulatory matters, and systemic risks; ensure root causes are addressed and lessons learned are shared across sites.
Provide strategic oversight for EPC and construction safety, contractor safety expectations, and construction-phase risk controls for current and future capital projects across PECNA sites.
Serve as PECNA's primary EHS liaison with Japan headquarters and other global stakeholders, ensuring alignment on priorities, reporting requirements, global standards, and escalation protocols.
Establish enterprise EHS metrics, dashboards, leading indicators, and review mechanisms that provide clear visibility to risk, compliance, and performance trends and drive accountability for results.
Sponsor audits, assessments, benchmarking, and continuous improvement initiatives that reduce risk, improve compliance, strengthen operational effectiveness, and enable scalable growth.
Partner with Operations, Engineering, Human Resources, Legal, Facilities, and other functions to embed EHS into daily management systems and operational excellence practices.
Champion a proactive, prevention-focused safety and environmental culture in which leaders and employees understand, own, and act on their EHS responsibilities.
Build leadership capability and succession depth within EHS while promoting cross-site learning, best-practice sharing, and recognition of performance improvements.
Leads a centralized, multi-disciplinary EHS leadership team and is accountable for organization design, talent development, succession planning, and performance across the EHS function.

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision, prescription plans
Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options
Life, accident, critical illness, disability, legal, identity theft, and pet insurance
401(k) plan with company matching contributions and immediate vesting
Vacation, holidays, personal days, sick leave, volunteer, and parental & caregiver leave
Tuition reimbursement for job-related courses after six months of service
Lifestyle Spending Account, EAP, virtual health management, chronic condition, neurodiversity, tobacco cessation, substance abuse support, and life stage and fertility resources
High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition
Opportunity for an annual performance-based bonus
Several on-site cafes, plentiful snack and beverage kitchens, revolving on-site vendor visits and employee events
Free Shuttle