Toxicology Director

Sherwin-Williams • Cleveland, OH

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Toxicology Director leads and establishes the global toxicology strategy, supporting chemical registration, hazard communication, sustainability initiatives, and emerging regulatory requirements. The role ensures delivery of the corporate Toxicology function’s objectives by managing internal and external relationships, providing strategic leadership, allocating resources, and developing talent. The Director is a board-certified toxicologist who manages a small team of toxicologists and ecotoxicologists.

The position partners with Product Stewardship, Sustainability, R&D, Marketing, Legal, and Government Affairs to support enterprise strategy and operations. It directs toxicological and ecotoxicological assessments, global registration and notification support, study placement and review, product hazard evaluation, risk assessments, hazard communication, regulatory interpretation, and compliance. The role also leads complex projects and continuous improvement, builds organizational capabilities, and advances predictive toxicology and QSAR capabilities.

This position is not hybrid or remote. The position is not eligible for work-authorization sponsorship now or in the future, including conversion to an H-1B visa. The job includes access to confidential and proprietary information and other items of value; the company has determined that a criminal-history review is necessary to protect its business, operations, reputation, staff, and business relationships.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in toxicology or a related field such as biology, pharmacology, public health, or chemistry from an accredited institution.
• At least 10 years of experience in toxicology, product safety, product stewardship, regulatory affairs, or a technical function.
• Experience in the coatings, chemicals, or materials industry.
• Experience in professional or trade association working groups.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
• Project leadership experience with cross-functional, large-scale, and global projects or initiatives.
• Excellent presentation skills, including experience presenting to external audiences and executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. in toxicology from an accredited institution.
• Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.
• At least 15 years of experience in toxicology or product safety.
• Prior experience managing staff.

Responsibilities

• Hire, coach, and support toxicologists, ecotoxicologists, and toxicology leaders.
• Align Toxicology team roles and responsibilities across interacting teams and functions within Product Stewardship and the businesses.
• Assign priorities and allocate resources to meet goals and company strategies; recommend priorities for partnership organizations such as R&D, Government Affairs, and IT.
• Complete performance evaluations and goals, manage development plans and succession planning, identify skill gaps, provide feedback, and address performance issues proactively.
• Build organizational capability in toxicology, ecotoxicology, risk assessment, and computational toxicology tools.
• Promote engagement with scientific societies and external organizations so the team stays current with scientific developments and industry best practices.
• Direct toxicological and ecotoxicological assessments arising from portfolio reviews, chemical alternatives assessments, enterprise initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and toxicological or regulatory inquiries.
• Direct teams supporting global chemical registration and notification programs.
• Oversee placement and management of toxicology and ecotoxicology studies through contract research organizations and review study outcomes with the team.
• Lead product hazard evaluation and classification processes.
• Ensure teams deliver risk assessments, support hazard communication systems and SDS classification methodologies, provide regulatory interpretations, and maintain compliance with global regulatory requirements.
• Support legal actions as needed and represent Sherwin-Williams on boards of directors for professional organizations as appropriate.
• Partner with Product Stewardship, Sustainability, R&D, Marketing, Legal, and Government Affairs leadership to ensure effective toxicology practices.
• Provide timely analysis of potential toxicology impacts of new business opportunities, including support for stage-gate reviews during new product commercialization.
• Partner with cross-functional leadership to develop and execute Toxicology strategy and broader enterprise deliverables; act independently to achieve enterprise objectives.
• Collaborate with senior and executive business and functional leaders to anticipate, identify, and assess emerging toxicology trends and use insights from the Toxicology organization.
• Provide toxicology training to key stakeholders.
• Identify and drive continuous-improvement projects that increase efficiency or reduce costs across the Toxicology function and partnership operations.
• Align resources to support critical business projects, including acquisitions, divestitures, plant closures, and technology transfers.
• Act as functional lead for IT or other cross-functional projects with significant global or financial impact, including project management, design, communications, and operational planning.
• Lead highly complex toxicology or cross-functional projects with executive-leadership visibility and serve as a functional expert.
• Champion continuous improvement by embedding cross-training and capability development into daily work, encouraging mentorship and team flexibility, and supporting sustainable compliance programs.
• Drive advancement of predictive toxicology and QSAR capabilities.

What This Job Offers

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