Manager, Environmental Health & Safety

About the role

The Manager, Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) will play a critical role in building and sustaining an industry-leading safety culture while ensuring compliance with all applicable environmental, health, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Strategic EHS Leadership, Risk Management & Compliance (30%)
• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of site EHS management systems, policies, programs, and performance standards.
• Partner with plant leadership to integrate EHS into operational strategy, capital projects, maintenance activities, and production processes.
• Identify, evaluate, and mitigate organizational risk through proactive risk assessment methodologies and data-driven decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, local, corporate, and customer EHS requirements while driving sustainable operational excellence.
• Culture Development & Leadership Influence (20%)
• Build and sustain a world-class, employee-driven safety culture that promotes ownership, accountability, trust, and engagement at all levels of the organization.
• Coach and develop leaders to strengthen EHS leadership capabilities and increase operational ownership of safety performance.
• Drive employee involvement through observation programs, recognition initiatives, hazard reporting, learning teams, and continuous improvement activities.
• EHS Team Leadership & Talent Development (15%)
• Lead, develop, and mentor EHS personnel through clear expectations, performance management, coaching, and professional development opportunities.
• Build organizational capability by developing future EHS and operational leaders.
• Delegate responsibility, foster accountability, and create an environment where employees are empowered to contribute, innovate, and grow.
• Incident Prevention, Investigation & Learning (15%)
• Lead efforts to prevent incidents through risk identification, verification of controls, and operational engagement.
• Oversee reporting, investigation, and analysis of incidents, near misses, property damage events, environmental releases, and high-potential events.
• Facilitate thorough root cause analyses and ensure development, implementation, validation, and sustainability of effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Drive organizational learning from events and trends.
• Performance Analytics, Auditing & Continuous Improvement (15%)
• Develop and monitor leading and lagging performance indicators to identify trends, assess program effectiveness, and prioritize risk reduction efforts.
• Conduct audits, assessments, and field verifications to ensure program implementation and effectiveness.
• Utilize data analytics to identify emerging risks, measure progress, and communicate performance to plant and business leadership.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen EHS performance and operational reliability.
• Emergency Preparedness & Business Continuity (5%)
• Maintain and continuously improve site emergency response, crisis management, fire protection, and business continuity programs.
• Partner with internal and external stakeholders to conduct drills, validate preparedness, and ensure organizational resilience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental health & safety, Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or related field required.
• Certified Safety Professional (CSP) required.
• Advanced certifications such as CIH, CHMM, Lean Six Sigma, or equivalent are preferred.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success leading EHS programs in complex manufacturing environments and developing operational leaders who actively own safety performance.
• Demonstrated success influencing operational leaders and driving organizational ownership of EHS.
• Experience supporting startup, expansion, greenfield, brownfield, or major capital projects preferred.
• Experience with ISO 14001, ISO 45001, environmental permitting, and sustainability initiatives preferred.

Skills

• Expert knowledge of OSHA, EPA, NFPA, DOT, Tennessee environmental regulations, and applicable consensus standards.
• Strong understanding of risk assessment methodologies, machine safeguarding, energy control (LOTO), contractor safety, industrial hygiene, emergency preparedness, fire protection, ergonomics, and environmental compliance.
• Ability to analyze leading and lagging indicators to predict and prevent incidents.
• Experience managing EHS management systems and driving compliance through operational ownership rather than enforcement alone.

Leadership

• Exceptional leadership presence with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Skilled in coaching frontline leaders, supervisors, managers, and plant leadership teams.
• Strong business acumen and ability to connect EHS performance to operational performance, productivity, quality, and business outcomes.
• Proven ability to manage change, build trust, gain buy-in, and lead through organizational transformation.

Professional Skills

• Advanced critical thinking and risk-based decision making.
• Strong communication, facilitation, presentation, and executive reporting skills.
• Excellent investigation, root cause analysis, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, data analytics tools, EHS management systems, and reporting platforms.

Travel

Up to 25% domestic travel may be required.

Work Location

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Relocation

Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

PAY

$110,000 – $135,000 / year, plus eligibility for applicable bonus and benefit programs.