Principal Technical Consultant, Construction Safety

Help shape the future of safe, high-impact capital projects through expert leadership in construction safety. This role guides clients through the full capital project lifecycle—from early planning and design to construction, commissioning, start-up, and closeout.

Why This Role Matters

You will help organizations proactively identify and manage EHS risks, strengthen safety culture, and ensure compliance while driving continuous improvement across complex, high-value projects. This is a high-impact opportunity to lead technical excellence, mentor teams, and contribute to ERM’s rapidly growing Safety Services practice.

Large-scale capital projects present dynamic and evolving risks. Your expertise will directly influence how organizations design and execute safer, more efficient projects, ensuring that safety is integrated from concept through operation. You will enable clients to achieve both regulatory compliance and operational excellence while fostering a strong, sustainable safety culture.

Responsibilities

• Partner with client EHS, Engineering, Project Controls, and Capital Project leadership to evaluate program effectiveness, identify gaps and emerging risks, and drive improvement opportunities across all project phases.
• Challenge existing approaches and facilitate strategic discussions with stakeholders regarding program maturity, organizational capability, contractor management practices, and risk governance.
• Develop and deploy scalable EHS frameworks, standards, procedures, tools, and management systems aligned with project objectives and enterprise risk management goals.
• Advise clients on Safety-by-Design integration, constructability risk management, contractor safety governance, operational readiness, and long-term sustainability of EHS programs.
• Lead assessments, benchmarking activities, maturity evaluations, and strategic improvement initiatives that strengthen safety performance and organizational capability.
• Translate technical observations and project execution challenges into executive-level recommendations and actionable roadmaps.
• Lead Safety-by-Design integration and risk-based decision making throughout the project lifecycle.
• Design and execute project EHS governance processes including risk reviews, assurance routines, site audits, escalation pathways, and corrective action tracking.
• Align multidisciplinary teams on safety expectations, communication protocols, and incident-free execution strategies.
• Review contractor safe work documentation including JHAs, pre-task plans, permits, lift plans, energy isolation/LOTO plans, training records, and emergency response plans.
• Conduct field observations and audits to verify critical controls, assess contractor conformance, and escalate corrective actions.
• Support commissioning, startup, and turnover readiness by verifying safety planning for equipment, systems, and operational transitions.
• Support project closeout by confirming safety documentation, lessons learned, corrective action closure, and proper handover of EHS records.

Requirements

• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and transforming EHS management systems, governance frameworks, and construction safety programs for large capital projects.
• Ability to influence executive stakeholders and deliver strategic recommendations that improve project risk management and EHS performance.
• Bachelor’s degree in safety, occupational health and safety, engineering, construction management, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 6–8+ years of capital project EHS experience, including owner-side safety support, contractor oversight, construction execution, and commissioning/start-up.
• Experience with Safety in Design, constructability reviews, PHA/PSM-informed risk reviews, and project EHS governance processes.
• Strong knowledge of OSHA construction/general industry standards, LOTO, permitting, emergency response, fire protection, and high-risk construction controls.
• Experience reviewing contractor safe work documentation including JHAs, pre-task plans, permits, lift plans, energy isolation plans, training records, and toolbox talks.
• Strong field presence, communication skills, and ability to influence contractors, project teams, and client EHS personnel.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ability to manage multiple priorities, travel as needed, and deliver high-quality client service.

Preferred Qualifications

• CHST, ASP, CSP, OSHA 30, confined space, fall protection/prevention, or equivalent certifications/training.
• Experience supporting complex capital projects in pharmaceutical, high-tech, chemical, LNG, manufacturing, or similar industries.

Pay

Anticipated annual base pay is $137,330 – $170,592 (USD). Actual pay will depend on factors such as education, experience, skills, location, performance, and business needs. In some cases, pay may fall outside this range.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, parental leave, medical, dental, vision, life, disability, AD&D insurance.
• 401(k) or RRSP/DPSP.
• Eligibility for bonus pay (casual and fixed term/flex force employees are not bonus eligible).

About ERM

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

Our diverse team of world-class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. We call this capability our “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.