Senior EHS Specialist - Construction and Renovation

About the role

This position is a member of EHS’s Occupational & Construction Safety, and Public Health (OCSPH) division and is responsible for the development and implementation of environmental and construction safety programs for construction and remediation projects within the various schools and units within the University.

Responsibilities

• Works with the construction project teams to identify EH&S issues and risks during the planning, design, construction, and closeout phases of projects, and assists the Project Managers with maintaining compliance with Federal, State, and Local construction safety and environmental laws.
• Focused on Construction and Renovation, the position will support project managers, architects, general contractors, subcontractors by working with third party construction safety and environmental professionals, and internal EHS groups to identify and mitigate environmental health and safety risks for projects, ensuring compliance with local, State and Federal regulations.
• Manages the University’s core construction safety programs, including but not limited to, Contractor Safety Assessment Programs, Contractor Drug Testing Program, Project Design Review Process, EHS Project lifecycle Program (Design Review, Hazard Assessment, Project Kickoff, Project Support, Validation, etc.), Contractor Community Coordination, Construction Safety Standard and Construction and Renovation KPI management.
• Interfaces with applicable regulatory agencies, manages 3rd party EHS consultants, ensures University compliance in managing construction safety and environmental programs to include inspections and documentation.
• Reviews architectural design documents and specifications to identify potential issues related to EHS concerns during design, construction and building operation.
• Coordinates with EHS management team and staff to integrate EHS requirements into construction projects and assist with post-construction transition to building occupancy. Fosters construction-related competency among EHS professional staff.
• Participates in a rotating on-call EHS emergency response program. Responds to and mitigates emergencies involving hazardous materials during and after business hours.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required, preferably in technical or scientific discipline related to environmental health and safety subjects, with at least 7-10 years’ experience in development and/or implementation of industrial/institutional environmental, health, and safety compliance programs.
• Expertise in Microsoft Office products, including Word, Access, Excel, and PowerPoint is required. Candidate must attain expertise in use of other common scheduling and communications software in use at Harvard, including Microsoft Outlook.
• Master's degree in environmental engineering, science, or environmental health and safety related field.
• Strong working knowledge of all federal, state, and local health, safety, and environmental regulations.
• Skilled in interpretation of requirements and implementation of safety, health, and environmental compliance programs.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills including word-processing, database, and spreadsheet applications.
• Ability to function in a position designed to serve independent operating units in a decentralized environment. OSHA 40 hour HAZWOPER training and current OSHA 8 Hour refresher required.
• Certified Safety Professional via BCSP.

Qualifications and Skills

• Strong knowledge of construction techniques and methods and how they relate to potential environmental and safety issues for a project.
• Complex support may include building occupant & resource protection, continued operation and future use of unique building systems, general construction safety, fire prevention, asbestos, lead-based paint, soil management, PCBs in building materials and other hazardous wastes/conditions.
• Works with architects, engineers and designers to incorporate environmental design criteria into plans and specifications. Provides technical assistance to the project teams regarding environmental issues during a project.
• Prepares, coordinates, and tracks on behalf of the project manager request for proposals, specifications, and plans for soil management, stormwater, groundwater, hazardous materials, and other environmental issues that may be relevant to the construction process. Maintains all documentation associated with these tasks.
• Provides regular reports to project managers and EHS management regarding the status of environmental and safety issues for their projects. Manages and reviews environmental consultant’s work, to ensure compliance, timeliness and technical accuracy. Regularly attend construction meetings.
• Communicates environmental and safety requirements to contractors and provides routine environmental health and safety compliance inspections of construction sites, as necessary. Proactively identifies and reports on environmental concerns, hazards, or risks to project managers.
• Interfaces with regulatory agencies regarding proposed regulations, regulatory interpretations, compliance negotiations, permits, regulatory reform and related activities. Act as project liaison between the regulatory agencies and Harvard school/units.
• Reviews architectural design documents and specifications to identify potential issues related to EHS concerns during design, construction and building operation.
• Coordinates with EHS management team and staff to integrate EHS requirements into construction projects and assist with post-construction transition to building occupancy. Fosters construction-related competency among EHS professional staff.
• Participates in a rotating on-call EHS emergency response program. Responds to and mitigates emergencies involving hazardous materials during and after business hours.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

Pay

Exempt

Schedule

Hybrid