Director of EHS

Director of Environmental Health & Safety

Confidential Advanced Manufacturing Organization
Near Richmond, Virginia

Summary

A rapidly growing advanced manufacturing organization near Richmond, Virginia is seeking a Director of Environmental Health & Safety to lead and elevate its EHS function during a significant phase of operational expansion.

This organization designs and manufactures highly engineered electrical and infrastructure systems used in critical industrial and technology environments. Its operations include multiple production buildings, integrated fabrication and assembly functions, warehousing, testing, and cross-functional engineering collaboration. With workforce growth projected to increase substantially over the next year, leadership is investing in a senior-level EHS leader who can strengthen systems, reduce risk, and help scale operations responsibly.

This is not a maintenance role. This is a leadership opportunity to build structure, drive cultural maturity, and implement forward-looking risk management in a complex manufacturing environment.

The right leader will partner directly with senior operational leadership, influence executive decision-making, and shape the next phase of safety and environmental performance across the organization.

Responsibilities

Strategic EHS Leadership

• Own and elevate the environmental, health, and safety strategy across a multi-building manufacturing operation

• Establish and track meaningful leading indicators to proactively reduce risk

• Strengthen year-round audit readiness and management system discipline

• Align EHS systems with lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives

• Present safety performance metrics and insights to executive leadership regularly

Culture & Workforce Engagement

• Champion a collaborative, partnership-based safety culture

• Drive employee engagement through structured communication, learning teams, and recognition initiatives

• Shift the organization from reactive compliance to predictive risk management

• Promote accountability while building trust across operations

Cross-Functional Integration

• Partner with engineering to embed safety into equipment design and process improvements

• Collaborate with operations, warehousing, procurement, and subcontractors to strengthen safety alignment

• Support operational growth while ensuring risk mitigation keeps pace

• Influence leadership decisions where safety impacts performance, reputation, or client relationships

• Support customer audits and client interactions where manufacturing safety practices and risk management programs are reviewed  

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor a team of safety professionals

• Evaluate organizational capability and recommend structural improvements

• Build scalable systems to support anticipated workforce growth

• Strengthen internal bench strength and leadership capability

Regulatory & Systems Management

• Ensure compliance with OSHA and applicable environmental regulations

• Oversee incident investigations and root cause analysis

• Improve documentation rigor and system maturity

• Implement data-driven safety analytics to identify trends and prevent incidents

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering background strongly preferred

• 8+ years of EHS leadership experience within a medium-to-large manufacturing environment

• Experience in complex industrial, infrastructure, electrical, heavy fabrication, or mission-critical production environments preferred

• Demonstrated success improving leading indicators and reducing operational risk

• Experience operating within structured lean or continuous improvement systems

• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders

• Polished communicator comfortable presenting to leadership and external partners

• Collaborative leadership style with the confidence to drive change

• Ability to represent the organization during customer visits, audits, or external safety reviews

Recognized safety certifications (CSP, CIH, or similar) are valued.

Location

This role is based near Richmond, Virginia.

The greater Richmond region offers a strong quality of life, access to excellent schools and universities, a growing business community, and proximity to both the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic coast. The area combines historic charm with modern growth and is an increasingly attractive destination for manufacturing and infrastructure investment.

Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive executive-level base salary

• Performance-based incentive opportunity

• Comprehensive benefits package

• Long-term leadership growth potential

If you are a senior-level EHS leader ready to move beyond maintaining programs and into shaping strategy within a growing manufacturing organization, we welcome a confidential conversation.

Apply Now for consideration.