Environmental, Health and Safety Director jobs in Washington

Position Title

Assistant Director of Environmental Health and Safety

About the University

Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

About the Department

Risk, Ethics, Safety & Resilience supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

About the Position

The Department of Environmental Health and Safety, (EHS) works as part of Risk, Ethics, Safety, and Resilience (RESR) to ensure that the University can maintain and preserve its mission of advancing student success, increasing Washington impact, and enhancing academic excellence through providing a safe and healthy environment in which to learn, work, and visit.

RESR’s vision is to create a resilient university while protecting the University by facilitating the coordination and integration of all activities necessary to ensure a safety-conscious, well-trained, well-equipped workforce that utilizes best practices and industry standards to support and improve the University’s ability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, continue operations during, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other human-caused crises or disasters.

Reporting to the Director of EHS, the Assistant Director promotes safety culture throughout Western Washington University’s operations on its campuses and properties as appropriate and supports the Director in the administration of all health and safety, environmental protection, and related regulatory compliance programs at the university including but not limited to the management of chemical, biological, and radioactive materials and waste, and institutional financial planning for the department. The Assistant Director ensures that the university community is prepared, equipped, and trained in industry standards and universal best practices regarding environmental health and safety. Please note: This position will be required to be on-call for emergency management situations.

This position also manages the workers’ compensation claims management program to ensure compliance and minimize costs. As the claims manager for the university, it is vital to maintain relationships with the campus community, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), and healthcare providers. This position supports and promotes safety culture as a facet of leading the accident prevention and ergonomics program.

Primary Job Functions:

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Maintain familiarity with all applicable state and federal regulations.
• Assists the Director with preplanning with local emergency services to increase familiarization with university buildings prior to an emergency. This includes building mapping.
• Assists the Director with reviewing plans for new and existing buildings with a focus on safety related components, as well as local, state, and federal safety-related requirements.
• Assist in the development, preparation, and administration of budgets.
• May authorize financial transactions up to approved dollar limit.
• Evaluate and suggest safety-related minor capital projects for implementation.
• Serves as acting EHS director in director's absence.

General Environmental Health and Safety Administration:

• Provides project leadership and other support to the Director, EHS on matters related to Environmental Health and Safety and the campus safety functions of the department.
• Develop policies, procedures, and programs necessary to promote health and safety, environmental protection, and regulatory compliance for employees, students, and visitors.
• Monitor policies external to EHS to ensure safety consideration.
• Coordinate activities related to management of chemical, biological, and radioactive materials and waste; organize and direct response to releases of spills; support on-going compliance with relevant state and federal regulations and license requirements.
• Develops training materials and implements the accident prevention program.
• Develop and implement University safety and training programs; serve as consultant in environmental health and safety activities.
• May lead or serve on university committees regarding environmental health and safety concerns such as the Central Health and Safety Committee, Laboratory and Chemical Safety Committee, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC).
• Oversee Incident/Hazard tracking database to ensure timely action on reported incidents and hazards and completion and appropriate closure of files.

Claims Management:

• Ensure timely response and processing of claims at Labor and Industries (L&I). Closely monitor active claims and interact with L&I personnel and medical and vocational providers as needed to ensure smooth flow of claims.
• Maintain contact with injured workers and their departments and provide information and assistance as needed.
• Protest claim adjudication as appropriate.
• Maintain claim information database.
• Act as Return-to-Work Coordinator to facilitate employee's return to work following injury or illness.
• Prepare reports for EHS director or others as needed.
• Develop or update policies and procedures as needed.
• Monitor rules, regulations, and best practices for response to weather, wildfire smoke, and other external events that impact employee safety.
• Ensure promulgation of this information to impacted departments.
• Monitor conditions that trigger response to these events and ensure timely communication to impacted departments.
• Manages and conducts ergonomic evaluations for university faculty and staff.
• Assist in ongoing development and promulgation of EHS communication plan to bring about positive cultural change.
• Work toward expansion of a strong safety culture in all facets of employee and student lives.
• Review and communicate safety issues in partnership within the RESR unit and other appropriate university partners to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.
• Collaborate with other departments to attain and maintain synergistic effectiveness.

General Duties

• Back up other EHS personnel as necessary, including but not limited to permitting of hot work and confined space entry.
• Coordinate and manage internal safety response events including being a member of the confined space rescue team (CSRT).
• Serve when needed in the Incident Command Systems structure.
• Assist in hazardous materials response and releases.
• Alters daily work schedule as required to fulfill position duties without advance notification.
• Complies with WWU policies and procedures, state laws and state regulations as required to successfully accomplish the duties of this position.

Required Qualifications

• Baccalaureate Degree in environmental health or science, chemistry, engineering or related field.
• Five years of relevant experience in safety, health or industrial hygiene.
• Comprehensive knowledge of relevant federal statutes and regulations governing environmental health and safety.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain productive working relationships with the public, university officials, governmental authorities, and employees with diverse backgrounds, goals, and agendas.
• Strong written and oral communication. Experience in building and leading a team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in environmental health or science, chemistry, engineering or related field.
• Administrative experience in higher education, research laboratories, environmental consultation, or comparable institutional environment.
• Certification as an industrial hygienist or certified safety professional.

Special Requirements

Valid driver's license

Conditions of Employment

All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.

Salary

Hiring range for position is $75,673 - $87,024/year. Through longevity position tops out at $98,375/year.

Benefits Information

Benefits Overview for Administrative Professional Position.

Application Instructions

Application materials should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.

Western Washington University is being assisted with this search by Another Source. To apply, please visit: Assistant Director of University Environmental Health and Safety in Bellingham, Washington | Careers at Bellingham, WA 98225 (icims.com)

Closing Date Notes

Position closes on June 27, 2024.

Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained faculty and staff. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU’s Policy on Ensuring Equal Opportunity and Prohibiting Discrimination and Retaliation. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 126 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu

WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3303 or 711 (Washington Relay).

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: This report is provided pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("The Clery Act"). It includes statistics for the previous three calendar years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Western's campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Western; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. You can obtain a copy of this report in printed or alternate formats by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services at vpsa.office@wwu.edu. The report can be found at: Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

All new employees must comply with the immunization policy and show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. A thorough background check will be conducted on all new hires which includes a sexual misconduct background check.