Description
Reports to: Chief Operations Officer
Location: Stewartville, MN, GEOTEK Office
Job Summary
STRONGTEK, a leading market designer and manufacturer of fiberglass composite products for infrastructure markets, is looking for an experienced EHS leader to join our team as Director of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) located in Stewartville, MN (Rochester, MN area).
The Director of EHS defines and leads STRONGTEK's EHS program for workplace safety and environmental compliance across our manufacturing footprint, including locations in Minnesota, Utah, Georgia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The Director of EHS directly manages and leads a team of EHS professionals, including Safety Engineers, EHS Specialists/Coordinators, and Technicians, while providing overall enterprise-wide cross-functional leadership to cultivate and advance STRONGTEK's safety-first culture. The Director of EHS establishes common framework, policies, methods, and practices across functions and locations, while helping operating leaders translate EHS priorities into consistent practices on every shift.
STRONGTEK is a growth company, and as a result, the Director of EHS will find pragmatic and effective ways to achieve the agility necessary to sustain growth without compromising our commitment to employee safety or regulatory compliance.
At STRONGTEK, a trained and competent workforce, along with an effective workplace safety program are essential to employee safety. In close partnership with production leaders, the Director of EHS leads proactive risk reduction, employee engagement, training, and incident prevention in a 24/7 manufacturing environment. The position maintains a visible presence on the production floor, listens to employee concerns, and works with operating leaders to address hazards and verify that corrective actions are effective.
The Director of EHS is expected to communicate clearly with production employees, senior management, regulators, and outside technical resources. The incumbent identifies risks, resource needs, supports sound business decisions, and leads follow-through on compliance commitments and improvement projects. Success requires the ability to think strategically while remaining accessible and effective in daily manufacturing operations. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing company, build teams, and make a significant impact on all the stakeholders of STRONGTEK.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Architects and leads STRONGTEK's EHS program with common policies, framework, approach, philosophy, and tools across multiple manufacturing locations, while establishing site specific procedures and work instructions as needed.
• Leads and fosters a culture reflective of the company's safety-first culture and commitment to protecting the health and safety of employees; promotes environmental, health and safety awareness through technical support, program development, and relationship building.
• Promotes an incident-free work environment through programs that routinely train, monitor, and assure a safe and compliant workplace. Stays informed of, and brings forward, leading industry best practices.
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements relevant to domestic STRONGTEK operations, including environmental and workplace safety.
• Ensures efficient and compliant approaches to permitting/compliance are used that support STRONGTEK's operational and growth priorities.
• Oversees environmental permitting for STRONGTEK domestic sites, including Title V air permits, storm water permits, etc.; Includes compliance sampling and reporting.
• Oversees core environmental programs including spill prevention and containment planning (SPCC), hazardous waste disposal, and waste stream profiling and management.
• Develops strategies and oversees actions that improve overall workplace safety and that drive down the incident rates at each location.
• Develops methods, approaches, and tools to proactively identify, analyze, and mitigate workplace safety hazards.
• Establishes and maintains effective internal EHS audits to identify areas of risk, ensuring appropriate mitigating measures are implemented.
• Solicits employee feedback through various mechanisms; uses that information to improve existing programs or create new ones, and to prioritize actions accordingly. Recognizes employees engaged in injury prevention and safe practices.
• Oversees the incident reporting program to thoroughly investigate all reported incidents and the implementation of corrective actions to prevent recurrence; Ensures follow-through and effectiveness.
• Maintains documented handbooks, policies and procedures, ensuring they are efficient and relevant.
• Ensures required regulatory permits, registrations, and reporting requirements are prepared and submitted as required; Maintains document retention for EHS records.
• Collaborates with Operations to integrate behavior-based safety programs into manufacturing systems and daily practices.
• Leads STRONGTEK's Workers Compensation program, in partnership with HR; Maintains an effective partnership with Workers Compensation vendor and coordinates with Human Resources on work injury leaves, light duty, and return to work situations.
• Identifies safety and environmental training needs, and partners with the Training Facilitator and other cross-functional areas to develop training content and deliver the training.
• Communicates core updates effectively with Sr Leaders, Plant Managers, and other key leaders and stakeholders through various methods including all employee meetings, quarterly reviews, monthly KPI updates, and daily production meetings. Leads discussions and provides the analysis and insight necessary to understand trends.
• Communicates and escalates incidents and risks to Sr Leaders as appropriate.
• Represents the company in meetings with regulatory agencies on matters regarding EHS. Serves as primary contact for OSHA, MPCA, local Fire Department and Worker's Comp partner.
Required Skills and Experience
Education: Bachelor's degree in environmental science, engineering, occupational safety, or a related field; an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience will be considered.
Experience: Minimum of eight years of progressive manufacturing EHS experience, including five years leading EHS programs at a manufacturer and three years directly supervising EHS personnel. Multi-site leadership experience is required. Experience with composite manufacturing (or similar processes) is desirable.
Environmental Permitting: Demonstrated ownership of Title V compliance and new air-permit or amendment projects, including emissions calculations, application review, and agency coordination. Direct experience with federal and state-level regulatory authorities (e.g. EPA, MPCA-MN, etc) permitting is strongly preferred.
Workplace Safety: Strong working knowledge of federal and state safety requirements, including OSHA, and practical experience controlling equipment hazards, hazardous energy, and chemical exposures. Understands how to select controls and verify their effectiveness.
Environmental Compliance: Working knowledge of hazardous waste generator requirements, chemical management, environmental reporting, and permit implementation. Able to evaluate regulatory applicability and manage compliance records, deadlines, and operating requirements.
Problem Solving and Organization: An organized, analytical problem solver who favors practical solutions and uses structured problem solving, root cause analysis, and investigation when needed. Able to prioritize competing risks, manage projects, and bring consistent follow-through to corrective actions and compliance commitments.
Leadership and Results: An experienced leader who develops technical professionals and leads teams across functions and locations. Sets clear expectations, coaches performance, and works with operating leaders to deliver measurable improvements.
Strategic Judgment: Thinks and plans with the broader business in mind while remaining willing to execute daily work. Recognizes when to involve technical experts, escalate risk, or recommend investment, and explains the operating implications of EHS decisions.
Communication and Presence: Communicates accurately and directly, adjusting the message for employees, senior management, and regulators. Brings credibility and sound judgment to leadership discussions while remaining approachable on the production floor.
Training and Floor Presence: Experienced in using practical training to improve safe work. Maintains an active presence in production areas, listens to employees, and works with supervisors to make required practices effective across all shifts.
Credentials and Systems: OSHA/30, HAZWPR certifications are required. Lean/Six Sigma Greenbelt or similar experience is preferred. Proficiency with Microsoft Office, electronic records system, and ERP is required.
Work Ethic and Flexibility: A self-directed leader who sets the example through action, handles confidential information appropriately, and remains calm under pressure. Able to adjust priorities while maintaining clear expectations and timely decisions.
Work Environment and Travel
Based at the southeastern Minnesota campus, with regular travel (25%-30%) to Utah, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Supports a 24/7 operation through periodic evening, night, and weekend engagement and urgent EHS support outside normal business hours. Work includes office and manufacturing settings and use of required personal protective equipment. Must perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation and complete hazardous-materials and emergency-response training appropriate to assigned duties.
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