Description
Summary
The Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Manager leads the EHS program for the Novus Foods Delphos, Ohio campus: the 1600 and 1700 production facilities and the Delphos Distribution Center. Reporting to the EHS Director, the role partners with site leadership to implement the Novus EHS Management System (aligned to ISO 45001 and ISO 14001), maintain compliance with federal, Ohio, and local EHS requirements, and lead and develop the campus EHS team. The EHS Manager builds a learning culture grounded in Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) principles: workers are the source of solutions, mistakes are met with learning rather than blame, and safety is built by strengthening controls and the capacity to fail safely.
Duties and Responsibilities
• Lead the EHS program for all Delphos campus facilities across all shifts, implementing the Novus EHS Management System and keeping the campus ready for ISO 45001 / ISO 14001 certification, including internal audits, management review inputs, and current documentation.
• Partner with the Plant Managers and site leadership team to deliver the annual site EHS objectives and action plan, and report monthly performance on the site scorecard with an emphasis on leading indicators.
• Apply HOP principles in daily practice: respond to events with learning, not blame; engage the people who do the work; and focus improvement on conditions, systems, and controls.
• Lead event learning: Learning Teams for serious injury and fatality (SIF) potential events, supervisor-led investigations of recordable and first-aid cases with EHS coaching alongside, and every injury closed out against defined outputs and timelines, including long-term actions.
• Coach site leaders and supervisors on safety leadership practices, including weekly leadership safety walks, shift huddles, and safety content in daily production meetings, and support supervisor HOP and investigation training.
• Manage the safety concern process on defined timelines: high-priority concerns made safe quickly, aging concerns resolved, closures communicated back to the people who raised them, and every corrective action recorded and tracked to closure in the system of record.
• Establish written verification standards for the site's critical safety and environmental controls and ensure scheduled field checks are completed, with interim controls and corrective action when a control is not working.
• Maintain hazard identification and risk assessment processes, including validating the risk register with safety committees and workers, machine risk assessments, Safe Plan of Action for non-routine work, and ergonomic and pedestrian-powered industrial truck risks.
• Lead management of change and pre-startup safety review for new equipment, processes, and capital projects in partnership with Engineering and FSQA.
• Lead EHS readiness for the Delphos Distribution Center start-up, including the pre-startup safety review, emergency action plan and evacuation drills, energy control procedures for new equipment, and associate training before go-live.
• Manage warehouse and distribution EHS for 24/7 operations, including powered industrial trucks (lithium-ion battery charging, order-picker fall protection and rescue), pedestrian-truck separation, storage rack inspection and load limits (ANSI MH16.1), high-piled storage, dock and trailer safety, cold storage and freezer work (cold stress, entrapment prevention), and A2L refrigerant safety (ASHRAE 15/34).
• Own compliance with federal OSHA general industry standards (29 CFR 1910), including lockout/tagout (machine-specific energy control procedures and annual periodic inspections), machine guarding, powered industrial trucks, confined space, PPE, hazard communication/SDS, walking-working surfaces, hearing conservation, respiratory protection, and electrical safety (NFPA 70E and arc flash).
• Lead the combustible dust program (NFPA 660), including material testing, dust hazard analysis, and follow-up actions.
• Support ammonia refrigeration safety in partnership with Engineering and Maintenance, consistent with the OSHA and Clean Air Act Section 112(r)(1) General Duty Clauses and recognized good practice (ANSI/IIAR 2, 6, 7, and 9), including emergency response coordination and EPCRA reporting.
• Manage environmental compliance under U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA, and local requirements, including industrial wastewater pretreatment and discharge permits, industrial stormwater (SWPPP), air emissions and permitting, SPCC, hazardous and universal waste (RCRA), and EPCRA Tier II reporting.
• Maintain the site compliance calendar so every obligation has an owner and evidence location and is completed on time; manage nonconformances (exceedances, notices of violation, audit findings, missed obligations) with an owner and closure plan within 30 days; and support third-party compliance audits.
• Serve as primary site contact for regulatory agencies (OSHA, Ohio EPA, local POTW, fire department) during inspections; prepare and submit required permits, monitoring data, and reports accurately and on time.
• Maintain emergency action, fire prevention, and spill response plans; run scenario-based drills with debriefs and follow-up actions; and ensure fire alarm, sprinkler, and fire pump systems are inspected, tested, and maintained, with impairment and hot work permit processes followed (NFPA, Ohio Fire Code).
• Manage industrial hygiene programs, including chemical and flavoring exposure assessments, noise surveys, audiometric testing, air monitoring, ventilation, and heat and cold stress, and act on results.
• Drive site sustainability: track monthly water, energy, and waste per unit produced, lead site reduction projects, maintain the refrigerant inventory, provide data for annual ESG reporting, and deliver environmental awareness training.
• Facilitate the safety committees at each campus facility and build meaningful worker participation and consultation in identifying hazards, developing solutions, and shaping EHS programs.
• Coordinate EHS training with HR Business Partners and Operations, including new-employee EHS onboarding before floor access and annual and task-specific training (English and Spanish as needed, including temporary and agency workers), and ensure training records are current in the company learning management system.
• Maintain OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping (OSHA 300, 300A, 301) in the company EHS management system, including annual posting and electronic submission.
• Manage workers' compensation claims and return-to-work in partnership with HR and the company's workers' compensation claims administrator; serve as contact for loss control representatives.
• Manage contractor and visitor EHS for the campus, including prequalification, orientation, work permits (hot work, confined space, lockout/tagout), and dock safety rules for carrier drivers.
• Own the Delphos campus EHS budget and participate in the annual budgeting and capital planning process, including EHS review of capital projects.
• Build effective relationships with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, FSQA, HR, and employees at all levels.
• Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications & Requirements
• Bachelor's degree in occupational safety, environmental science, industrial hygiene, engineering, or related field required; equivalent experience considered.
• 5+ years of progressive EHS experience in a manufacturing environment, including site-level program leadership; food, beverage, or dairy manufacturing preferred.
• Experience supervising, coaching, and developing EHS staff.
• Working knowledge of OSHA general industry standards and U.S. EPA/Ohio EPA requirements for wastewater, stormwater, air, hazardous waste, and SPCC.
• Experience with ammonia refrigeration safety (IIAR standards, General Duty Clause) preferred.
• Experience with warehouse or distribution center safety (powered industrial trucks, racking, cold storage) preferred.
• Experience implementing or operating within an ISO 45001 and/or ISO 14001 management system preferred.
• Familiarity with Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), learning teams, or similar learning-based safety approaches preferred.
• Professional certification (CSP, ASP, CIH, or CHMM) preferred, or commitment to pursue; OSHA 30-Hour General Industry preferred.
• Experience working directly with regulatory agencies during inspections and permitting.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 applications; experience with EHS management software.
• Ability to support all shifts, be on call, and work off hours as needed.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred.
Competencies/ Skills
• Safety and Learning Orientation
• Leading and Developing Others
• Active and Formal Communication
• Functional/Technical Knowledge
• Organizing and Planning
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Relationship Building
• Initiative
• Influence
Supervisory ResponsibilityDirectly supervises Delphos campus EHS staff, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, development, and performance management; sets work priorities and coverage across all campus facilities and shifts.
Work Environment
This job operates in a professional office environment across the Delphos campus facilities with a high degree of hands-on activities on the production floor. The use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and photocopiers will be required. While on the production floor, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts. The employee is exposed to cold conditions of 38°F - 45°F in production areas and coolers, and as low as -15°F in Distribution Center freezer areas. Proper ear protection must be worn in the production area, loud noisy machinery and equipment is typical.
