Description

EHS Manager - AmericasWood Dale, IL

Position Overview

The EHS Manager - Americas is responsible for leading Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) programs across Optimas operations in the Americas and reports to the General Counsel.

This role is primarily focused in operational EHS leadership, compliance and safety program development, with secondary responsibility for supporting ESG reporting and customer sustainability requests. The ideal candidate is a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves leader who can both develop practical EHS programs, drive compliance, build safety culture, and partner effectively across Operations, Human Resources and Leadership in a fast-paced environment.

In addition to EHS leadership responsibilities, this role will support evolving customer sustainability and ESG requirements, including administration of EcoVadis and Assent platforms, coordination of customer questionnaires, and support for ESG-related reporting the data collection activities. Prior ESG-related experience is a plus but not required; however, candidates should be willing to learn and support these evolving business needs. #LI-Onsite

Core Responsibilities

Environmental, Health & Safety - (Primary Focus)

• Build, implement and continuously improve EHS programs, policies, and procedures across distribution centers, manufacturing locations and office facilities
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations (OSHA, EPA, state/local) and maintain audit readiness
• Lead all incident investigations, root cause analysis, corrective actions and follow-up activities
• Manage OSHA recordkeeping and reporting requirements (300/300A/301)
• Conduct site audits and risk assessments to identify and mitigate operational risks
• Partner with site leadership to strengthen accountability and drive a proactive safety culture
• Oversee environmental compliance activities, including hazardous materials, waste management, stormwater and related programs
• Develop and deliver EHS training programs across locations
• Support workers' compensation processes and return-to-work coordination in partnership with HR
• Establish EHS metrics, dashboards and reporting for leadership visibility
• Support implementation and maintenance of EHS management systems, including ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 initiatives
• Build scalable EHS infrastructure and processes that support growth

ESG Support

• Support Company ESG and sustainability initiatives in partnership with Legal, Operations, HR, Supply Chain and commercial teams

• Coordinate customer sustainability questionnaires, ESG scorecards and reporting requests
• Maintain and support sustainability platforms and registrations, including EcoVadis and Assent
• Assist with ESG data collection, organization and reporting activities across functions
• Support development of internal ESG policies and governance structures

Key Competencies

• Strong operational EHS expertise with hands-on execution capability
• Strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to influence and partner effectively across all levels of the organization
• High level of ownership, accountability, and urgency
• Ability to balance regulatory compliance rigor with operational practicality
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental, Health & Safety, Engineering, or related field preferred
• 5-10 years of EHS experience in manufacturing, distribution, logistics or industrial environments
• Demonstrated experience building or enhancing EHS programs and processes
• Working knowledge of OSHA regulations, incident investigation, risk assessments and environmental compliance requirements
• Experience supporting workers' compensation and safety training programs preferred
• Familiarity with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 preferred
• Willingness to learn evolving ESG and customer sustainability requirements strongly preferred
• OSHA 30 certification (or equivalent) preferred
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and EHS-related systems preferred

To Staffing and Recruiting Agencies: Optimas does not accept unsolicited CVs or applications from agencies. Optimas is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited CVs or applications and explicitly reserve its right to contact candidates presented in such unsolicited CV or application.