Johnsonville Location: Global Headquarters

Position Overview

At Johnsonville, our Members are at the center of everything we do. The Senior Director of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) will lead our enterprise-wide commitment to protecting people, communities, and the environment across harvest, processing, cold storage, and distribution operations. This role serves as a key leader across the end-to-end supply chain, partnering closely with cross-functional teams to embed safety and environmental excellence at every stage of operations.

This leader will deliver world-class safety and environmental performance through engineered risk reduction, disciplined management systems, and cultural transformation. Success includes sustaining a TRIR below 1.0, driving toward Zero environmental impact, and embedding safety into everyday work. The ideal candidate is a people-centric, operationally credible leader who thrives in complex, high-hazard environments.

Responsibilities

• Human Safety First
  • Make human safety a non-negotiable value; ensure production never outweighs Member well-being.
  • Prevent serious injuries and fatalities related to knife/cut hazards, machine guarding, ergonomics, slips/falls, and chemical exposure.
  • Build programs that empower Members to identify hazards and act in real time.
  • Promote dignity, respect, and psychological safety across a diverse workforce.
  • Strengthen EHS team capabilities and ensure site security protects Members and assets.
• EHS Strategy & Management Systems
  • Design and continuously improve a multi-site Safety Risk Management Program.
  • Maintain environmental systems for compliance and long-term performance.
  • Lead enterprise standards for machine guarding/LOTO, confined space, ammonia refrigeration, contractor safety, ergonomics, training, and environmental controls.
  • Drive disciplined hazard identification, JSAs, and critical control verification.

• Engineering Controls & Risk Elimination
  • Champion an engineering-first approach that prioritizes hazard elimination.
  • Partner with Operations, Engineering, and CI to design safer lines, improve ergonomics, enhance guarding/interlocks/sensors, and integrate safety into capital projects.
  • Strengthen emergency response readiness and community coordination.

• Behavioral Transformation & Engagement
  • Lead cultural change across sites with varied safety maturity.
  • Build behavior-based safety programs that empower Members to stop unsafe work and reinforce safe behaviors under production pressure.
  • Develop plant leaders through presence, coaching, and accountability.
• Regulatory & Industry Compliance
  • Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, USDA, and state regulations.
  • Lead performance during inspections, audits, and enforcement actions.
  • Oversee OSHA PSM and EPA RMP compliance for ammonia systems.
  • Integrate safety and environmental requirements with food safety and FSIS expectations.
  • Lead incident investigations focused on systemic correction.
• Performance Excellence & Metrics
  • Sustain TRIR < 1.0 with declining severity and strong near-miss reporting.
  • Develop meaningful leading indicators (ergonomic risk reduction, guarding integrity, training effectiveness).
  • Translate data into actionable insights for plant and executive leadership.
  • Embed safety as a core enabler of operational excellence and Member retention.
• Leadership & Organizational Development
  • Build and mentor a high-performing EHS team capable of influencing in demanding protein environments.
  • Align senior leaders, plant teams, HR, maintenance, warehouse, and engineering around shared safety ownership.
  • Serve as a strategic advisor on risk, resilience, and long-term Member sustainability.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in EHS, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or related field required
• Master's degree preferred
• CSP, CIH, CHMM, PE, or similar certification preferred

Experience

• 20+ years of EHS leadership in high-speed industrial operations, required
• Proven success improving recordable rates in high-hazard, labor-intensive environments, required
• Experience in large, multi-site, complex operations, required
  • Food processing preferred

Skills

• Strong knowledge of ergonomics, machinery safety, automation, ammonia refrigeration (PSM), and chemical/environmental hazards.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cultural transformation with frontline teams.
• Ability to influence from the boardroom to the plant floor.
• People-centric: Believes all injuries are preventable and every person matters.
• Operationally credible: Trusted on the plant floor and by production leaders.
• Engineering-minded: Sees design and automation as essential to prevention.
• Change leader: Capable of shifting behaviors in fast-paced environments.
• Resilient and pragmatic: Balances production realities with uncompromising safety standards.

Other Requirements

• Travel: Approximately 20% of your time

Benefits and Compensation

Members have potential for a monthly bonus and 401k with a company match. Members also have access to terrific benefits including affordable medical, dental and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; disability and life insurance; and fertility and adoption assistance. Johnsonville also offers competitive paid time off, including paid parental time off, as well as access to the 24/7 onsite fitness center, and onsite medical clinic! Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.