Director R&D EHS Program Lead

Job description

ROLE SUMMARY The Director, R&D EHS Program Lead serves as the GWE R&D principal leader in industrial hygiene and the broader Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) disciplines as it pertains to the support of research operations. Reporting to the Sr. Director, R&D and Capital Strategy Lead this role enables industrial-hygiene expertise. Anchored in this technical authority, this role leads and moderates a global EH&S Community of Practice (CoP), serves as R&D’s lead voice to the enterprise EH&S organization, and establishes the above-site reporting and metrics that give leadership a single, portfolio-wide view of R&D EH&S performance. Influencing and aligning senior stakeholders across GWE, Research and the enterprise Safety, Environmental & Operations (SEO) function, this role delivers Director-level impact principally through expertise and leadership of a community of EH&S professionals. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES Principal industrial-hygiene authority: serve as the technical subject matter leader for GWE R&D, leading the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of chemical, physical and biological exposure hazards across all sites. R&D Leadership Team membership: serve as an active member of the GWE R&D Leadership Team and an extended member of the Safety & Environmental Operations Leadership Team, driving transformative action to reduce EH&S risk and elevate performance consistently across the organization. Exposure-assessment program: design and govern qualitative and quantitative exposure-assessment programs — air, surface and personal monitoring, sampling strategies, and interpretation against occupational exposure limits (OELs) and occupational exposure bands (OEBs). Potent-compound & hazard control: lead hazard and control banding for potent compounds, high-hazard biologics/ADCs and novel molecules, defining containment strategies, engineering controls and PPE for the highest-hazard work. Engineering controls & containment verification: provide technical oversight of ventilation, fume hoods, isolators and containment systems, including performance verification and industrial-hygiene sign-off for laboratory and pilot operations. Risk Assessment expertise: support and implement industrial-hygiene risk-assessment methodologies in partnership with SEO and global policy and procedures, establishing one consistent toolset and documentation standard applied across all R&D sites. Laboratory Safety Program: Ensure consistent application of lab safety programs, developing a consistent GWE-wide approach for each laboratory environment, differentiating between analytical, chemistry, biological, etc., laboratories. Community of Practice leadership: lead and manage a global R&D EH&S Community of Practice of 10–12 discipline experts (industrial hygiene, biological safety & containment, process/contractor safety, and EH&S management systems); set priorities and deliverables and drive consistent, outcome-focused standards, tools and best practices. Enterprise EH&S liaison & governance: serve as GWE R&D’s representation in the enterprise programs, shaping enterprise policies, standards, reporting and tools — with particular focus on industrial-hygiene standards — so they are fit-for-purpose for R&D, and securing governance and decision rights on R&D’s behalf. EH&S governance & risk registers: lead and sustain site-level EH&S risk registers, rolling up location-based input into a network-wide, forward-looking view of the state of control; establish action plans in response to emerging trends and risk signals, escalating as needed to secure alignment and accelerate resolution. Science-line partnership & risk enablement: advise senior scientific and operational leaders on practical, IH-based solutions, exercising independent judgment to balance exposure risk with business needs and aligning stakeholders across Workplace Experience, Research and site operations. Performance reporting & metrics: establish and deliver portfolio-level visibility of EH&S and industrial-hygiene performance — exposure trends and leading/lagging indicators — informing executive decisions and driving continuous improvement. AI Implementation: Explore opportunities for AI to assist with EHS processes, risk assessments, change control, and metrics, and implement GWE-wide solutions. Incident investigation & lessons learned: manage the escalation process for significant EH&S events or compliance issues, lead root-cause investigations, and communicate lessons learned to drive improvement across the R&D network. Enterprise representation — vendor program & BD/M&A: represent Global Workplace Experience/R&D as decision partner for EH&S service and vendor programs (e.g., IH monitoring services, waste management) in support of enterprise procurement savings; lead EH&S/IH due diligence for business development and M&A activity to anticipate exposure gaps and remediation needs before they impact R&D. Talent & capability development: leverage the Community of Practice to assess and strengthen industrial-hygiene and EH&S bench strength, enabling succession planning and creating growth and development opportunities. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree in industrial/occupational hygiene, environmental/occupational health, chemistry, engineering, or a closely related scientific discipline. 10+ years of progressive industrial-hygiene and EH&S experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, or another life sciences/high-hazard, regulated environment. Deep, demonstrable expertise in industrial hygiene — exposure assessment, monitoring and sampling, OELs/OEBs, hazard/control banding, and engineering-control evaluation — in laboratory and R&D settings. Demonstrated Director-level (or equivalent senior) EH&S leadership, including owning or influencing standards, programs, or communities of practice across multiple sites at an above-site or enterprise level. Proven ability to lead, influence and drive outcomes without solid-line authority — directing matrixed teams and aligning senior stakeholders across scientific, operational and corporate functions in a large, global organization. Working knowledge of applicable EH&S regulations and standards (e.g., OSHA, EPA, ACGIH, biosafety/containment, process safety) across U.S. and international jurisdictions. Technical breadth across core EH&S disciplines — process safety, biosafety, colleague/occupational safety, and environmental impact reduction — in addition to industrial hygiene. Excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple locations, functions and cultures. Experience leading or supporting EH&S investigations and technical program development. Candidate demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and create business impact. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) — strongly preferred; additional certification such as CSP, CBSP/RBP, or equivalent a plus. Advanced degree (MS/MPH/PhD) in industrial hygiene, occupational/environmental health, business continuity management, or related field. Direct R&D/laboratory industrial-hygiene experience with high-potency compounds/ADCs, novel chemistries, and BSL-3 and/or Select Agent programs. Experience with EH&S management systems and digital platforms (e.g., Cority, Intelex, Enablon, or similar) and portfolio-level exposure/EH&S metrics and reporting. Experience supporting BD/M&A EH&S due diligence and enterprise vendor/service programs within a global, matrixed organization. Active, current membership in a relevant professional body, with a formal continuing professional development (CPD) requirement. PHYSICAL/MENTAL REQUIREMENTS Ability to perform complex data analysis and synthesi