Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety  

Pay: $150,000-175,000

About Circular Services

Circular Services is a leading developer and operator of circular economy infrastructure and services and the largest private recycling and organics company in the U.S. with operations across the country. We help businesses and municipalities reduce and divert waste, lowering disposal costs and fueling local supply chains by ensuring materials are recovered, recycled, and reused.  

About the Role: Circular Services is seeking an experienced Director of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) to lead implementation and continuous improvement of the enterprise Safety Management System (SMS) across the East Region, encompassing Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The Director will partner with Operations leadership to translate enterprise safety policy and standards into consistent operating practices, manage regional risks, verify the effectiveness of safety controls, and improve safety performance across recycling, reuse, and organics operations.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on, systems-oriented leader with experience in industrial, manufacturing, recycling, waste management, or similar operations. This individual will successfully partner and influence operational leaders, build employee engagement and reporting practices, and use data, assurance activities, and organizational learning to strengthen safety performance across multiple facilities while advancing a consistent, enterprise-wide commitment to operational excellence.

Regional Scope: Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Travel is approximately 40-50% to include audits, inspections, compliance activities, stakeholder engagement, and other duties and may also include other Circular Services facilities and regions nationwide as part of the general Safety team, as well as various conferences and professional training.

Primary Work Location: The successful candidate will be based at the Circular Services facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, or Brooklyn, New York.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401k with company match
• Paid Parental Leave
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement Program

Responsibilities: 

Safety Management System (SMS) Leadership, Safety Policy & Regional Execution

• Implement and maintain the enterprise SMS within East Region operations, aligning regional execution with company safety policy, objectives, standards, and performance expectations.
• Promote visible leadership commitment, employee participation, timely hazard reporting, and a learning-oriented safety culture that supports proactive risk reduction.
• Partner with Operations leaders to integrate SMS requirements, risk controls, and safety accountability into day-to-day operations, operational changes, and management decisions.
• Coach facility leaders and EHS personnel on SMS responsibilities and support consistent adoption of enterprise programs at existing and newly acquired facilities.

Safety Risk Management & Operational Controls

• Lead regional hazard identification, risk assessments, and implementation of effective controls for mobile equipment, machine guarding, vehicle movements, energy isolation, and other industrial exposures.
• Coordinate industrial hygiene and occupational exposure assessments, including monitoring of noise, dust, airborne contaminants, and other workplace exposures, and partner with Operations to implement and verify appropriate controls.
• Oversee timely incident and near-miss reporting, investigations, root cause analysis, corrective action ownership, and verification that implemented controls effectively prevent recurrence.
• Support execution of enterprise fleet safety and DOT/FMCSA programs, including applicable CDL and non-CDL driver qualification requirements, in coordination with central compliance functions.
• Coordinate with Operations, HR, and enterprise risk management partners on injury prevention, workers' compensation, return-to-work, and lessons learned from loss trends.
• Lead regional implementation of management of change processes to identify, assess, and control safety risks associated with equipment modifications, operational changes, new processes, and facility integrations.
• Support implementation and oversight of contractor safety requirements, including contractor qualification, hazard communication, worksite coordination, and verification of applicable safety controls.

Safety Assurance, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance

• Verify implementation of applicable OSHA, EPA, DOT, FMCSA, and state and local EHS requirements throughout facilities in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
• Serve as the regional EHS point of contact for regulatory inspections, inquiries, and agency interactions, coordinating responses, required reporting, and corrective actions with Operations and appropriate enterprise personnel.
• Oversee facility-level environmental compliance with applicable permits, inspections, reporting, recordkeeping, and regulatory commitments, in collaboration with responsible enterprise functions.
• Execute the company safety assurance program through planned inspections, operational assessments, audit participation, documented findings, corrective action tracking, and effectiveness verification.
• Lead regional implementation and verification of critical safety controls, ensuring that safeguards addressing high-consequence operational hazards are consistently applied, monitored, and evaluated for effectiveness.
• Escalate material risks, recurring deficiencies, and regulatory changes through the SMS governance process and ensure timely local implementation of required actions.

Safety Promotion, Training & Organizational Learning

• Verify that new employees receive role-appropriate safety orientation and required training before performing assigned work, with accurate completion records.
• Deploy enterprise training standards and coordinate targeted refresher training, coaching, and competency validation based on identified risk and performance gaps.
• Work with Operations, HR, and enterprise safety promotion personnel to improve access to training, reinforce supervisor accountability, and maintain training documentation.
• Strengthen two-way safety communication, employee consultation, near-miss reporting, and the sharing of lessons learned and successful risk controls across sites and regions.

SMS Performance Monitoring & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor SMS performance through leading and lagging indicators, including hazard reports, incidents, training completion, inspections, audit results, corrective action closure, and control effectiveness.
• Analyze regional trends, assess emerging operational risks, and use findings to establish corrective and preventive actions and continuously improve SMS performance.
• Provide regular, actionable regional SMS performance reviews to Operations and enterprise safety leadership, escalating significant exposures and tracking improvement commitments.
• Use enterprise EHS technology and reporting tools to strengthen data quality, transparency, action tracking, and consistent implementation across the region.
• Develop and maintain regional safety performance dashboards, visualizations, and analytical reports that translate leading and lagging indicators into actionable intelligence for operational leadership and enterprise SMS performance assessment.

Additional Responsibilities

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned to support the organization's operational and safety objectives.

Minimum Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Safety Sciences, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of EHS experience in industrial, manufacturing, recycling, waste management, logistics, or similar environments.
• 3+ years of EHS leadership experience, including managing safety programs across multiple facilities.
• Strong knowledge of OSHA, environmental regulations, industry safety standards, and applicable DOT/FMCSA requirements.
• Experience developing safety programs, conducting incident investigations, risk assessments, regulatory audits, and implementing corrective actions.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to track EHS performance metrics and drive continuous improvement.
• Proficiency with computers and common business applications, including Microsoft Office (particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint), electronic EHS management systems, digital reporting tools, and data visualization platforms.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills with the ability to collaborate across all organizational levels.
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 40-50%, including regional site visits and potential national travel to other Circular Services facilities, regions, conferences, and training events.

Preferred Job Qualifications: 

• Experience in recycling, waste management, materials recovery facilities (MRFs), organics processing, or heavy industrial operations.
• Professional certifications such as ASP, CSP, CIH, or CHMM.
• Experience integrating EHS programs following acquisitions or across growing, multi-state organizations.
• Experience with fleet safety, commercial vehicle operations, and EHS management systems such as KPA.
• Knowledge of SMS principles and assurance practices, including ISO 45001, ISO 14001, or comparable safety and environmental management systems.
• Demonstrated experience implementing structured SMS, conducting risk-based assurance activities, managing corrective actions to verified closure, and engaging operational leaders in continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and visualizing safety performance data, including the development of dashboards, trend analyses, and executive-level reports to support risk-based decision-making, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement within a Safety Management System (SMS).

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements: 

• Ability to work in industrial environments, including recycling and organics processing facilities.
• Ability to walk operational facilities, climb stairs, and conduct inspections around heavy machinery and mobile equipment.
• Ability to work in environments with varying temperatures, noise levels, dust, odors, and other industrial conditions.
• Must be able to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Approximately 40-50% travel, including visits to facilities in CT, NY, MA, and NJ and possible travel nationwide for company needs, conferences, and training.

EEOC:  Circular Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind: Circular Services is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Circular Services are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Circular Services will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.