Pipeline Safety, Compliance & Emergency Management Advisor

Location: Springfield, VA
Schedule: Monday- Friday
Natural Gas Utilities 

Job Profile Summary
The Sr. Pipeline Safety, Compliance & Emergency Management Advisor serves as a key leader responsible for advancing pipeline safety, regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, and operational resilience programs. This position provides technical expertise and strategic oversight to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulatory requirements while supporting emergency management initiatives, incident response coordination, and continuous improvement efforts. The Advisor serves as a critical liaison between operational teams, regulatory agencies, emergency management partners, and first responders to strengthen safety performance and emergency readiness across the organization. Participation in an after-hours on-call rotation is required.


External Liaison & Regulatory Coordination
· Represent company during inspections, audits, investigations, and incident response activities with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies.
· Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency management organizations, and other public safety stakeholders.
· Lead compliance activities under 49 CFR Part 192.615, including first responder engagement, training, documentation, and required outreach activities.
· Communicate companies' position on regulatory, safety, and emergency management matters through formal correspondence, presentations, reports, and stakeholder meetings.
· Serve as a liaison with PHMSA, state public service commissions, emergency management agencies, and industry associations regarding pipeline safety and emergency preparedness initiatives.
Pipeline Safety & Regulatory Compliance
· Analyze safety and compliance data to identify risks, trends, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for improvement.
· Support investigations of pipeline incidents, near misses, and operational events, including root cause analyses and corrective action development.
· Interpret and apply federal and state regulations, industry standards, and company policies to support safe and compliant operations.
· Support all aspects of regulatory inspection activities, including inspection preparation, documentation requests, agency responses, reporting requirements, and regulator interactions.
· Monitor regulatory developments, advisories, enforcement actions, and industry best practices to anticipate impacts and recommend proactive measures.
· Assist in preparing responses to Notices of Probable Violation (NOPVs), warning letters, corrective action orders, and other regulatory findings.
· Coordinate with internal stakeholders to implement and sustain compliance initiatives related to Pipeline Integrity, Public Awareness, Damage Prevention, Safety Management Systems, and Operator Qualification programs.
· Develop and maintain electronic systems, databases, records, and tracking mechanisms that support compliance and operational objectives.
Emergency Management & Preparedness
· Support the development, maintenance, and implementation of emergency management plans, procedures, and response documentation.
· Assist with emergency preparedness activities, drills, tabletop exercises, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises designed to evaluate organizational readiness.
· Participate in Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activations and incident management activities during emergencies and significant operational events.
· Support Incident Command System (ICS) implementation and emergency response coordination efforts across business units.
· Assist with emergency notifications, and incident documentation processes.
· Support coordination efforts with local, state, federal, and industry emergency management partners.
· Maintain emergency response resources, contact databases, response procedures, and readiness documentation to support operational resilience.
· Facilitate after-action reviews and lessons-learned processes following incidents, exercises, and emergency events.
· Track corrective actions, improvement plans, and remediation efforts resulting from exercises, audits, inspections, and emergency responses.
· Support business continuity and operational resilience initiatives designed to enhance organizational preparedness and emergency response capabilities.
Continuous Improvement & Operational Support
· Identify opportunities to strengthen safety culture, compliance performance, and emergency preparedness programs.
· Develop recommendations to improve operational procedures, training programs, and regulatory compliance processes.
· Assist in the development and delivery of training programs related to pipeline safety, emergency response, regulatory compliance, and incident management.
· Support cross-functional teams on special projects involving safety, compliance, risk management, emergency preparedness, and operational excellence.
· Perform other duties and assignments as necessary to support organizational safety, compliance, and emergency management objectives.
Qualifications
· Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Safety, Emergency Management, Environmental Science, Compliance, Public Administration, or a related technical field required.
· Minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in pipeline safety, regulatory compliance, emergency management, utility operations, public safety, or regulatory oversight.
· Strong knowledge of federal pipeline safety regulations, including 49 CFR Parts 191 and 192.
· Working knowledge of National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS), Emergency Operations Center (EOC) operations, and emergency preparedness principles.
· Experience facilitating exercises, emergency planning, incident investigations, corrective action management, and regulatory compliance programs.
· Proven ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with regulators, emergency management officials, first responders, and internal stakeholders.
· Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills.
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage diverse audiences and represent the company professionally.
· Demonstrated success implementing safety, compliance, emergency management, or operational improvement programs.
· Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, data analysis tools, and electronic compliance tracking systems.

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.