Regional EHS Manager

Who We Are: Challenge Manufacturing's mission is to manufacture with operational excellence by empowering our employee-owners. As a leading tier 1 supplier of complex metal assemblies for the global automotive industry, we drive innovative solutions for future mobility. We believe the best ideas come from individual unique perspectives. These ideas combined with the teamwork of industry leaders allow us to accomplish any challenge. Our team members take pride in the work we do and embody our core values of safety, ownership, and teamwork every day; they are the true driving force in our operations.

Challenge is proud to be one of the largest employee-owned automotive companies in North America. One of the many benefits of joining the Challenge team is the ESOP program. This program allows Challenge to give shares of the Company to all employee-owners annually. These shares are an additional retirement benefit that will continue to grow during your time at Challenge. Being part of an ESOP means our employee-owners share in Challenge's success!

Challenge is #QualityDriven and #PeoplePowered!

Who We Want

We are seeking a hands-on, results-driven Regional EHS Manager to lead Environmental, Health, and Safety programs across multiple manufacturing facilities. This leader will drive a proactive safety culture through visible leadership, operational partnership, and a strong commitment to continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate is a highly engaged safety professional who leads by example, spends significant time on the manufacturing floor, and builds strong relationships with employees and leadership teams. This position requires an individual who can influence without direct authority, standardize EHS systems across multiple locations, improve ergonomic performance, reduce risk, and ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety regulations.

We are looking for someone who believes safety is built through daily engagement, not from behind a desk, and is committed to developing leaders, improving culture, and preventing injuries before they occur. Safety is a core business value and operational requirement. The Regional EHS Manager will drive accountability through leadership engagement, risk elimination, employee involvement, and disciplined execution of EHS management systems. This leader is expected to challenge the status quo, develop organizational capability, and ensure safety is fully integrated into daily operational decision-making at every facility.

Success in this role is measured not only by injury performance, but by the organization's ability to identify, eliminate, and control risk before incidents occur.

What You'll Do

• Lead the EHS strategy and performance for multiple manufacturing facilities.
• Develop and deploy regional EHS strategic plans aligned with corporate objectives, annual business goals, and operational priorities.
• Partner with plant leadership to strengthen safety culture and improve operational performance.
• Spend a minimum of 60% of your time on the manufacturing floor coaching employees, identifying hazards, conducting risk assessments, verifying implementation of safety standards, and engaging leaders in proactive risk reduction activities.
• Standardize corporate EHS programs, procedures, audits, reporting processes, and management systems across all assigned facilities.
• Lead implementation and continuous improvement of Environmental, Health, and Safety Management Systems aligned with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 principles.
• Establish, monitor, and improve both leading and lagging safety indicators, including near-miss reporting, critical risk observations, corrective action closure rates, safety engagement activities, OSHA performance metrics, and leadership Gemba participation.
• Lead investigations involving recordable injuries, serious incidents, high-potential events, property damage, and environmental incidents utilizing Root Cause Analysis methodologies to identify systemic causes and prevent recurrence.
• Lead Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) prevention initiatives by identifying critical risks, validating life-saving controls, and implementing sustainable risk elimination strategies.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on injury reduction, ergonomic enhancements, environmental compliance, operational risk reduction, and elimination of critical hazards.
• Conduct facility audits, leadership reviews, risk assessments, and compliance evaluations to ensure adherence to OSHA, EPA, environmental regulations, and corporate standards.
• Monitor corrective actions and verify effectiveness through field validation and sustainability audits to ensure long-term risk reduction.
• Develop and mentor Site EHS Specialists, supervisors, plant leadership teams, and safety committees while building ownership of safety throughout the organization.
• Drive employee engagement through safety committees, leadership development, risk reduction workshops, and safety awareness initiatives that strengthen a culture of accountability and involvement.
• Establish and maintain regional critical risk management standards for machine guarding, Lockout/Tagout, electrical safety, fall protection, confined space entry, contractor safety, mobile equipment, and other high-risk activities.
• Support environmental compliance programs including hazardous waste, stormwater, wastewater, air emissions, SPCC, sustainability initiatives, and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Support capital projects, automation initiatives, equipment installations, facility expansions, and Management of Change (MOC) processes by ensuring EHS risks are identified, evaluated, and mitigated prior to implementation.
• Manage regulatory inspections, agency interactions, compliance audits, and external assessments while ensuring timely resolution of findings.
• Monitor regional EHS performance metrics and provide executive leadership with routine updates on performance trends, significant risks, corrective actions, and strategic improvement opportunities.

When and Where:

This will be an on site position located at our plant in Kansas City, MO.

What You Need to Have

• Bachelor's Degree in Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Health and Safety, or a related field preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and manufacturing EHS experience.
• 7 to 10 years of Environmental, Health, and Safety leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 3 years leading multiple manufacturing facilities or supporting large multi-site manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated success improving safety culture and reducing organizational risk through both leading and lagging performance indicators.
• Experience developing and implementing corporate EHS standards, policies, management systems, and continuous improvement programs.
• Experience implementing, maintaining, and improving ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 management systems.
• Strong knowledge of OSHA regulations, environmental compliance, incident investigation, OSHA recordkeeping, and multi-state regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated experience leading serious incident investigations utilizing Root Cause Analysis and implementing sustainable corrective actions.
• Experience supporting capital projects and Management of Change (MOC) processes.
• Experience developing and implementing Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) prevention programs and critical risk management strategies.
• Knowledge of ergonomics, industrial hygiene, risk assessments, machine guarding, Lockout/Tagout, electrical safety, contractor safety, emergency response, fall protection, and critical risk management systems.
• Experience managing Workers' Compensation programs and return-to-work processes.
• Proven ability to influence leaders, coach employees, develop talent, and drive organizational change across multiple facilities.
• OSHA 30 required.
• OSHA 500/501 preferred.
• Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), or equivalent professional certification preferred.
• Willingness to travel approximately 40% to 60% throughout the region.