What does an environmental health and safety director do?
An Environmental Health And Safety Director ensures a company's compliance with local, state, and federal environment, health, and safety regulations. Their main duty is to protect employees, customers, and the environment.
Environmental health and safety director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real environmental health and safety director resumes:
- Achieve world-class incident rate of less than .9 and recognize as an industry leader by MSHA.
- Achieve OHSAS 18,001 team certification (British standard as there are no ISO standards as yet for safety).
- Lead successful turn-around of EHS and laboratory functions by restructuring operations and employing more cost-effective programs and treatment technologies.
- Focuse on achieving the highest levels of HSE performance through behavior-base initiatives, auditing, mentoring and expeditiously implementing change.
- Establish company-wide OSHA compliant safety training programs.
- Model include program management, oversight, staffing, metrics, communication and a sustainability strategy.
- Establish, implement and enforce environmental policies to meet TCEQ and EPA's standards.
- Act as main point of contact for various regulatory inspections including EPA, DEA and local governments.
- Provide oversight of medical disability programs and occupational health.
- Conduct qualitative exposure assessments for organic/inorganic chemical species; perform OSHA compliance audits.
- Work include reviewing process modifications for conformance with EHS regulations and corporate policies and updating programs for regulatory changes.
- Implement initiatives to support effective injury/illness case management, return-to-work programs, and investigation and management of HSE relate cases.
- Insure policies and procedures are in compliance with the 14 elements of PSM as prescribed in 29 CFR.
- Verify appropriate personal protective equipment PPE, being used properly and verify training.
- Provide leadership and overall ESH direction, establish program objectives, and execute programs.
Environmental health and safety director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Environmental Health And Safety Directors are proficient in Environmental Health, EHS, and OSHA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Problem-solving skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Environmental Health And Safety Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Environmental Health, 11%
Monitored compliance with environmental health and safety statutes and regulations of state and federal guidelines implementing safety policies and programs.
- EHS, 8%
Provided Executive Management with frequent status reports on facility EHS compliance and identified critical business exposures and opportunities for improvement.
- OSHA, 8%
Conducted qualitative exposure assessments for organic/inorganic chemical species; performed OSHA compliance audits.
- Continuous Improvement, 4%
Establish a structured self-evaluation program for the purpose of monitoring and continuous improvement.
- EPA, 4%
Innovated use of grants to created the first Remote EPA Certified Drinking Water Laboratory to protect public health.
- Ehs Management, 4%
Completed South Korea operations EHS gap analysis and developed their regional EHS Management and emergency response programs.
"environmental health," "ehs," and "osha" are among the most common skills that environmental health and safety directors use at work. You can find even more environmental health and safety director responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for an environmental health and safety director to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "health and safety engineers produce designs showing potential problems and remedies for them." Additionally, an environmental health and safety director resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "monitored the chemical inventory, water treatment plant operations and hazardous waste stream disposal. "
Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling environmental health and safety director duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "in designing solutions for entire organizational operations, health and safety engineers must take into account processes from more than one system at the same time." According to an environmental health and safety director resume, here's how environmental health and safety directors can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "managed system-wide eh&s; compliance audits and tracked corrective action resolution to completion. "
Communication skills. environmental health and safety directors are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to environmental health and safety director responsibilities, because "health and safety engineers must be able to interpret federal and state regulations and their intent so that they can propose proper designs for specific work environments." An environmental health and safety director resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "model included program management, oversight, staffing, metrics, communication and a sustainability strategy. "
The three companies that hire the most environmental health and safety directors are:
- Nestlé4 environmental health and safety directors jobs
- Bausch + Lomb3 environmental health and safety directors jobs
- 1-800-Flowers.com2 environmental health and safety directors jobs
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Compare different environmental health and safety directors
Environmental health and safety director vs. Ehs manager
An environmental health & safety (EHS) manager is in charge of developing and implementing safety programs for a company's workforce and work environment. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting regular inspections to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations, devising preventive measures, spearheading training and seminars, and investigating workplace accidents and identify causes to ensure that it would not happen again. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing every policy and safety regulation of the company.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an environmental health and safety director are more likely to require skills like "ehs," "osha," "risk management," and "sustainability." On the other hand, a job as an ehs manager requires skills like "safety regulations," "safety committee," "safety procedures," and "ergonomics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Ehs managers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $96,976. Comparatively, environmental health and safety directors tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $112,310.On average, ehs managers reach similar levels of education than environmental health and safety directors. Ehs managers are 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Environmental health and safety director vs. Ehs coordinator
An EHS coordinator develops and organizes environmental health and safety (EHS) programs and protocols in a company. They typically perform research and analysis to determine the ideal practices, gather and analyze data to identify problem areas and their corresponding solutions, spearheading information drives within the company, and coordinating with different departments. They must also perform regular inspections to ensure that departments and procedures adhere to EHS laws and regulations. Moreover, an EHS coordinator implements EHS policies and regulations, developing new ones when necessary.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, environmental health and safety director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ehs," "risk management," "oversight," and "workers compensation." Meanwhile, an ehs coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "safety committee," "contractor safety," "employee training," and "safety regulations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Ehs coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than environmental health and safety directors. In fact, they're 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental health and safety director vs. Industrial hygienist
An Industrial Hygienist plans and conducts health programs to educate employees about cleanliness, safety, and sanitation in the workplace. They investigate adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, and other conditions that can affect employees' health, comfort, or efficiency.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from environmental health and safety director resumes include skills like "continuous improvement," "risk management," "environmental compliance," and "regulatory agencies," whereas an industrial hygienist is more likely to list skills in "indoor air quality," "ventilation," "respirators," and "occupational health hazards. "
Industrial hygienists make a very good living in the energy industry with an average annual salary of $93,692. On the other hand, environmental health and safety directors are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $112,310.When it comes to education, industrial hygienists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to environmental health and safety directors. In fact, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Environmental health and safety director vs. Safety and training manager
A safety and training manager specializes in enforcing safety policies and developing training programs for employees. Their responsibilities typically revolve around identifying the company's and employees' needs, assessing existing programs and plans, recommending and implementing the best practices, and facilitating procedures to optimize business operations. They must conduct regular safety inspections and performance assessments, monitoring improvements as needed. Furthermore, as a safety and training manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's safety policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Types of environmental health and safety director
Updated January 8, 2025
