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Occupational Safety Program Manager
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Position Number: 1707430
Location: Boston, MA
Position Type: Occupational and Environmental Safety

Occupational Safety Program Manager

About Northeastern:
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and a world leader in experiential learning. The same commitment to connecting with the world drives our use-inspired research enterprise. The university offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Our campuses in Charlotte, N.C., San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto are regional platforms for undergraduate and graduate learning and collaborative research. Northeastern pursues advanced research in security and materials at the Innovation Campus in Burlington, Massachusetts, and in coastal sustainability at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts.

About the Opportunity:
The Occupational Safety Program Manager will provide risk assessment support and risk management guidance to faculty/staff/students on various occupational health and safety programs to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local regulations as well as promote an enhanced safety culture.
Occupational health and safety programs require, in general, the technical insight on the recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards in the workplace. Anticipation of changes in work processes requires applying management of change principles to counteract potential for work related injury or illness, or otherwise affect the well-being of workers.

The Occupational Safety Program Manager will conduct baseline surveys and audits to determine the extent of employee exposure to hazardous materials or other hazardous conditions especially with facilities operation and construction teams. Ability to review and evaluate facility construction, operations and maintenance programs especially with investigating environmental air quality or other worker exposure concerns as part of a multiple campus general safety program.

Other responsibilities include leadership for designing and conducting safety awareness training of faculty, staff, and students in safe work practices for campus-wide activities that may present potentially hazardous work environments. Will also assist in the preparation of training programs and other informative materials to promote safe work practices and environmental conscientiousness for working with hazardous materials.
Provides professional support in several other environmental and occupational health programs such as the laboratory safety management and the biosafety management programs to review work practices and enhance teaching and research activities that utilize hazardous materials or equipment that may potentially impact environmental health or present occupational safety concerns.
Occupational safety management presents challenges where safety concerns encountered are often non-routine, requiring review of work practices as well as precedents to recommend effective remedy. Often, precedents do not exist for some concerns, thus this position requires conducting independent research/analysis to identify appropriate approach.

Occupational safety management within multiple administrative departments that provide operational support to the academic departments can also be challenging due to the variety of maintenance and technical service functions that present potentially hazardous work activities.

Interaction with senior managers, benchmarking with peer institutions, and communications with regulatory agencies will directly influence managing priorities for the effective implementation of the Hazard Communication program and the Occupational Medical Surveillance Program.

The Occupational Safety Program Manager supervises EH&S professional and support staff, co-op students, contract vendors, as well as other help when made available for assigned projects.

Responsibilities:
Risk Assessment and Exposure Monitoring:

Recognizes, researches, analyzes, and evaluates safety concerns inherent with campus teaching and research operations.

Utilizes standard and novel techniques, procedures, equipment, and instrumentation to assist other program managers with exposure monitoring especially with chemical usage and noise.

Facilities Services Safety Program:

Team leader for EH&S to support the implementation of occupational safety programs within the University Facilities Services Division. Programs include confined space entry; control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout); hearing conservation; and fall protection.

Develops and applies new approaches to effective training and communication of workplace hazardous in support of the Facilities Services safety awareness education program.

General Safety Training:

Utilize advanced knowledge of safety training requirements and familiarity of academic teaching/research programs to maintain a progressive safety training program for faculty/staff/students utilizing hazardous materials or work in potentially hazardous environments.

Interacts with other EH&S safety professionals and college/department stakeholders on strategic and programmatic initiatives requiring coordination between departments for the design, development and delivery of required safety training.

Provide leadership within established campus-wide work groups that recommends policy and procedures to promote best work practices for safety management to enhance the safety culture.

Respiratory Protection Program:

Manages the implementation of the respiratory protection program as part risk assessment and occupational health evaluations. Conduct training and respiratory fit testing sessions. Conduct program audit for the evaluation of proper selection and use of respirators where departments have mandatory or voluntary use of respirators.

Collateral Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide general support to other EH&S programs such as biosafety, laboratory safety, radiation safety, ergonomics, and environmental protection. Maintaining knowledge of state-of-the art concepts and issues regarding potential exposure or compliance concerns within the field of environmental health and occupational safety especially with teaching and research laboratories.

Provide leadership within established campus-wide work groups at multiple campuses that recommends policy and procedures to promote best work practices.

Participate in emergency response planning and response procedures in the event of laboratory or facility incident with hazardous materials.

Conducts benchmarking with other institutions on occupational safety programs.

Qualifications:
Required Bachelor of Science degree in one of the physical sciences, life sciences, environmental science, applied health science, engineering, or other applicable degree.
Minimum of 4 years' experience working within an occupational safety program. Experience in an academic research institution providing occupational and environmental health/safety services preferred.
Two years' experience supervising professional/support staff.
Preferred qualifications include a Master of Science degree in public health or occupational safety related field. MS degree may replace 2 years of related work experience.
Eligibility and interest in pursuing professional certification as a Certified Industrial Hygienist or Certified Safety Professional highly desirable.
Knowledge of environmental health and occupational safety principles as well as ability to understand and interpret complex written regulations and technical reports.
Experience with OSHA requirements and best management practices for training employees and students on safe work practices when handling hazardous materials or equipment.
Experience implementing safety programs such as office ergonomics, in-door air quality, and worker exposure assessment.
Experience with promoting and implementing safety within a facilities management program.
Excellent coordination and communication skills are needed to effectively negotiate and appropriately influence the safety behavior of individual lab workers, principal investigators, and research lab groups, facilities trade groups, and construction project managers towards best procedures to implement best safety management practices.
Proficient at standard computer software packages including Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Outlook in performing work assignments.
Experience with or ability to learn and utilize a Learning Management System (LMS) such as BlackBoard, Canvas, or other data management software (BioRaft) to implement safety training management needs.
Excellent customer service skills to interact with senior managers at multiple academic or administrative departments.
Excellent time and project management skills, including planning, prioritizing, and scheduling multiple ongoing projects
Ability to assist with workplace emergencies such as chemical exposure emergencies and spill remediation.
Qualified to wear respiratory protection and other personal protective equipment as well as lift to 50 lbs.
Work in a variety of physical environments where the use of biological and other hazardous materials, or equipment, are in storage or use.

Experience and skill in the use, operation, and care of instrumentation and technical equipment used in conducting worker exposure assessments for potentially hazardous materials/conditions.

Preferred Qualifications:

Salary Grade:
12

Additional Information:
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University's commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.

To apply, visit https://careers.pageuppeople.com/879/cw/en-us/job/502055