Associate Director - EH&S

Job Description

Job Description:

Under the direction of EHS Director, the EHS Associate Director will be responsible for providing technical and regulatory support and implementation of all necessary measures and initiatives required by federal, state and local regulations pertaining to environment and safety protection at the Durham, NC sites.  Provides direction and is responsible for planning, developing and reviewing environmental, safety and industrial hygiene programs for our manufacturing division.

Job description and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for providing compliant environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs to operating and support departments at the Durham sites.

• Integrates EHS programs into daily operations to assure regulatory compliance, achieves continuous performance improvement, meeting EHS performance objectives. 

• Partners with operations and other support areas to develop objectives to achieve these goals in alignment with site business goals and values. 

• Perform responsibilities and addresses problems with limited supervision. 

• Provide direction and leadership to direct reports.  Supervises/coordinates the daily work and supports professional development of site EHS Specialists. 

• Completes hazard assessments, industrial hygiene monitoring, process hazard analysis, life safety reviews, biosafety assessments, incident investigations, environmental regulatory field analysis, environmental reports and permit applications as required.

• Reviews processes, facilities, procedures and management of change documents to assure conformance to recognized EHS regulations, standards and guidelines and our company's requirements.    

• Provides support to client groups in completing injury/illness analysis, training, self-assessments and addressing specific EHS concerns as they are raised. With a deep knowledge of EHS regulations and their applicability, develops EHS procedures, guidelines and training programs as assigned. 

• Monitor sustainability of improvements made. 

• Provides leadership to formation and sustained performance of action oriented committees.

• Assure completion of all regulatory submissions, notifications, etc. required to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local EHS requirements.  

• Develop productive working relationships with federal, state and local authorities, technical and industrial groups.

• Serve as a mentor for other site EHS professionals to build leadership, relationships and technical skills. 

• Coach operations leaders to enable them to successfully discharge their leadership responsibilities for safety and environment. 

• Partners with Durham site departments contacts to integrate safety and environmental management systems into every phase of their operations as measured by performance metrics.  

• Maintain liaison with outside organizations, peer companies and agencies as necessary to assure compliance and communication in the areas of emergency response, mutual aid, regulatory bodies, professional societies, and industrial groups.

• Experience with EHS agency inspections and regulatory advocacy.

Education Minimum Requirement:  

• Bachelor’s Degree required, concentration in Safety or Environmental related technical discipline preferred. M.S. is desirable.

Required Experience and Skills:

• 8 to 10 years applied professional EHS work experience.  

• Advanced levels of proficiency in the areas of occupational safety and high-risk work.  Technical knowledge in industrial hygiene, biosafety, emergency response, and process safety management programs. 

• Critical thinking, and good communication skills.   Evidence of leadership, effective communication and organizational skills required. 

• Demonstrated basic level of skill with project management, root cause investigation and problem solving.  Demonstrated performance in a highly regulated industry with strict standards adherence and compliance initiatives. 

• Strong systems and IT knowledge is a plus. 

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Relevant professional certification(s) preferred including CSP, CHMM and/or CIH.

Required Skills:

Budget Management, Change Management, Chemical Management, Decision Making, Driving Continuous Improvement, EHS Compliance, EHS Program Management, Emergency Response, Environmental Audits, Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Environmental Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Risk Assessments, Hazard Analysis, Incident Investigations, Industrial Hygiene, Leadership, Leadership Building, Mentorship, Occupational Hygiene, Process Safety Management, Project Management, Regulatory Advocacy, Regulatory Compliance, Self Assessment, Stakeholder Engagement

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic/International

VISA Sponsorship:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

05/12/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.