Associate Director of Facilities, SHE

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts – Kendall Square

Type: On-Site
Function: Safety, Health and Environment (SHE)
Reports to: Director, SHE

Role Summary

The SHE Associate Director – Site Operations Safety will lead facility safety, contractor governance, project safety, and built-environment assurance for AstraZeneca’s strategic R&D facility in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The role will provide SHE leadership across building systems, utilities, laboratories, shared spaces, construction, renovations, facilities operations, contractors, and outsourced service providers. It will ensure that site activities align with Global SHE standards, R&D operations, applicable U.S. regulatory requirements, and AstraZeneca’s sustainability ambitions.

The successful candidate will lead the implementation and continuous improvement of the facilities SHE strategy and management system, including controls for high-risk work, site-related Management of Change (MoC), contractor governance, incident prevention, assurance, emergency preparedness, environmental performance, and operational readiness.

The role will also provide SHE oversight for a portfolio of construction, commissioning, laboratory modification, and renovation projects from design through operational handover.

The site safety approach will be informed by Core OSHA principles, Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), and prevention of potential Serious Injuries and Fatalities (pSIF).

Key Responsibilities

Facilities Safety Strategy and Leadership

• Safety strategy: Lead the site facilities safety strategy, aligning it with Global SHE standards, R&D operations, site risk priorities, and sustainability

• Safe systems of work: Establish and embed safe systems of work for facilities operations, maintenance, laboratories, utilities, projects, and shared spaces.

• Governance: Establish and chair facilities safety governance forums, ensuring clear ownership, effective decision-making, and timely escalation of significant risks.

• Standards and procedures: Develop and maintain policies, standards, procedures, and operational controls for facilities, engineering, projects, and laboratory infrastructure.

• Stakeholder partnership: Partner closely with Facilities, Engineering, Project Management, Laboratory Operations, Procurement, Property Management, contractors, service providers, and Global SHE.

• Visible leadership: Serve as a visible and influential SHE leader who promotes proactive risk management, embedded safe practice, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.

SHE Management Systems and Compliance

• Management system: Develop, implement, and continuously improve the site SHE management system, with a strong emphasis on practical risk control, regulatory compliance, and operational effectiveness.

• Regulatory alignment: Translate applicable U.S. workplace safety requirements, including relevant OSHA standards, and AstraZeneca requirements into clear and practical site standards.

• Facility integrity: Ensure the safe, reliable, and compliant operation of building systems, utilities, pressure systems, critical assets, laboratory infrastructure, and other safety-critical equipment.

• Internal controls: Maintain effective internal controls, assurance processes, documentation, performance measures, and management reviews.

• Risk-based decision-making: Apply a proportionate, risk-based approach that balances safety, compliance, sustainability, operational delivery, and business continuity.

Safe Systems of Work and High-Risk Activities

• High-risk work controls: Own and enforce controls for permit-to-work, lockout/tagout (LOTO) and energy isolation, confined space entry, hot work, working at height, electrical safety, lifting operations, and other high-risk activities.

• Work planning: Review risk assessments, method statements, permits, work plans, and control arrangements for facilities activities, projects, contractors, and service providers.

• Field verification: Conduct inspections, field verifications, and safety observations to confirm that controls are understood and effectively implemented.

• Intervention: Stop or escalate work where risks are not adequately controlled and ensure that corrective actions are completed before work resumes.

• Shared spaces: Liaise with Property Management and other relevant parties to ensure that appropriate safety standards and operating arrangements are established and maintained in shared areas.

Facilities Management of Change

• MoC leadership: Lead the SHE MoC process for changes to buildings, utilities, equipment, laboratories, occupancy, work practices, and site operations, in lock step with the Facilities Management Team.

• Risk assessment: Ensure changes are appropriately screened, risk-assessed, approved, communicated, implemented, and documented.

• Readiness: Confirm that required training, procedures, permits, inspections, emergency arrangements, documentation, and readiness activities are completed before changes are introduced.

• Temporary changes: Track temporary changes through closure or formal extension, complementary to the Site Operations Change Review Board.

• Operational handover: Ensure that residual risks, control measures, ownership, and maintenance requirements are clearly transferred into business-as-usual operations.

Construction, Renovation, and Project Safety

• Project oversight: Provide SHE leadership for construction, tenant fit-out, commissioning, laboratory modifications, and minor-to-medium renovation projects.

• Design integration: Integrate SHE requirements into project design, procurement, construction, execution, commissioning, and handover.

• Construction risk control: Partner with architects, engineers, construction managers, contractors, project teams, and Property Management to control construction, interface, and operational risks.

• Project assurance: Review project risk registers, construction plans, contractor arrangements, commissioning activities, and readiness documentation.

• Transition to operations: Support safe transition to operations through residual-risk management, documentation, training, inspections, emergency planning, and operational readiness reviews.

Contractor and Vendor Governance

• Governance framework: Establish and maintain effective SHE governance for contractors, vendors, and outsourced service providers.

• Competence and documentation: Verify qualifications, competencies, risk assessments, method statements, permits, insurance, training, and other required documentation.

• SHE expectations: Communicate AstraZeneca’s SHE expectations and ensure that contractors understand site requirements before work begins.

• Performance monitoring: Monitor compliance through inspections, audits, safety walks, field verifications, performance reviews, and event analysis.

• Corrective action: Escalate nonconformances and ensure timely and effective corrective action, including suspension of work where necessary.

Assurance, Events, and Continuous Improvement

• First-line assurance: Design and deliver first-line assurance through audits, safety walks, inspections, field verifications, and control effectiveness reviews.

• Audit support: Support second- and third-line audits, regulatory inspections, and ORD SHE Leadership Team and Global SHE assurance activities.

• Event management: Oversee reporting, investigation, root-cause analysis, corrective and preventive action (CAPA), and trend analysis for facilities-related events.

• Learning and improvement: Use findings, observations, events, and performance data to drive continuous improvement, standardization, and prevention of recurrence.

• HOP approach: Apply Human and Organizational Performance principles to understand how work is performed and to strengthen systems, processes, and controls rather than relying solely on individual compliance.

Emergency Preparedness Support and Fire Safety

• Emergency planning: Support facilities-related emergency response plans, preparedness arrangements, and site resilience measures.

• Drills and exercises: Coordinate evacuation drills and other emergency exercises, ensuring that lessons learned and corrective actions are completed.

• Fire safety: Maintain oversight of fire safety systems, equipment, signage, inspections, testing, and associated records.

• Warden program: Provide oversight of the floor warden program, including role definition, training, communications, and periodic review of coverage.

Environmental Management and Sustainability

• Environmental controls: Oversee waste segregation, recycling, compliant disposal, and environmental controls across facilities, laboratories, and shared spaces.

• Resource efficiency: Support energy and water efficiency, resource conservation, waste reduction, and sustainability campaigns.

• Performance management: Track environmental KPIs and conduct performance forecasting to establish, monitor, and adjust targets.

• Sustainability integration and metrics oversight: Align facility operations and employee engagement with Ambition Zero Carbon and applicable site sustainability objectives.

• Behavioral change: Develop practical initiatives that encourage sustainable behaviors and translate environmental objectives into measurable operational improvements.

Building Certifications and Sustainable Design

• SHE system design: Lead the design of SHE systems, safety principles, and operational requirements for shared facilities at the Cambridge site.

• Certification support: Partner with architects, engineers, project teams, and certification specialists to support LEED Platinum and WELL v2.0 objectives.

• Design assurance: Ensure that building design and operating practices support safety, wellbeing, maintainability, resilience, energy efficiency, and Ambition Zero Carbon objectives.

• Lifecycle thinking: Embed SHE and sustainability considerations from design and construction through commissioning, occupancy, maintenance, and future modifications.

Performance, Communication, and Training

• KPIs and targets: Define and monitor SHE and sustainability KPIs, goals, objectives, and targets.

• Leadership reporting: Report performance, significant risks, trends, and improvement priorities to site leadership, governance forums, and Global SHE.

• Communication: Develop communication strategies that build awareness of SHE requirements, sustainability priorities, learning from events, and expected behaviors.

• Training and capability: Deliver or coordinate training for employees, leaders, facilities teams, project personnel, contractors, floor wardens, and other relevant stakeholders.

• Coaching and influence: Coach and influence stakeholders at all levels, building capability and accountability for safe and sustainable operations.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Safety, Occupational Health, Environmental Science, Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline; or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.

• Professional experience: At least 5 years of significant SHE experience in a complex facilities, construction, life sciences, laboratory, R&D, manufacturing, healthcare, or similarly regulated environment.

• Facilities safety: Demonstrated experience leading safety across building systems, utilities, laboratories, maintenance, projects, contractors, and shared spaces.

• SHE systems: Experience with SHE management systems, assurance programs, Management of Change, incident investigation, CAPA, audit management, and performance reporting.

• Regulatory knowledge: Working knowledge of applicable U.S. workplace safety requirements, including relevant OSHA standards.

• High-risk activities: Practical experience with permit-to-work, LOTO and energy isolation, confined space, hot work, working at height, pressure systems, electrical safety, lifting operations, and critical assets.

• Environmental performance: Experience with environmental management, waste controls, energy and water efficiency, sustainability metrics, and performance improvement.

• Laboratory and technical knowledge: Familiarity with laboratory processes and the ability to communicate effectively with scientists and technical specialists.

• Project leadership: Experience supporting or leading change projects and delivering initiatives to agreed timelines, quality standards, and budgets.

• Leadership capability: Strong influencing, communication, stakeholder-management, coaching, and risk-based decision-making skills.

• Digital capability: Good technical and IT skills, with the ability to use digital tools and emerging technologies to improve SHE performance, assurance, communication, and decision-making.

• Autonomous working: Comfortable working autonomously, exercising sound judgment, and making decisions in situations where information may be incomplete or evolving.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $127,216.00 - $190,824.00 USD. Hourly and salaried non-exempt employees will also be paid overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles), to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles), and commission payment eligibility (sales roles). Benefits offered included a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Additional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors. 

Date Posted

13-Sept-2026

Closing Date

19-Sept-2026

Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.