Environmental, Health & Safety Specialist

Environmental Health & Safety Specialist

HRforGrowth is engaged as the talent acquisition partner to conduct this search on behalf of a client organization that is hiring for this role. HRforGrowth is not the employer for this position. HRforGrowth identifies evaluates and presents top-tier candidates through its global talent acquisition practice; all employment decisions including final selection offer terms compensation and conditions of employment are made solely by the hiring organization.

Our Client is seeking an experienced Environmental Health & Safety Specialist to support Environmental Health & Safety programs at its Alexandria Virginia facility. The organization is a leading global food manufacturing and culinary solutions company serving foodservice retail and commercial customers.

This is a hands-on fully on-site position responsible for implementing maintaining and continuously improving EHS programs within a high-volume food manufacturing environment. The successful candidate will conduct workplace inspections and risk assessments investigate incidents support regulatory compliance deliver employee safety training monitor corrective actions and work closely with site leadership to promote a strong safety culture.

Location:Alexandria VA 22301

Job Type: Full-Time

Compensation: $70000 $75000 per year

Key Responsibilities
EHS Program Management

Implement maintain and continuously improve EHS policies procedures programs and training materials.

Conduct new-hire safety orientations and refresher safety training.

Monitor OSHA EPA state and local regulatory requirements.

Evaluate workplace hazards and recommend engineering administrative and PPE controls.

Track EHS metrics trends KPIs and corrective actions.

Prepare EHS reports and presentations for management.

Maintain accurate organized and audit-ready EHS documentation.

Safety Inspections & Risk Management

Conduct routine safety inspections audits and workplace risk assessments.

Inspect production areas sanitation areas warehouses coolers/freezers maintenance areas loading docks and chemical storage areas.

Identify hazards associated with machinery automated equipment material handling sanitation chemicals thermal processes refrigerated environments and production activities.

Identify unsafe conditions and behaviors and recommend corrective actions.

Track corrective and preventive actions through verified closure.

Partner with operational leaders to ensure safety controls are effective and sustainable.

Incident Investigation & Injury Prevention

Lead or support investigations involving workplace injuries illnesses near misses and other incidents.

Perform root-cause analysis and identify contributing factors.

Develop corrective and preventive action plans.

Monitor corrective actions through completion.

Analyze incident trends and recommend proactive injury-prevention strategies.

Maintain OSHA injury and illness records including OSHA 300 logs and related documentation.

Support workers compensation-related safety activities when required.

Communicate investigation findings and prevention recommendations to management and employees.

Regulatory Compliance

Support compliance with applicable OSHA EPA fire code workers compensation state local and company requirements.

Maintain documentation required for internal and external audits.

Support regulatory inspections and documentation requests.

Maintain records related to safety inspections audits employee training workplace incidents environmental activities permits chemical inventories corrective actions and regulatory compliance.

Assist with environmental permits and regulatory reporting requirements.

Safety Training

Deliver safety training to employees supervisors contractors and other personnel.

Develop and update safety training materials.

Provide training on PPE Hazard Communication/HazCom Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Machine Guarding Forklift and Pedestrian Safety Chemical Handling Emergency Response Ergonomics Slip/Trip/Fall Prevention Confined Space Awareness and General Workplace Safety.

Coach supervisors and frontline leaders on hazard recognition and safe work practices.

Promote employee participation in safety initiatives.

Environmental Compliance

Support environmental compliance programs and initiatives.

Assist with waste management and waste reduction programs.

Monitor wastewater-related activities.

Support spill prevention and response programs.

Assist with air and water permit requirements and documentation.

Support chemical storage and hazardous-material management.

Maintain environmental records and assist with regulatory reporting.

Participate in sustainability and environmental improvement initiatives.

Emergency Preparedness & Response

Support site emergency preparedness and response programs.

Maintain emergency response procedures and evacuation plans.

Coordinate and participate in emergency drills.

Support spill response preparedness.

Assist with ammonia/refrigeration-related emergency response coordination where applicable.

Support first-aid and emergency response activities.

Participate in incident response outside normal business hours when required.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with Production Sanitation Maintenance Quality Assurance HR and Site Leadership.

Build strong relationships with frontline employees and supervisors.

Promote accountability for safe work practices.

Participate in continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.

Provide practical EHS guidance to management and operational teams.

Support initiatives that improve employee safety and reduce environmental impact.

Required Skills & Experience

Bachelors degree in Occupational Safety Environmental Science Industrial Hygiene Engineering Food Science or a related discipline is preferred.

Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.

Minimum 2 years of EHS/Safety experience preferably in food manufacturing food processing industrial manufacturing production cold storage or warehouse operations.

Working knowledge of OSHA EPA and applicable state/local safety and environmental regulations.

Hands-on experience with safety inspections and audits incident investigations root-cause analysis risk assessments corrective-action management and employee safety training.

Understanding of manufacturing and food-production hazards.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Strong organizational analytical documentation and problem-solving abilities.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office including Word Excel and PowerPoint.

Familiarity with EHS management systems reporting platforms or Learning Management Systems.

Preferred Qualifications

The following qualifications are highly desirable:

OSHA 30-Hour General Industry

Associate Safety Professional (ASP)

Certified Safety Professional (CSP)

Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)

HAZWOPER certification

First Aid/CPR certification

Forklift Trainer certification

Ammonia refrigeration experience

Process Safety Management (PSM) experience

Experience supporting environmental permits or regulatory inspections

Food manufacturing or food processing experience.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

This is a hands-on fully on-site position requiring regular presence throughout the manufacturing facility.

The EHS Specialist may work in:

Office areas

Food production areas

Sanitation areas

Warehouses

Coolers and freezers

Maintenance areas

Loading docks

Outdoor facility areas

The position requires the ability to walk and stand for extended periods bend climb stairs and use ladders when necessary. The successful candidate must be able to enter production and facility areas to perform inspections and audits and respond to workplace incidents and emergency situations.

The role may involve working around wet floors temperature variations refrigerated/freezer environments heat noise moving equipment forklifts cleaning chemicals and active food-production processes. Required PPE must be worn in production and operational areas. The position may also require responding to incidents spills regulatory visits or emergencies outside normal business hours when required.

What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate is a hands-on EHS professional with manufacturing experience who can work directly with frontline employees and operational leadership.

Candidates with experience in food manufacturing food processing industrial production warehouse operations or cold-storage environments are particularly encouraged to apply.

Strong candidates will demonstrate practical knowledge of OSHA compliance incident investigation safety audits risk assessments LOTO machine guarding HazCom employee training and corrective-action management.

Compensation & Employment Details

Salary: $70000 $75000 annually

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Location: Alexandria VA

Work Arrangement: On-Site

About HRforGrowth:
HRforGrowth is a full-service HR and talent partner built to support companies that are scaling transforming or navigating change. HRFG is globally recognized for delivering quality speed and cost-effective talent solutions across every level of the workforce. Through its global talent acquisition practice HRforGrowth applies world class rigor and precision to identifying exceptional professional and executive talent on behalf of its clients from temporary staffing to permanent hourly workers through to placing C-suite executives. HRforGrowth is presenting this opportunity in its capacity as the retained search partner and does not serve as the employer of record for this position.

Equal Employment Opportunity:In its recruiting and search practices HRforGrowth does not discriminate on the basis of race color religion national origin age marital status physical or mental disability sex sexual orientation gender or gender identity and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals. HRforGrowth evaluates and presents candidates to its clients without regard to any protected characteristic.

HRforGrowth endeavors to advise the hiring organization to comply with all applicable federal state and local equal employment opportunity laws including those enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in its hiring decisions terms of employment and workplace practices.