Hazardous Materials Manager - Environmental Health & Safety

The department of Environmental Health and Safety at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for a Hazardous Materials Manager.

About the Opportunity

Candidate will oversee the planning, designing, developing, implementing, and administration of state-wide institutional policies related to hazardous materials, hazardous waste, universal waste.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

What you do

• Meets with staff to develop goals, provide direction, and oversee their independent performance and functions of their position.
• Ensure hazardous waste determinations are completed in a timely manner.
• Assign tasks through a work management system.
• Complete reports to be delivered to administration as required.
• Ensures projects are reviewed and completed in a timely fashion and ensures materials meet basic environmental health and safety standards as well as University policy.
• Responsible for the hiring, firing, disciplining, supervising and professional development of Hazardous Materials Specialists, Hazardous Materials Technologists and various Graduate Students/Student Workers and others as assigned. Provides guidance and supervision to staff regarding accurate investigation, audits, inspections, etc. Acts in the absence of the Associate Director/Director of Environmental Health and Safety as necessary.
• Provides continual performance feedback for all direct reports assigned and completes written annual performance appraisals.
• Authors memoranda and provides reports to WVU administration as necessary; stays current with environmental health and safety issues to ensure professional staff maintain a high level of proficiency and are aware of emerging regulatory issues; develops and conducts training programs as required to support the training mission of EH&S; educates and communicates with WVU personnel, regulatory and emergency response agencies as necessary to resolve immediate and potential long-term emergency situations.
• Identifies programs necessary to provide an overall safe and healthy environment, assigns programs to appropriate staff members(s), and supervises creation and implementation as necessary. Existing environmental health and safety programs must be continually overseen and reappraised for efficiency and effectiveness by incumbent.
• Activities and operations at WVU facilities statewide must be monitored and surveyed on a regular basis to identify frequently changing health and safety programmatic needs.
• Oversees development of contracts by staff to ensure contract is written to best apply to the needs of the University; and acts as liaison with Procurement Services. If contracts are not adhered to by vendor, incumbent develops correspondence as necessary to provide Procurement Services with detailed information.
• Maintains and establishes relationships with persons and organizations within and external to WVU; and networks with appropriate environmental health and safety professionals in local, state, federal, industrial, and academic institutions to benchmark WVU environmental health and safety related policies.
• Responsible for supervising a team of environmental health and safety professionals during after hour emergency calls. Initiate response actions to stabilize the situation and undertake follow-up investigations and/or remedial actions as necessary.
• Design, develop, implement and administer programs to promote safe chemical use and disposal for the institution.
• Design, develop, implement and administer waste minimization program to reduce quantity and toxicity of wastes, long term liabilities and to ensure cost effective methods and processes are being utilized.
• Correspond with regulatory agencies and legal counsel regarding non-compliance and corrective measures.
• Provide program services, leadership, and options for decision making to institutional groups required to comply with program policies.
• Clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. Work with faculty and staff to embed chemical safety communication in laboratories, classes, departments and throughout the wider campus.
• Work to create a trusting and safe culture with faculty and staff. Encourage the development of a generative culture based on open dialogue, reporting and learning from near misses.
• Regularly conducts assessments and benchmarking of activities and operations to minimize risk, identify deficiencies, and provide written corrective measures to ensure program efficiency, effectiveness and a safer culture.
• Develop a continuous improvement system that provides feedback, reassessment, and on-going training and learning opportunities.
• Network with other professionals in local, state, federal, industrial, and academic institutions to benchmark programs to evaluate best practices.
• Respond to institutional emergencies.
• Provide Hazardous waste education and training to WVU faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
• Set goals and provide supervision to Graduate Student employees, as needed.

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Safety Management, Environmental Health and Safety, related field science or equivalent experience is required
• A minimum of five (5) years professional experience in hazardous materials and or hazardous waste management.
• Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience will be considered
• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Effectively lead, supervise, and evaluate professional level employees.
• Manage and administrate assigned environmental health and safety programs as necessary for WVU to maintain a safe and healthy environment on University property.
• Communicate effectively in oral and written format.
• Utilize a personal computer.
• Understand and interpret federal, state, and local environmental health and safety regulations and communicate quantitative and qualitative information.
• Use, interpret and apply appropriate regulations to the University environment.
• Be creative and able to solve complex problems.
• Complete assigned tasks frequently in a very limited time frame.
• Work effectively with all levels of personnel within and out of the University setting, utilizing skills to negotiate, explain and persuade.
• Adapt to a wide variety of work environments.
• Establish rapport and maintain a good working relationship with various local, state and federal regulatory agency personnel.
• Coordinate and work effectively within project teams and committees.
• Manage and administrate assigned environmental health and safety programs as necessary for WVU to maintain a safe and healthy environment on all University owned property.
• Lead and reason logically and strategically.
• Understand how hazardous waste management fits into the business plan of a university.

• Ability to complete hazardous waste determinations.

• Must pass a post offer pre-employment physical that includes:
  • Must pass respiratory clearance physical for respiratory protect up to Level A SCBA.
  • Visual acuity.
  • Able to sit/stand for long periods of time.
  • Ability to lift 40 pounds.
• Willingness to be enrolled in medical surveillance as specific by job role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hazardous Waste Technician level training
• Certified Hazardous Materials Manager
• Master's degree in Chemistry, Safety Management, Environmental Health and Safety, related field science or equivalent experience with an undergraduate emphasis in the sciences

Requirements

• Valid driver's license - incumbent must drive throughout the state to perform assigned tasks

West Virginia University is a place of purpose and community. We take pride in our profound impact on the state of West Virginia and are committed to the personal and professional growth of our employees.

From the groundbreaking R1 research at our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs at WVU Potomac State in Keyser, and the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley, the contributions of WVU employees resonate across the state, touching lives and shaping futures.

At WVU, you will discover a supportive community that champions work-life balance and fosters a collaborative atmosphere. Our core values - service, curiosity, respect, accountability and appreciation - unite us as Mountaineers.

Join us at West Virginia University, where your work will make a lasting impact. To learn more about WVU, visit wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We invite all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or Veteran status.