Senior Manager, Building Safety Program

About The Opportunity

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Manager for the Building Safety Program supervises and directs the Building Safety Program for laboratory buildings on the Northeastern Boston campus through oversight of building safety staff members embedded in laboratory buildings in support of academic and research safety. Facilitates, assesses, and promotes an enhanced culture of safety and healthy working environment in buildings with research and teaching labs, makerspaces, and shops on the Boston campus. Serves as the emergency action planning officer, providing guidance in the development and implementation of emergency action plans and emergency response at the building level, in coordination with emergency management leaders.

Oversees and contributes to the day-to-day activities assigned to the Safety Managers embedded in Boston campus laboratory buildings, who are responsible for facilitating building-wide compliance with applicable regulatory standards associated with laboratory operations. Serves as critical team member in the development and implementation of building wide compliance initiatives to include, maintaining resilient Maximum Allowable Quantity (MAQ) compliance defined in fire/building code, leading building-level inspection initiatives and tracking corrective actions, contributing to lab design and construction/renovation projects, and supporting ongoing lab registrations with the City of Boston. In coordination with the Assistant Director, this position will be a liaison for regulatory permitting and response actions associated with laboratory operations (e.g., Boston Fire Department, Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, Department of Environmental Protection, etc.).

Assists principal investigators and lab personnel with risk assessments, hazard analysis, safety inspections, and promotes safe work practices for lab processes in the areas of chemical, biological, radiation, and physical safety. Helps stakeholders develop procedures and strategies to mitigate laboratory safety hazards in assigned buildings during normal operations, shutdown conditions, and emergencies. Visit all laboratory buildings on a regular basis and be familiar with lab operations in each building to provide effective mentorship, oversight, and support across all areas of the Building Safety Program.

The position will supervise support staff, contract vendors, co-op students, or other help when made available for assigned projects.

Minimum Qualifications

• Knowledge and skills required for this position are normally obtained through a Bachelor’s degree required in one of the physical sciences, materials science, life sciences, environmental science, engineering, process safety engineering, occupational safety, or other applicable degree with 8-10 years’ demonstrated work experience in meeting EHS requirements in a laboratory setting.
• Preferred qualifications include a Master’s degree or higher in one of the above and a background in laboratory research and environmental health and safety (EHS) compliance in laboratories.
• Demonstrated success in management of programs, projects, and people. Preferred experience includes employment within higher education, hazardous material management, emergency planning, laboratory process safety, and high hazard environments or processes.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local regulatory standards that apply to laboratory operations.
• Proficiency in use of a personal computer and current software applications.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with strong interpersonal skills to effectively coordinate and adapt for various audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse population and foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment.
• Effective problem solving and organizational skills and time and project management skills, including planning, prioritizing, and scheduling multiple ongoing projects and team members to work independently or in coordination as needed.
• Ability to understand and interpret complex written regulations and technical reports.
• Experience conducting inspections and interpreting and applying technical regulations and standards.
• Experience identifying hazards, assessing risk, and recommending safety controls and corrective actions.
• Experience assisting with laboratory emergencies, including gas releases and spill remediation.
• Demonstrated ability to recognize unsafe conditions or dangerous situations and respond appropriately.
• Physical requirements include being medically qualified to wear respiratory protection and other personal protective equipment. Lifting up to 50 lbs and moving up to 500 lbs of materials using rolling carts or drum carts. Work areas include a variety of physical environments including weather extremes, mechanical spaces, potential confined spaces, elevated locations, and where the use of hazardous materials (chem, rad, bio) or equipment is in storage or use.
  
  
  

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Hazardous Materials Management Program:
  
  
  

Develop and execute processes to support building-wide hazardous materials management plans to achieve compliance with Massachusetts and Boston Fire Code requirements based on defined controls areas within assigned buildings. Provides direction to Safety Managers assigned to and embedded in each building to ensure effective coordination with laboratories for the purchase, storage, use, and disposal of hazardous materials within each control area. Coordinate development and implementation of proactive MAQ tracking and evaluation processes, including corrective action planning and implementation when MAQ threshold overages are identified.

In collaboration with Northeastern safety professionals, facilities personnel, and laboratory supervisors, ensures hazardous material classifications for all materials used and stored in assigned buildings is accurate and in compliance with applicable codes and standards occupancy classifications associated with hazardous material use are accurately defined and communicated to laboratory stakeholders. Understanding hazardous materials use and storage for each control area. Maintaining the baseline maximum allowable quantities for each control area; track data and monitoring potential exceedances of MAQ thresholds; communicate potential problems to leadership and collaborate on a plan to address compliance.

• Laboratory Emergency Planning and Response Program
  
  
  

Key contributor in the development, implementation, and maintenance of Northeastern’s Emergency Action Plans (EAP) for laboratories and building-wide and special hazard EAPs. Assist to implement committee plans for each building in coordination with the Building Safety Managers. Maintain an inventory of emergency equipment and , ensure equipment is maintained, inspected, and certified. Collaborate with safety professionals, emergency management professionals, laboratory supervisors, and other stakeholders to develop practical emergency action plans within assigned buildings. Provide direction to Building Safety Managers to ensure campus-wide laboratory emergency training goals are defined and met. Participate in training and exercises according to defined emergency action plans and procedures. Develop and implement a process for Building Safety Managers to curate and maintain information pertaining to laboratory hazards and other information that allows emergency responders to make informed decisions during emergent events. Maintain applicable building-wide data for emergency response and as required by applicable codes and standards. Assist Northeastern safety and environmental compliance professionals with the reporting of required information on hazardous materials releases to applicable federal, state, and local regulatory agencies.

• Building Safety Team Management :
  
  
  

Supervises Building Safety Managers assigned to buildings with research and teaching laboratories, shops, and makerspaces. Develop a cohesive network Building Safety Managers, the Senior Manager by managing and coordinating duties, training new hires, providing ongoing education and mentorship, managing schedules to ensure duty coverage, evaluating performance, providing constructive feedback to direct reports, and ensuring alignment and collaboration with other OARS program areas. Regularly assess the outcomes of the Building Safety Program and continuously improve.

• Other Duties and Responsibilities:
  
  
  

Provides safety subject matter expertise and compliance support, which includes: reviewing inspections, tracking corrective actions, and identifying emerging trends. Addressing non-compliance as outlined in the Northeastern Academic and Research Safety Assurance Program. Assisting with start-up, commissioning, and decommissioning of laboratory operations. Working with stakeholders on developing building-wide programs that support the safe receipt, transport, storage, and use of hazardous materials. Participating on the Committee on Academic and Research Safety. Leading laboratory incident investigations, documenting findings, and tracking corrective actions as needed to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents. Advising laboratory stakeholders regarding building safety expectations, ensuring regulatory information is disseminated. Participating in the OARS on-call program and emergency response team in the event of laboratory or facility incident with hazardous materials.

Position Type

Legal and Regulatory Administration

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

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.