Director, Environmental Health and Safety

Associate Director, Environmental Health & Safety Program in Albuquerque, NM

Build your future at Curia, where our work has the power to save lives.

The Director of Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) is a senior leadership role accountable for shaping and driving the strategic vision of EH&S programs across the pharmaceutical manufacturing site. This position leads the development, execution, and continuous advancement of robust, site-wide EH&S systems that ensure full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations while aligning with global standards and corporate objectives.  Operating as a key business partner, the Director provides strategic guidance and subject matter expertise to senior leaders, fostering a proactive culture of safety, sustainability, and operational risk management.  This role oversees all facets of environmental stewardship and occupational health and safety, including but not limited to industrial hygiene, hazardous materials management, chemical and waste handling, process safety, ergonomics, emergency response, incident investigation, and comprehensive training programs. The Director ensures the integration of EH&S practices into daily operations through strong cross-functional collaboration, continuous risk assessments, and performance monitoring using leading and lagging indicators.  Additionally, the Director serves as the principal liaison with external regulatory agencies and is accountable for audit readiness, regulatory inspections, and the execution of corrective actions. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strategic, data-driven, and hands-on approach, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization, driving a culture of EH&S excellence in a dynamic, fast-paced, and highly regulated cGMP environment.

Curia is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide life-saving treatments to patients. At Curia, we are on a mission to advance our customers’ therapies from curiosity to cure and ultimately to improve patients’ lives.

We proudly offer

• Generous benefit options (eligible first day of employment) 
• Paid training, vacation and holidays (vacation accrual begins on first day of employment)
• Career advancement opportunities 
• Education reimbursement
• 401K program with matching contributions
• Learning platform
• And more! 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, and lead the strategic direction of EH&S programs to ensure regulatory compliance and alignment with corporate objectives.
• Champion a proactive safety culture by integrating EH&S principles into daily operations and decision-making processes.
• Provide expert guidance to executive leadership on EH&S risk, regulatory trends, and compliance strategies.
• Oversee environmental compliance programs, including hazardous waste management, air and water permitting, and sustainability initiatives.
• Direct occupational health and safety programs such as industrial hygiene, ergonomics, and personal protective equipment (PPE) policies.
• Lead cross-functional teams in identifying, assessing, and mitigating EH&S risks through hazard analysis, inspections, audits, and risk assessments.
• Ensure site-wide compliance with OSHA, EPA, DOT, and other applicable regulations, standards, and reporting requirements.
• Serve as the primary liaison with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; manage regulatory inspections and responses.
• Develop and maintain emergency preparedness and response programs, including incident command structure and crisis communication.
• Lead root cause investigations of EH&S incidents and ensure timely implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs).
• Manage EH&S performance metrics, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to support continuous improvement.
• Oversee the design and delivery of EH&S training programs tailored to various roles and risk levels within the organization.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration with departments such as Quality, Operations, Engineering, and Human Resources to align EH&S efforts with business goals.
• Manage EH&S budget, resources, and vendor relationships to ensure efficient program support and service delivery.
• Keep abreast of industry best practices and emerging regulatory requirements to ensure ongoing program effectiveness and