Deputy Director, EHS Strategic Planning & Performance

Job Description

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

The New York City Bureau of Water Supply seeks to hire an Administrative Public Health Sanitarian, M-3 for a position with Environmental Health and Safety, Core Services Directorate, located in either Valhalla or Kingston, New York.

The mission of the Bureau of Water Supply’s (BWS) Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Directorate is to actively promote and support the management and implementation of EHS programs through effective communication, education and continuous improvement strategies in order to protect public health and natural resources and ensure a safe and compliant work environment for all employees.

Under direction, of the Director of Environmental Health and Safety, the Administrative Public Health Sanitarian, M-3 will serve as Deputy Director, EHS Strategic Planning & Performance and will work with subordinate staff to provide in-depth regulatory expertise, robust interpretation, clear guidance and employee education regarding a wide variety of applicable EHS regulations to ensure the bureau’s on-going and proactive compliance with various EHS regulations and initiatives. It also involves reviewing proposed rulemaking and legislative changes and preparing appropriate comments for submission, developing implementation plans for BWS to maintain compliance with regulatory changes, monitoring and analyzing the bureau’s EHS performance and developing strategies for improving performance in a sustainable manner, and working to establish an EHS Management System consistent with the principles found in ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001, and ISO 45001. This position also directs and oversees employee training, education, and engagement, and programs and contracts related to occupational health and safety. Specific duties
include:

- Managing the EHS Strategic Planning and Performance Section of the Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Directorate including direct and indirect reporting staff. This requires setting realistic goals, prioritizing projects and tasks, and assuring that resources are available to meet assigned objectives and customer expectations. This includes guiding and directing Division Chiefs responsible for regulatory review, policy and program development, employee training and engagement, and Continuous Improvement activities (including audits/assessments, incident tracking and analysis, employee injury data, etc.).

- Acting as the Bureau’s primary regulatory, environmental, health, and safety advisor by providing regulatory expertise, interpretation, and guidance regarding all applicable EHS regulations and requirements. Ensuring that the bureau properly influences and remains updated on new/revised EHS requirements and emerging issues by proactively monitoring proposals, preparing factual and professional comments and input suitable for submission to regulating entities, assessing potential impacts of proposed and promulgated new or revised regulations and legislation, and developing internal implementation plans and documents to assure continuing compliance for the bureau. Researching complex technical assignments and provided technical guidance and general direction to BWS personnel in implementing and maintaining compliance with EHS requirements, policies, and procedures.

- Leading efforts to drive EHS performance by monitoring and analyzing EHS performance throughout the bureau and developing strategies for improving performance in a sustainable manner, and leading efforts related to continuous improvement, EHS Management Systems, creation of system-driven processes, and improved document control. This includes coordinating reviews of key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge EHS performance, identifying trends and commonalities, evaluating the collected data to identify opportunities for improvements, and developing policy and guidance documents to drive EHS performance improvement. Developing and implementing appropriate Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) systems for BWS to evaluate the effectiveness of recommended improvement strategies over time, routinely reports such analysis to the Director.

- Directing and leading the employee education and engagement efforts for BWS and providing EHS and professional development training (internally or through external vendor contracts) and ensures training is properly tracked.