Division Chief, EHS Program Management

Job Description

IMPORTANT NOTE: Candidates selected to fill a Admin. Public Health Sanitarian position from this posting will be appointed on a provisional basis. As a provisional employee, you will be required to take and pass the next Admin. Public Health Sanitarian civil service examination and be given a list number by the NYC Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services in order to be considered for probable permanent employment in this title. Anyone who does not take and pass this examination, or who is not reached on the established list, will be terminated as a provisional Admin. Public Health Sanitarian.


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 Bureau of Wastewater Treatment (BWT) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all facilities related to the treatment of sewage within the five boroughs of the City. This includes 14
wastewater treatment plants, sludge dewatering facilities, collections facilities (pumping stations, combined sewer overflow retention facilities, regulators, tide gates, etc.), wastewater laboratories and harbor vessels.

The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment is seeking to fill the position of Division Chief of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Program Management, who will be a critical support leader for achieving the Bureau’s number one stated goal: “Ensure a culture of safety where safe work practices are fully embraced and integrated into all our work.”


Job Purpose:
Under jurisdiction of the Director of Environmental Health and Safety, with wide latitude for independent judgment and decision-making, serves as EHS Division Chief for Program Management in the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment.


Job Tasks/Duties:
The EHS Division Chief for Program Management will manage and direct the Bureau's EHS Sections for EHS Program Development & Communications, as well as the EHS Assessments, Measurements and Investigations. This position will lead the development and continuous improvement of applicable EHS programs to the work that BWT. The primary focus will be to promote a culture of safety and progressive EHS approaches; will develop methods to assess EHS program success, risk assessment applications and work with agency level and BWT Directorates on inter-bureau EHS programmatic improvements.


Responsible for:
a) Providing supervisory leadership, coaching and mentoring of EHS Section Chiefs involved in the onsite administration of EHS program implementation and performance improvement.
b) Supporting the EHS Directorate by designing an effective strategic plan that enables EHS risk reduction approaches and performance improvement initiatives through program development.
c) Providing high level supervision of EHS staff involved in OEHS Assessments, BWT internal Programmatic Assessments, and various levels of site investigations.
d) Working collaboratively with BWT Sections and Directorates to promote continual improvement, through a Plan-Do-Check Act approach and awareness of EHS risk areas, regulatory environment, root causes, and programmatic implementation to promote a culture of safety across various operational aspects of the Bureau.
e) Provide EHS program direction and technical support to Training Section through updated EHS programs covering hazard recognition process, industrial hygiene, hierarchy of controls, safe work plans and technical safety evaluations.
f) Maintaining program requirements of injuries and illnesses record keeping, emergency action plan review, Tier 2 reporting, and risk management programs, among other regulatory program responsibilities.
g) Managing critical EHS program implementation including technical direction on Incident Command/Emergency Drill execution, as well as EHS corrective/preventive action implementation.
h) Providing general direction to the EHS Director on emerging regulatory standards that impact the Bureau’s operations and providing regulatory interpretation for technical decision making.
i) Overseeing the review and implementation of Unsafe Reporting and tracking, Near Miss recognition and tracking, EHS investigations, performance metrics, and high-risk activities including crane rigging, fall protection, confined space, hot work, management of change development and approval.
j) Continuously develop and improve EHS investigation workflows EHS policy dev