Building Safety Manager

About the Opportunity

The Building Safety Manager (BSM) manages building-wide compliance with applicable regulatory standards associated with laboratory operations, with a focus on research and teaching labs, makerspaces, shops, and other unique lab spaces (greenhouse, clinical, cleanroom, etc.). The Building Safety Manager position is on-site at Northeastern’s Boston campus and reports to the Senior Manager of the Building Safety Program in the Office of Academic and Research Safety (OARS).

As an embedded safety staff, you will facilitate, assess, and promote an enhanced culture of safety and healthy work environment through close collaboration and coordination with the broader OARS team and key individuals performing safety functions in assigned buildings, including Principal Investigators, lab personnel, Department Safety Officers, College Safety Officers, facilities personnel, and others.

As an essential team member in the implementation and management of building-wide safety and compliance programs, your core activities will include, but are not limited to, maintaining resilient Maximum Allowable Quantity (MAQ) compliance defined in fire/building code, ensuring proper hazardous materials management, leading building-wide inspections and tracking corrective actions, conducting assessments (risk/hazard/job/space/equipment/PPE/SOP/etc.), contributing to lab design and construction/renovation projects, safety planning for research continuity, and supporting ongoing lab registrations with the City of Boston.

In addition, you will serve as the focal point for implementation and compliance with Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) for laboratory emergencies, serving as the emergency coordinator and contact in assigned buildings and a member of the OARS emergency response team through the on-call program.

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, process safety, materials science, environmental science, or other applicable degree with a minimum of five years of demonstrated work experience in managing EHS requirements.
• Preferred qualifications include a Master’s degree in one of the above, and a background in chemistry or chemical engineering is highly desired. Preferred experience includes employment within higher education, hazardous materials management, process safety, or high hazard environments or processes (e.g., semiconductor facilities). Experience in laboratory research or EHS compliance in laboratories or R&D is preferred.
• 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 including, but not limited to, Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Smartsheets.
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, with strong interpersonal skills to effectively coordinate and adapt for various audiences with a customer service-oriented approach.
• Demonstrated problem solving and organizational skills, time and project management skills, including planning, prioritizing, and scheduling multiple ongoing projects.
• Experience conducting inspections, assessing risk, and recommending safety controls and corrective actions for experiments, equipment, and processes using appropriate methodology.
• 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.

You will be a leader in hands-on chemical safety and…