EHS Manager

Optimas; Wood Dale (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimas in Wood Dale, IL is seeking an EHS Manager to shape and lead Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) programs across its operations. This role reports to General Counsel and partners with Manufacturing, Operations, HR and Leadership to build scalable programs and drive safety culture.

The successful candidate will combine strong EHS knowledge with practical execution, manage regulatory compliance, incident investigations, risk assessments, and training.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive EHS experience in manufacturing, distribution, logistics or industrial environments.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA requirements, incident investigation, risk assessment and environmental compliance.
• Demonstrated experience building, improving or implementing EHS programs and processes.
• Ability to influence and partner effectively across all levels of an organization, with ownership and urgency.
• Willingness to learn evolving ESG and customer sustainability requirements.

Responsibilities

• Build and improve EHS programs, policies and procedures across distribution centers, manufacturing locations and office facilities.
• Lead EHS compliance activities, including site audits, risk assessments, incident investigations, root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA and state/local requirements; manage recordkeeping and reporting.
• Develop and deliver EHS training programs and support workers' compensation and return-to-work processes with HR.
• Establish meaningful EHS metrics and dashboards for leadership visibility.
• Support ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 initiatives and scalable EHS infrastructure.

Skills

Leadership

Influence

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Ownership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Environmental, Health & Safety, Engineering or related field

Tools

MS Office Suite

EHS management systems

Job description

EHS Manager

Wood Dale, IL

$110,000-140,000

From design to delivery, Optimas integrates fastener manufacturing and distribution for greater inventory certainty, consistent quality, and a lower cost of ownership.

Fuel your passion with a career at Optimas. Become part of a team of diverse thinkers and doers who make a daily impact on our customers. We’re always looking for talented, self-motivated, smart and resourceful team members. And we’re committed to developing, supporting and driving your success.

Our Values are the THREAD that connects us as one team to ensure that we are accountable for our contributions to the success of our company and customers:

• Teamwork
• Honesty
• Respect
• Excellence
• Accountability
• Drive

To learn more, please visit our website http://www.optimas.com

Position Summary:

The EHS Manager is a highly visible role with responsibility for shaping and leading Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) programs across Optimas’ operations. Reporting directly to the General Counsel and partnering closely with Manufacturing, Operations, Human Resources and Senior Leadership, this position offers the opportunity to build scalable EHS programs, strengthen safety culture across multiple locations and make a measurable impact on the organization.

This role is primarily focused in operational EHS leadership, compliance and safety program development. The ideal candidate combines strong technical EHS knowledge with practical execution, sound judgment and the ability to influence leaders and employees at all levels of the organization.

This opportunity may be particularly well suited to an experienced EHS professional ready to expand into broader multi-site leadership and program ownership. Prior ESG experience is not required; the successful candidate should be willing to learn and support evolving customer sustainability and ESG needs.

Areas of impact:

• Build, implement and continuously improve practical EHS programs, policies and procedures across distribution centers, manufacturing locations and office facilities.
• Lead EHS compliance and risk-management activities, including site audits, risk assessments, incident investigations, root-cause analysis, corrective actions and follow-up.
• Ensure compliance with applicable OSHA, EPA and state/local requirements; manage OSHA recordkeeping and reporting and maintain audit readiness.
• Oversee environmental compliance activities, including hazardous materials, waste management, stormwater and related programs.
• Partner with site leadership to strengthen accountability, influence behavior and drive a proactive safety culture.
• Develop and deliver EHS training programs and support workers' compensation and return-to-work processes in partnership with Human Resources.
• Establish meaningful EHS metrics, dashboards and reporting that provide leadership visibility into performance, trends and risk.
• Support implementation and maintenance of EHS management systems, including ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 initiatives.
• Build scalable EHS infrastructure and processes that support the Company's operations and growth.

Additional Sustainability Support

In partnership with Legal and other functions, support evolving customer sustainability and ESG requirements, including:

• Customer sustainability questionnaires, ESG scorecards and reporting requests.
• Administration and maintenance of sustainability platforms and registrations, including EcoVadis and Assent.
• ESG data collection and related internal policies, reporting and governance initiatives.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of progressive EHS experience in manufacturing, distribution, logistics or other industrial environments preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA requirements, incident investigation, risk assessment and environmental compliance.
• Demonstrated experience building, improving or implementing EHS programs and processes.
• Strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills, with a practical approach to balancing regulatory rigor and operational needs.
• Ability to influence and partner effectively across all levels of an organization, with a high degree of ownership, accountability and urgency.
• Bachelor's degree in Environmental, Health & Safety, Engineering or a related field preferred.
• Experience with workers' compensation, safety training, ISO 14001/45001 and/or OSHA 30 certification preferred.
• Willingness to learn evolving ESG and customer sustainability requirements strongly preferred
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and EHS-related systems preferred.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Optimas OE Solutions provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Optimas OE Solutions complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.