Lead EHS, Facility and Maintenance specialist

Northstar Aerospace; Bedford Park (IL); On-site; USD 111,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

Life and injury insurance

Bonuses and employee programs

Job summary

Avio Aero, a GE Aerospace Company, seeks a Lead EHS & Facilities Specialist to drive site safety, environmental compliance, and facilities performance at the Chicago operation. You will collaborate with site leadership, union leadership, maintenance, and contractors to ensure a safe, compliant, and productive workplace.

You will lead regulatory programs, risk assessments, audits, and continuous improvement efforts while managing budgets and coordination with external agencies and internal teams.

Qualifications

• Education and experience align with EHS leadership and facilities management.
• Experience in regulated environments and union settings.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements and incident investigations.

Responsibilities

• The essential duties include leading EHS programs and compliance.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance and facility services.
• Partner with union leadership for a safe work environment.
• Drive continuous improvement and site readiness for audits.

Skills

EHS Leadership

Regulatory Compliance

Incident Investigations

Union Environment Experience

Facilities Management

Communication & Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in EHS or related field

High School Diploma with 4+ years EHS experience

Tools

CMMS

EHS Management Systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job DetailsJob Location: Chicago - Bedford Park, IL 60638Position Type: Full TimeEducation Level: College GraduateSalary Range: $111,100.00 - $185,900.00 SalaryJob Shift: 1st Shift

At Avio Aero, a GE Aerospace Company, we invent the future of flight, lift people up, and bring them home safely. We are a world-leading provider of jet engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. At Avio Aero, respect for people is core to our culture and commitment to FLIGHT DECK, our proprietary lean operating model. We attract, develop, and retain industry-leading talent from all backgrounds and cultivate communities where people are respected and empowered to reach their fullest potential. For the people of GE Aerospace, their work isn't just a job. It's their passion and purpose. We work and win as one team, accountable to each other and our customers, and we are always finding a better way to climb higher together. We were meant to fly.

Job Description Summary

The Lead EHS & Facilities Specialist is responsible for leading site Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) programs and facilities operations to ensure a safe, compliant, reliable, and productive working environment. This role partners closely with site leadership, union leadership, employees, maintenance, security, contractors, and external agencies to drive compliance, risk reduction, facility performance, and continuous improvement.

In a unionized manufacturing/service environment, this role must build strong working relationships, support consistent application of site rules and collective bargaining requirements, and promote proactive employee engagement in safety, environmental stewardship, and workplace conditions.

This position is in Avio Aero’s Chicago operation site and reports to Avio Aero’s Plant Leader / Site Operations Leader / EHS Leader. The position works with all levels of employees throughout the organization as necessary to facilitate quality assurance goals but does not directly or indirectly supervise any other employees. This is a full-time exempt position.

Essential Responsibilities

The essential duties and responsibilities of this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time.

EHS Leadership

• Lead site EHS programs in compliance with applicable federal, state/provincial, local, and company requirement
• Drive a strong safety culture through visible leadership, employee engagement, training, and accountability
• Conduct risk assessments, job hazard analyses, ergonomic reviews, and incident investigations
• Lead corrective and preventive actions resulting from incidents, audits, inspections, and employee concerns
• Manage regulatory programs such as:
  • Lockout/tagout
  • Hazard communication
  • PPE
  • Machine guarding
  • Confined space
  • Powered industrial vehicles
  • Fall protection
  • Emergency response
  • Industrial hygiene
  • Environmental permitting and waste management
• Maintain EHS records, metrics, training documentation, and compliance reports
• Coordinate regulatory inspections and support responses to agency findings
• Lead emergency preparedness efforts including drills, response plans, and coordination with site teams and local responders

Facilities Leadership

• Coordinate preventive maintenance and repair activities for building systems, utilities, and infrastructure
• Manage site services such as janitorial, grounds, waste removal, pest control, and general building upkeep
• Monitor performance of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, compressed air, and other critical systems
• Support capital, infrastructure, and site improvement projects from planning through execution
• Ensure contractors perform work safely, in compliance with site requirements and labor practices
• Manage facility-related service providers, budgets, priorities, and response times
• Lead workplace readiness for audits, inspections, customer visits, and business operations

Union Site Partnership

• Partner with union representatives and site leadership to support a safe, respectful, and compliant work environment
• Participate in joint safety committees, labor-management discussions, and site issue resolution as appropriate
• Ensure policies, practices, and site expectations are administered consistently and in alignment with the collective bargaining agreement
• Build trust and credibility with represented employees through responsiveness, fairness, and follow-through

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze trends in injuries, near misses, environmental events, work orders, downtime, and facility performance
• Identify and implement actions to improve safety, compliance, responsiveness, cost, and employee experience
• Develop standard work, visual management, audit routines, and action plans for sustained execution
• Support site operating rhythm with regular reporting, prioritization, and escalation of risks

Qualifications/Requirements

Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university (or a high school diploma/GED with a minimum of 4 years Environmental Health & Safety experience)

Experience Required: A minimum of 3 years’ experience:

• Professional certifications such as CSP, CIH, CHMM, or facilities-related credentials
• Experience in a unionized environment
• Knowledge of applicable EHS regulations and facilities management practices
• Experience leading incident investigations, audits, corrective actions, and contractor management
• Strong communication, influencing, and problem-solving skills

The knowledge, skills and abilities required and/or preferred for this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time.

• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, aerospace, or regulated environments
• Experience with environmental compliance programs and permitting
• Experience managing budgets, service contracts, and capital/facility projects
• Lean / continuous improvement experience
• Strong working knowledge of CMMS, EHS management systems, and Microsoft Office tools
• Ability to work across all levels of the organization, including represented employees, leaders, and external agencies
• Demonstrates strong process discipline, a commitment to continuous improvement, meticulous attention to detail, collaboration and influence and a customer‑focused appr

Physical Requirements

The physical requirements of this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position.

• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, talking, hearing, seeing, writing and typing
• Occasional lifting of up to 40 pounds
• Occasional reaching, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, pushing, pulling, fingering, grasping, feeling, twisting, bending and repetitive motion
• Frequent exposure to moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles and moderate to heavy noise
• The ability to wear proper personal protective equipment, including earplugs, safety glasses, safety shoes, etc.

What we offer

Smart working and work life-balance

Avio Aero, when possible, promotes smart work in hybrid mode, and encourages a good, healthy and satisfying work-life balance. We value our employees’ wellbeing; hence we offer a variety of improvement programs aimed to preserve anyone’s psychological safety and daily needs.

Total Rewards

At Avio Aero, we understand the importance of Total Rewards. As a new joiner to Avio Aero we are pleased to offer the following welcome benefit plan:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Life and injury insurance
• Performance-related bonuses and local bonus scheme
• Employee assistant program
• Employee special awards (service and recognition)
• Local special agreements and discounts
• Technical, Leadership and development training

Inclusion & Diversity

Avio Aero is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are strongly committed to maintain an inclusive and diverse environment. Every employment decision is taken regardless to national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, etc. We are not all the same. Just be Yourself Avio Aero!