Specialist, EHS Staff

Allergan; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 66,000 - 126,000; Full time

Job summary

AbbVie in North Chicago, IL, is seeking a Specialist, EHS Staff to guide environmental, health, and safety programs across manufacturing and R&D operations. Onsite role reporting to the EHS Manager, you will drive risk assessments, incident investigations, and training to strengthen the site safety culture.

You will develop and implement EHS programs, support audits and regulatory compliance, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to manage high-hazard activities and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Experience implementing EHS regulations and incident investigations.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage projects.
• Strong technical writing and communication skills.
• Proven ability to develop practical safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Conduct risk assessments and hazard identifications, and drive risk-reduction actions.
• Provide day-to-day EHS support to Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing and Operations teams.
• Develop and maintain EHS programs, training materials, and regulatory documentation.
• Participate in injury, illness, near-miss investigations and drive corrective actions.
• Support audits, inspections and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with site leadership and Global EHS for strategy and compliance.

Skills

Risk assessment

Hazard identification

EHS training

Safety culture

Regulatory knowledge

Incident investigation

Communication

Education

High School Diploma +10 years EHS experience

Associate Degree + Advanced Safety Specialist Certification

Bachelor’s Degree (EHS related, Engineering, Chemistry)

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Databases

Job description

Company Description

AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people’s lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Specialist, EHS Staff

Location: North Chicago, IL, USA
Work Arrangement: onsite

Job Type: Full-time
Compensation: USD $65,500–$125,500 annually

AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people’s lives across several key therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, and neuroscience, as well as products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information, please visit www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Under the direction of the EHS Manager, the Specialist, EHS Staff provides guidance and support to employees, contractors, Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, R&D, and other site functions on environmental, health, and safety matters. This role uses communication, training, consultation, and technical expertise to implement EHS programs, strengthen the site safety culture, and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, corporate standards, and AbbVie’s EHS Management System.

The Specialist will support both day-to-day operations and long-term EHS initiatives across a broad risk profile, including manufacturing operations, engineering and maintenance activities, facility expansions, new product introductions, and site improvement projects. This position offers significant opportunities to build experience across a wide range of EHS disciplines while working closely with site leadership, Global EHS, and other global support teams.

Responsibilities

1. Risk Assessment and Hazard Identification
   Conduct and support risk assessments, identify workplace hazards, and recommend effective controls using hierarchy-of-controls principles. Serve as a subject matter resource for EHS risk-management activities and develop and drive task-based risk assessment plans by area.
2. Manufacturing and High-Risk Work Safety Support
   Provide day-to-day EHS support to Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, and Operations teams. Develop technical expertise and serve as a subject matter resource for high-risk work programs, including:
   • Lockout/Tagout/Tryout (LOTO)
   • Confined space safety
   • Working at height and fall protection
   • Hot work
   • Line breaking
   • Machine safety and guarding
   • Electrical safety
   • Overhead hoists and lifting operations
   • Work permits and other critical-risk activities
   • Help strengthen and sustain current site programs and technical standards in these areas.
3. EHS Program Development and Implementation
   Assist in the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of EHS programs, policies, procedures, standards, hazard assessments, and training materials for manufacturing and R&D operations. Programs may include:
   • Hazard identification and risk assessment
   • High-hazard work controls
   • Ergonomic job safety analysis
   • Contractor and construction EHS management
   • Industrial hygiene
   • Chemical safety and hazard communication
   • Emergency preparedness and response
   • Powered industrial truck safety
   • Environmental compliance and operational controls
4. Incident Investigation and Corrective Actions
   Participate in injury, illness, near-miss, and high-potential incident investigations. Coach employees and leaders in the use of investigation and problem-solving tools to identify immediate, contributing, and root causes. Encourage open-minded thinking and constructive challenge to ensure investigations consider all relevant aspects of causation. Track corrective actions through completion and verify their effectiveness.
5. Training, Qualification, and Employee Engagement
   Develop and deliver EHS training and awareness programs for employees, contractors, and leaders. Support onboarding, qualification, and competency requirements. Promote a positive safety culture through employee observations, hazard reporting, safety conversations, engagement activities, and participation initiatives. Support implementation of the Site Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) program and LEAD by DuPont.
6. Audits, Inspections, and Continuous Improvement
   Conduct EHS inspections, assessments, and audits across manufacturing and support operations. Identify compliance gaps and opportunities for improvement, drive timely corrective actions, and use audit findings, observations, leading indicators, lagging indicators, and other performance metrics to improve site EHS performance.
7. Management of Change and Project Support
   Assist the EHS Team in reviewing new equipment, processes, chemicals, facility modifications, and construction or expansion projects for EHS impacts. Serve as an EHS representative for site Management of Change (MOC) and Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) activities. Recommend appropriate safeguards and verify that EHS requirements are addressed before implementation or startup.
8. EHS Compliance and Regulatory Support
   Support regulatory inspections, internal and external audits, permits, required records, reporting, and interactions with regulatory agencies, Global EHS, and other external organizations. Interpret and communicate applicable EHS regulations, company standards, and management-system requirements to affected stakeholders.
9. Leadership and Cross-Functional Influence
   Work independently on compliance, risk-management, and improvement projects. Support departments with investigations, audits, risk assessments, and EHS initiatives. Influence supervisors, managers, Operations leaders, Engineering, Maintenance, and contractors to improve EHS performance and reinforce accountability.
10. Performance Reporting and EHS Management System Support
    Analyze and report leading and lagging safety performance indicators. Maintain accurate EHS documentation and records, communicate trends and priorities to stakeholders, and support conformance with AbbVie’s EHS Management System and applicable occupational health and safety management-system requirements.

#LI-AL1

Qualifications

• High School Diploma plus 10 years of EHS relevant experience, or Associate Degree and Advanced Safety Specialist Certification plus minimum 8 years of EHS related experience or Bachelor’s Degree (EHS related, Engineering, chemistry) plus minimum 3 years of EHS related experience. Professional EHS or Engineering certification is preferred.
• Working experience in implementing EHS regulations, conducting incident investigations, interacting with regulatory agencies and external organizations and managing cross functional teams
• Development of practical, applicable standards and/or policies that meet business objectives. Technical expertise in the EHS functions as well as technical writing and business communications.
• Ability to actively listen, build and maintain effective working relationships with internal/ external colleagues and stakeholders, and resolve conflict.
• Ability to successfully manage project and programs.
• Ability to provide clear, concise, and effective verbal communications and well-developed written communication and presentation skills
• Ability to plan, organize, delegate, and follow-up on work flow in a team environment to meet departmental goals and objectives
• Well organized and have excellent attention to detail and thoroughness
• Proven ability to use email, Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point and databases
• This role provides substantial opportunities for professional growth and development. The North Chicago site is positioned for continued expansion, new product introductions, and increasingly diverse operational activities. The Specialist will gain exposure to a broad range of EHS risks and business functions while collaborating with site leadership, Global EHS, and global support teams. This experience creates opportunities to build technical expertise, lead meaningful improvement initiatives, and engage with decision-makers across the organization.

Additional Information

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employer remains in the Company’s sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html