Environmental Manager Jobs in Wisconsin

Job Title:Environmental Health & Safety Manager

Department:Administration

Reporting Relationship:Plant Manager

Job Purpose:

The EHS Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining environmental, health, and safety programs. This position provides leadership to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations while fostering a proactive safety culture that protects employees, contractors, visitors, and the environment.

The EHS Manager partners with plant leadership, production, maintenance, sanitation, quality assurance, and human resources to identify hazards, reduce workplace injuries, manage environmental risks, and continuously improve safety performance in a food manufacturing environment.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance

• Develop, implement, and maintain EHS policies, procedures, and programs to meet applicable OSHA, EPA, Wisconsin DNR, and other regulatory requirements.

• Maintain compliance with applicable workplace safety, environmental permitting, wastewater discharge, air emissions, hazardous waste, and chemical management requirements.

• Conduct routine facility inspections, risk assessments, and compliance audits.

• Maintain required EHS documentation, permits, training records, injury logs, and regulatory reports.

• Serve as the primary contact for regulatory inspections and coordinate corrective actions and follow-up activities.

• Monitor changes in applicable regulations and communicate requirements to plant leadership.

Employee Health & Safety

• Lead the facility's safety culture and promote employee engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Identify and evaluate hazards associated with cheese production, packaging, warehousing, sanitation, and maintenance operations.

• Manage incident reporting, injury investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions.

• Develop and monitor safety performance metrics, including recordable injuries, lost-time incidents, near misses, and corrective-action completion.

• Conduct job hazard analyses and implement appropriate engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment controls.

• Coordinate workers' compensation activities, return-to-work programs, and injury prevention initiatives in partnership with Human Resources.

• Lead safety committee meetings and communicate safety performance to employees and leadership.

Food Manufacturing and Process Safety

• Oversee safety programs specific to cheese processing operations, including:

  • Machine guarding, conveyors, mixers, cutting equipment, and packaging machinery.

  • Lockout/tagout (LOTO) for equipment servicing and maintenance.

  • Confined-space entry and permit-required confined spaces.

  • Chemical handling and sanitation activities, including caustics, acids, and cleaning and sanitizing chemicals.

  • Slip, trip, and fall prevention in wet processing areas.

  • Forklift, powered industrial truck, pedestrian, and dock safety.

  • Ergonomics, repetitive motion, lifting, and material handling.

  • Ammonia refrigeration systems and emergency response, where applicable.

  • Electrical safety, hot work, contractor safety, and fire prevention.

  • Personal protective equipment and hearing conservation.

• Coordinate with Maintenance to ensure appropriate safety controls are incorporated into equipment installations, modifications, and preventive maintenance.

• Support safe startup and shutdown procedures and management-of-change processes for new equipment, chemicals, and production processes.

• Partner with Quality Assurance and Sanitation to ensure safety practices support food safety, hygienic operations, and applicable sanitation requirements.

Environmental Management

• Manage environmental compliance programs, including wastewater pretreatment and discharge, stormwater, air emissions, hazardous and nonhazardous waste, and chemical storage.

• Maintain applicable environmental permits, inspections, sampling schedules, and reporting requirements.

• Coordinate waste minimization, recycling, spill prevention, and pollution prevention initiatives.

• Investigate environmental incidents, spills, releases, and permit deviations, implementing corrective actions as necessary.

• Partner with Operations, Sanitation, and Maintenance personnel to control environmental risks associated with dairy processing and cleaning operations.

Training and Employee Engagement

• Develop and deliver EHS orientation and ongoing employee training.

• Ensure employees and supervisors receive required training for their job responsibilities and identified hazards.

• Train and coach supervisors on incident prevention, hazard recognition, and accountability.

• Maintain a training matrix and verify training effectiveness.

• Promote employee reporting of hazards, near misses, and unsafe conditions without fear of retaliation.

• Lead toolbox talks, safety campaigns, and employee engagement initiatives.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

• Develop, maintain, and test emergency action and response plans.

• Coordinate emergency response procedures for fires, chemical spills, ammonia releases, severe weather, medical emergencies, and other applicable scenarios.

• Conduct emergency drills and coordinate training with local emergency responders as appropriate.

• Maintain emergency equipment, evacuation procedures, spill response supplies, and applicable response documentation.

• Lead or coordinate post-incident reviews and corrective action implementation.

Leadership and Continuous Improvement

• Establish annual EHS objectives, improvement plans, and measurable performance targets.

• Provide regular EHS performance updates and recommendations to plant leadership.

• Collaborate with Production, Maintenance, Sanitation, Quality, Warehouse, and Human Resources to integrate safety into daily operations.

• Manage EHS-related budgets, equipment, training resources, and outside consultants as needed.

• Support internal, corporate, customer, and regulatory audits as applicable.

• Drive continuous improvement through employee involvement, risk reduction, standardized procedures, and preventive actions.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health and Safety, Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, or a related field preferred.

• Five or more years of EHS experience in manufacturing, preferably in food processing, dairy, cheese production, or a similar industrial environment.

• Demonstrated experience managing OSHA compliance, environmental programs, incident investigations, and employee training.

• Experience with environmental permits, wastewater compliance, hazardous materials, and regulatory reporting.

• Previous experience leading cross-functional safety initiatives and influencing frontline employees and plant leadership.

Knowledge and Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of OSHA regulations and applicable EPA and state environmental requirements.

• Knowledge of machine guarding, LOTO, hazard communication, confined spaces, powered industrial trucks, and emergency response.

• Familiarity with ammonia refrigeration safety and process safety management requirements, where applicable.

• Understanding of wastewater systems and environmental compliance in dairy or food processing facilities.

• Ability to conduct risk assessments, investigate incidents, analyze safety data, and develop effective corrective actions.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and EHS reporting, training, and recordkeeping systems.

• Strong written communication, presentation, problem-solving, and organizational skills.

Preferred Certifications

• Certified Safety Professional (CSP).

• Associate Safety Professional (ASP).

• Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), where relevant.

• OSHA 30-hour General Industry training.

• HAZWOPER or emergency response training, where applicable.

• First Aid, CPR, and AED certification.

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

• Ability to work regularly on the manufacturing floor, in production areas, warehouses, maintenance shops, and wastewater treatment areas.

• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and follow food manufacturing hygiene and access requirements.

• Ability to stand, walk, climb stairs, and access industrial work areas as needed.

• Ability to work around wet floors, noise, temperature variations, chemicals, and moving equipment while following established safety procedures.

• Occasional off-shift availability may be required to support investigations, emergencies, audits, or operational needs.