Sustainability Specialist Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Sustainability Specialist roles qualify for H-1B visa sponsorship as a specialty occupation requiring a bachelor's degree in environmental science, sustainability, or a related field. Employers in corporate ESG, consulting, and government contracting actively file Labor Condition Applications for these positions, making sponsored roles more accessible than many candidates expect.
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Full-Time
Day Shift
Department
Environment And Sustainability - CC
Shift Details
Day Shift, Monday-Friday 8:00a-4:30p
Job ID
wd-JR143484
Posted
November 9, 2026
Senior Specialist, Environment and Sustainability
Join a team that delivers excellence.
Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is home to nearly 23,000 colleagues who make up our talented, vibrant and diverse workforce.
Join our team and experience firsthand what it's like to be part of a healthcare organization that's nationally recognized, forward-thinking and offers plenty of opportunity to do great work.
Imagine a career at one of the nation's most advanced health networks.
Be part of an exceptional health care experience. Join the inspired, passionate team at Lehigh Valley Health Network, a nationally recognized, forward-thinking organization offering plenty of opportunity to do great work.
LVHN has been ranked among the "Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 23 consecutive years. We're a Magnet(tm) Hospital, having been honored five times with the American Nurses Credentialing Center's prestigious distinction for nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes in our Lehigh Valley region. Finally, Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg, Lehigh Valley Hospital- Hazleton, and Lehigh Valley Hospital - Pocono each received an 'A' grade on the Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group in 2020, the highest grade in patient safety. These recognitions highlight LVHN's commitment to teamwork, compassion, and technology with an unrelenting focus on delivering the best health care possible every day.
Whether you're considering your next career move or your first, you should consider Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Summary
Oversees all compliance and safety-driven, quality control and improvement, and administrative functions under the purview of the Environment and Sustainability Department (ESD) dealing with the everyday management of hazardous materials, waste management, sustainability, environmental services, landscaping, snow removal and pest management services at all acute, sub-acute, and physician practice sites in the LVHN Region. Serves as a liaison between LVHN Jefferson-approved vendors and all LVHN stakeholders including but not limited to Infection Prevention, Occupational Safety Management, Emergency Management, Fire Safety, Accounts Payable, Real Estate, campus operations and facilities management, Start Up Services, Strategic Sourcing, Value Analysis, Patient Safety, LVHN Quality, Public Safety/Security, IS&T, DOE, JC Accreditation, Risk Management, and LVHN Legal. Assists in maintaining operational excellence, legal and regulatory compliance, and the timely processing of all account maintenance activities, while fostering a culture of transparency, accuracy, and service.
Job Duties
- Manages the tactical and strategic aspects of the everyday compliance duties of the Environmental and Sustainability Department (ESD), including those pertaining to compliance with EPA/PADEP, Joint Commission, DOT, DOH, OSHA, and Pennsylvania state regulations, based on regular timely periodic assessments, comprehensive reporting, and corrective actions
- Develops and administers the use of effective, timely, and reproducible mechanisms and tools for environmental rounding, system tracers, audits, QA/QC surveys, to effectively track less than adequate (LTA) vendor, LVHN colleague, and system performance, providing recommendations aimed at improving everyday compliance and psychological safety-driven safety critical waste management systems
- Reviews and revises those hazardous materials and waste management (HMWM), sustainability, and vendor management policies, processes, contracts/MSAs, and procedures based on a synthesis of reliable, verifiable information, and systems thinking techniques
- Manages and corrects vendor activity that results in new, updated, or terminated LVHN vendor accounts, to effectively best portray an accurate correspondence between viable account service activity and invoicing
- Synthesizes information and uses a systems approach to assess the financial and safety management impact of the daily handling of all relevant waste streams and provides recommendations to management and senior leadership when requested
- Acts as a subject matter expert (SME) between LVHN-approved vendors, regulatory agencies, Legacy Jefferson, and Jefferson Lehigh stakeholders to understand, comply with, and maximize the effectiveness of everyday waste management processes
- Supports Legacy Jefferson in efforts pertaining to HMWM, vendor performance assessment, maintenance of the Joint Commission Sustainability Certification, and relevant knowledge management, learning, and training initiatives
- Develops and monitors KPIs, dashboards, and other performance metrics to best ensure effective program performance, credentialing, and enrollment processes, as well as recommend timely effective corrective actions as needed
- Develops and administers relevant education, training, and information management mechanisms including website maintenance used by the ESD to best ensure a consistent and verifiable system of knowledge transfer
- Creates the documents and updated mission critical processes and procedures used by ESD to meet the requirements outlined in the HMWM to satisfy Joint Commission regulations and elements of performance, and the mandate of LVHN's senior leadership and the LVHN Board
Minimum Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in a healthcare, business, public health, or science discipline or
- 5 years in an acute, sub-acute, or physician practice setting or as a consultant, surveyor or compliance auditor
- 2 years in a supervisory position or subject matter expert role for assessing and mitigating compliance risk and hazard exposure
- Must possess strong computer skills in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel statistics, spreadsheet development, and Pivot Tables; and MS PowerPoint for the preparation of reports and presentation materials; MS Teams
- Must possess strong critical thinking, interpersonal, team building, and liaison skills essential for working with all Jefferson LVHN colleagues, vendors and regulatory agents
- Deadline driven Individual with high organizational skills, able to monitor and assess one's own performance and that of stakeholders, to complete timely assessments and take corrective action
- Ability to effectively communicate with all levels of the Jefferson LVHN network in both written and verbal formats exemplifying strong editorial skills
- Ability to incorporate continuous quality improvement principles in all activities and operations
- Willing to be mentored in human factors engineering (HFE), systems safety, and or instructional design techniques
- DL - Driver's License_PA - State of Pennsylvania Upon Hire
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in a healthcare, public health, or science discipline and
- Master’s Degree business (MBA)
- 7 years in an acute, sub-acute, or physician practice setting or as a consultant, surveyor or compliance auditor
- 3 years in a supervisory position or subject matter expert role for assessing and mitigating compliance risks and hazard exposure
- 1 year in human factors and or systems safety management, with an emphasis on developing a high reliability organization and Just Culture
- Experience with Lean/Six Sigma.
- Experience with environmental reporting and permitting is preferred
- Knowledge of Joint Commission regulations and compliance, particularly as apply to waste management and associated regulatory compliance requirements is preferred
- Healthcare administration, healthcare informatics, value analysis, safety management, industrial hygiene, hazardous materials management, and or sustainability experience
- Strong emotional intelligence, with adept skills at relationship building and negotiation, including persuading others to identify hazards and less than adequate systems performance, with the overarching goal to assist in making quality improvements is preferred
- MS Forms, MS Visio, MS SharePoint, Qualtrics, Tableau, Articulate 360, Camtasia or other screen capture software
- Experience with online course development, learning management system administration, and website maintenance
- Background in occupational, environmental, or systems safety, hazardous materials waste management, emergency management, infection prevention, environmental services management, employee health, risk management, quality, patient safety, patient experience, high reliability, human factors engineering or systems thinking
- Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)
- CHESP - Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professional - American Hospital Association Upon Hire
- CHSP - Certified Healthcare Safety Professional - International Board for Certification of Safety Managers Upon Hire
- CIC - Certified in Infection Control - Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology Upon Hire
- HEM - Healthcare Environmental Manager - Emergency Care Research Institute Upon Hire
Additional Qualifications
Physical Demands
Lift and carry 25 lbs. frequent sitting/standing, frequent keyboard use, patient care providers may be required to perform activities specific to their role including kneeling, bending, squatting and performing CPR.
Job Description Disclaimer: This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, however management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.
Lehigh Valley Health Network is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with, and where applicable, in addition to federal, state and local employment regulations, Lehigh Valley Health Network will provide employment opportunities to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other such protected classes as may be defined by law. All personnel actions and programs will adhere to this policy. Personnel actions and programs include, but are not limited to recruitment, selection, hiring, transfers, promotions, terminations, compensation, benefits, educational programs and/or social activities.
Lehigh Valley Health Network does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Agencies should not forward resumes to our job aliases, our employees or any other organization location. Lehigh Valley Health Network is not responsible for any agency fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Location
Allentown- 1628 Chew Street
1628 Chew St, 18102-3649, Allentown, United States (Map)
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as a Sustainability Specialist
Frame your degree for specialty occupation
Sustainability Specialist roles require a directly related degree to qualify as a specialty occupation under H-1B. A general business degree won't hold up without supporting coursework in environmental science, sustainability, or engineering. Pull your transcripts and map relevant courses before any employer files your petition.
Target ESG-reporting employers over generalists
Companies subject to SEC climate disclosure rules or voluntary ESG reporting frameworks hire sustainability specialists at scale. Corporate sustainability teams at publicly traded firms and large consulting practices file LCAs consistently because these roles sit in dedicated departments, not ad hoc project teams.
Search verified sponsorship history on Migrate Mate
Use Migrate Mate to browse Sustainability Specialist roles at employers with confirmed LCA filing history. Filtering by verified sponsors removes the guesswork of cold-applying to companies that have never filed for this occupation category before.
Verify prevailing wage tier before negotiating
Use the OFLC Wage Search to look up the prevailing wage for your specific work location before salary discussions. Sustainability roles in coastal metros sit at higher wage tiers, and your offered salary must meet or exceed the certified level for DOL to approve the LCA.
Get your credentials evaluated before the offer stage
If you completed a three-year sustainability or environmental degree outside the U.S., get a credential evaluation done in advance. USCIS accepts evaluations showing degree equivalency to a U.S. bachelor's, but delays happen when employers submit petitions without one already in hand.
Clarify PERM timing if you need green card sponsorship
Some employers will sponsor an H-1B but hesitate on PERM labor certification for green cards. Ask directly during the offer process whether the company has filed PERM applications for sustainability roles before, since EB-2 and EB-3 pathways require employer-initiated recruitment and DOL certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Sustainability Specialist role qualify as a specialty occupation for the H-1B?
Yes, as long as the position normally requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related field such as environmental science, sustainability management, environmental engineering, or a closely related discipline. Roles that accept any bachelor's degree regardless of field are harder to qualify. Your offer letter and job duties need to show the degree requirement is specific, not generic.
Which visa types are realistic for Sustainability Specialist sponsorship?
H-1B is the most common path for full-time roles. Australian nationals can pursue the E-3 visa, which has no lottery and a cap that has never been exhausted. Chilean and Singaporean nationals may qualify for the H-1B1 visa. TN visa is not an option since Sustainability Specialist is not on the USMCA profession list. For long-term residence, EB-2 or EB-3 green card sponsorship requires PERM labor certification filed by the employer.
How do I find employers who actively sponsor Sustainability Specialists?
Migrate Mate shows employers with verified LCA filing history for sustainability roles, so you can focus your applications on companies that have actually sponsored candidates in this occupation before. That's more reliable than applying broadly and hoping for sponsorship conversations to come up late in the process.
Does my environmental or sustainability degree from outside the U.S. qualify for H-1B sponsorship?
It can, provided a credential evaluation confirms it's equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree in a relevant field. USCIS accepts evaluations from recognized credential evaluation services. A three-year degree from countries like Australia or the UK is often accepted as equivalent, but the evaluation must specifically address the field of study, not just the level of the degree.
Can F-1 OPT or STEM OPT students work as Sustainability Specialists without employer sponsorship?
OPT lets F-1 graduates work in a role related to their field of study for 12 months without employer sponsorship. If your degree is in a STEM-designated field such as environmental engineering or environmental science, you may qualify for a 24-month STEM OPT extension, giving you up to 36 months total. The employer must be enrolled in E-Verify to sign your STEM OPT training plan.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Sustainability Specialist jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.