About the role
The Associate Director (AD) will serve as a strategic leader, cultivating strong partnerships across all site teams to advance Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) programs. This includes driving culture change, enhancing ISO management systems, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting corporate initiatives to foster a safe, sustainable, and compliant workplace.
The AD will be responsible for maintaining ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications and overseeing multiple EH&S programs that support various departments across the facility. As the Senior Management Lead for the site, the AD will guide Core and Technical Safety programs, Emergency Response, and Process Safety Management compliance.
This role involves developing and executing strategic plans for continuous improvement in EH&S performance. The AD will provide leadership across all levels of the organization and serve as a backup to the Site EHS Head when needed. A key focus will be ensuring that all systems and assigned programs meet applicable laws, regulations, permits, and internal company standards.
How you will contribute
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Lead the planning, implementation, and execution of environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) programs and strategies, with a strong emphasis on Core and Technical Safety programs, ensuring alignment with legal, regulatory, corporate, and industry best practices.
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Ensure the site maintains active certification in ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
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Develop and execute a multi-year roadmap to strengthen the site’s safety culture, fostering proactive ownership of personal and workplace safety.
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Establish and reinforce a consistent incident management process, ensuring all incidents are reported, thoroughly investigated, and followed by effective corrective and preventive actions.
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Drive continuous improvement of EH&S programs through data analytics, trend analysis, gap assessments, and effectiveness evaluations.
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Develop audit strategies to ensure the site is always audit-ready, leveraging leadership development, education, communications, GEMBA walks, and area inspections.
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Provide leadership and subject matter expertise in incident investigations, supporting the development and implementation of corrective and preventive actions and incident response protocols.
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Lead Centers of Excellence, including Process Safety Management, Contractor Safety, Emergency Response, and other key safety domains.
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Champion the implementation of the company’s EH&S management system, facilitating risk assessments, setting performance targets, and monitoring progress toward continuous improvement.
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Lead, develop, and mentor a team of EH&S professionals and support staff, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence.
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Own and manage EH&S budget planning and monitoring, ensuring responsible financial stewardship and alignment with strategic goals.
What you bring to Takeda
- A Master’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health is preferred. Professional certifications such as Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), or Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) are highly valued.
- A minimum of 8 years of relevant EH&S experience, including at least 4 years in a leadership or management role.
- Deep functional knowledge of OSHA and EPA regulations, with demonstrated expertise in compliance and regulatory strategy.
- Proven experience in Root Cause Analysis, Event Investigation, Process Hazard Analysis, and Risk Assessment.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels, from frontline employees to senior leadership.
- Effective leadership and interpersonal skills to foster collaboration across cross-functional teams and drive a culture of safety and accountability.
- Ability to think critically, prioritize effectively, and respond with urgency and independence in a dynamic environment.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and drive change across complex organizational structures.
- Strong change management capabilities to support continuous improvement and cultural transformation.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment
- Ability to lift up to 30 lbs.
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Frequent movement, including lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, and repetitive motions.
- Exposure to various environmental conditions, including clean rooms, cold/hot storage, wet environments, and confined spaces.
- May require special gowning in controlled environments (e.g., no makeup, jewelry, contact lenses, nail polish, or artificial fingernails).
- Flexibility to work multiple shifts, including weekends and overtime as needed.
- Local travel may be required (less than 5%), primarily for training purposes.
What Takeda can offer you:
- Comprehensive Healthcare: Medical, Dental, and Vision
- Financial Planning & Stability: 401(k) with company match and Annual Retirement Contribution Plan
- Health & Wellness programs including onsite flu shots and health screenings
- Generous time off for vacation and the option to purchase additional vacation days
- Community Outreach Programs and company match of charitable contributions
- Family Planning Support
- Flexible Work Paths
- Tuition reimbursement
More about us:
At Takeda, we are transforming patient care through the development of novel specialty pharmaceuticals and best in class patient support programs. Takeda is a patient-focused company that will inspire and empower you to grow through life-changing work.
Certified as a Global Top Employer, Takeda offers stimulating careers, encourages innovation, and strives for excellence in everything we do. We foster an inclusive, collaborative workplace, in which our teams are united by an unwavering commitment to deliver Better Health and a Brighter Future to people around the world.
This posting excludes Colorado applicants.
Empowering our people to shine:
Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.
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