Sr. Director, Global EHS

Overview

Waters Corporation is seeking a Senior Director, Global EHS, to shape and advance the company’s global environmental, health, and safety strategy. This role is critical to strengthening safety, sustainability, and regulatory compliance during a pivotal period of growth and M&A integration. The Senior Director, Global EHS provides strategic leadership for EHS programs across Waters’ global operations, including manufacturing sites, laboratories, offices, and distribution facilities. The role ensures compliance with global regulatory requirements, drives risk reduction, and fosters a strong culture of safety and sustainability throughout the organization. This position partners closely with Facilities, Real Estate, Quality, Manufacturing, R&D, and Corporate Leadership to deliver enterprise‑wide EHS initiatives, support regulatory compliance, and enable operational excellence across a complex, global real estate portfolio.

Responsibilities

 Global EHS Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement a global EHS strategy aligned with corporate objectives, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Lead ISO 14001 / ISO 45001 management systems, ensuring global sites maintain certification and continuous improvement.
• Establish governance frameworks, global standards, and EHS policies to ensure consistency and accountability across all regions.
• Promote a behavior-based safety culture across the enterprise, embedding safe behaviors into daily operations.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with global environmental, occupational health, and safety regulations, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and equivalents worldwide, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and international environmental regulators, and local and regional regulatory authorities.
• Lead preparation for regulatory inspections, audits, and certifications.
• Oversee Process Safety Management (PSM) programs for high-hazard manufacturing operations, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and company policies.
• Identify, mitigate, and monitor EHS risks, including chemical, biological, physical, and environmental hazards

Operational EHS Oversight

• Partner with regional operations, manufacturing, laboratories, and facilities teams to drive compliance and operational excellence.
• Oversee incident investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective action implementation across all sites.
• Lead programs for industrial hygiene, environmental monitoring, occupational health, and sustainability initiatives.

Training, Culture & Organizational Leadership Development

• Develop and implement global EHS training programs.
• Promote a culture of safety, compliance, and continuous improvement across all levels of the organization.
• Mentor and develop regional EHS leaders, fostering consistency in execution and leadership capability.

• Lead a global organization of regional EHS leaders in a high-complexity and regulated environments.

• Delivery model: Mix of internal EHS teams and external consulting or compliance service providers

Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and track EHS performance metrics, including incident rates, audit findings, near misses, and corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement programs to enhance safety, environmental stewardship, and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required

• 15+ years of progressive EHS leadership experience in regulated industries (life sciences, pharma, biotech, or chemicals)
• Proven experience managing global EHS programs and teams.
• Demonstrated success in regulatory compliance, safety culture development, and risk mitigation
• Strong understanding of environmental, health, and safety regulations across multiple regions
• Knowledge of EHS management systems, audit protocols, risk assessments, and incident investigation methodologies

• Track record of leading organizational change, implementing global standards, and improving operational performance
• Ability to define and execute a global EHS strategy aligned with business objectives
• Experience driving organizational transformation and standardization across regions
• Strong decision-making based on data, risk assessment, and cost-benefit analysis
• Able to present complex technical and financial information to senior leadership and external stakeholders
• Travel - 30% of the time.
• Ability to work with international teams, in different time zones

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)  is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide.  

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.