Associate Director - EHS Lab Safety Services

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Harvard University's Central Administration (CADM) is a 5,000+ employee organization that supports the university's overall excellence by understanding and serving the needs of its schools, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and surrounding communities. Through dynamic and collaborative partnerships, CADM provides high-quality and efficient services to the schools to help them achieve their goals.

The Associate Director of EHSLaboratory Safety Services provides people leadership and programmatic oversight for the University’s laboratory safety and compliance programs within the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Department. This role has a primary focus on managing, developing, and supporting a team of EHSLab Safety Advisors, while ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery and regulatory compliance across Harvard’s research enterprise.

Reporting to the Director of Laboratory Safety Services, the Associate Director is a senior EHS leader responsible for supervising staff and partnering with EHS leadership and Harvard schools to support Laboratory Safety Services and Programs across all Harvard campuses. This position plays a critical role in staff development, performance management, workload distribution, and continuous improvement of EHS laboratory safety programs, while also providing senior-level technical expertise.

This role is eligible for flex-work arrangements in accordance with departmental policies and manager approval.

• Directly manages, coaches, and supports a team of EHSLab Safety Advisors within the EHS Department to ensure consistent service delivery and regulatory compliance.
• Provides leadership, mentorship, and professional development for staff, with an emphasis on program development, technical knowledge, performance management, and continuous learning.
• Oversees workload planning, prioritization, and coverage across assigned areas and campuses to ensure effective and responsive EHS support.
• Leads onboarding, training, coaching, and performance evaluation processes for Lab Safety Advisors.
• Fosters a collaborative, accountable, and service-oriented team culture aligned with EHS and University values.

• In partnership with the Director of Laboratory Safety Services, provides oversight of EHS Laboratory Safety Programs, including program assessment, implementation, documentation, and continuous improvement.
• Takes a lead role in identifying program gaps, assessing risks, and developing project plans to strengthen laboratory safety programs and services.
• Oversees laboratory safety training development and implementation, ensuring requirements are clearly communicated and consistently applied.
• Assists with planning and facilitation of lab safety team meetings, including monthly educational and professional development sessions.
• Assures that EHS performance metrics, reports, and compliance data are regularly shared with stakeholders and executive leadership.

• Maintains strong communication and engagement with School and Departmental Environmental Safety Compliance Officers (ESCOs), Principal Investigators, Laboratory Directors, Research Operations Managers, Facilities staff, and other University partners.
• Regularly seeks and incorporates stakeholder feedback to improve EHS service delivery and performance.
• Coordinates service delivery with key contacts across the University’s research and laboratory community.
• Works closely with the Lab Safety Services Team to support laboratories with hazard assessment and control strategies.

• Monitors completion of inspections, lab registrations, regulatory filings, and other required…