Senior Specialist, EHS

Company Description

About Abb Vie

Abb Vie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about Abb Vie, please visit us at  Follow @abbvie on Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, X and You Tube.

Provides leadership for contractor and construction safety programs and day-to-day EHS operational support, with primary responsibility for Abb Vie operations and projects within Lake County, Illinois. Develops, implements, and maintains contractor safety, construction safety, and related EHS programs to ensure regulatory and internal compliance, reduce risk to employees and contractors, and support safe project execution and ongoing operations. Assesses risk and develops practical programs, policies, procedures, assessments, training, and field-based solutions.

Provides technical support to other Abb Vie locations or teams as business needs arise.

• Lead contractor and construction safety programs for Lake County, Illinois, including program strategy, governance, procedures, tools, performance expectations, and continuous improvement.
• Provide day-to-day EHS support to construction projects, facilities activities, maintenance work, and site operations by identifying hazards, evaluating risk, and recommending practical controls.
• Partner with project managers, engineering, facilities, operations, contractor hosts, procurement, and contractor organizations to integrate EHS requirements into planning, contractor selection, onboarding, mobilization, execution, and project closeout.
• Conduct field observations, inspections, audits, and work reviews; verify compliance with regulatory and Abb Vie requirements; and drive timely correction of identified gaps.
• Support high-risk work planning and execution, including contractor prequalification, site orientation, pre-job planning, permitting, control-of-work activities, and escalation of significant risks.
• Monitor regulatory requirements, industry practices, internal standards, and program performance trends; assess business impacts and implement actions necessary to maintain compliance and strengthen contractor and construction safety performance.
• Develop and deliver contractor and construction safety training, communications, guidance, and tools tailored to project teams, contractor hosts, employees, and external partners.
• Lead or support incident investigations involving contractors, construction activities, or site operations; identify root causes and ensure effective corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Track and communicate compliance status, key performance indicators, trends, emerging risks, and priority actions to EHS and business stakeholders.
• Provide technical support, subject-matter expertise, and program guidance to other Abb Vie locations or teams as needed, while maintaining primary accountability for Lake County operations.

• Bachelor’s Degree (EHS related, Engineering) plus 5+ years of EHS related experience or Master’s Degree (EHS related, Engineering) plus 3 years of EHS related experience. EHS or Engineering professional certification is preferred, but not required.
• Working experience in implementing EHS regulations, conducting incident investigations, interacting with regulatory agencies and external organizations and managing cross functional teams
• Ability to establish measurable project goals and implementation plans, balance conflicting work demands, and develop action plans…