Who Is Hiring a Director of EHS for Recycling in Albany, NY?
Published on: Oct 27, 2026
Frontline Source Group is recruiting a direct hire Director of Environmental Health and Safety for a growing recycling organization in Upstate New York, with Albany preferred. The role leads OSHA compliance, safety training, and an existing EHS team across about 60 Northeast sites, and the placement carries Frontline's 5-Year Placement Warranty.
Frontline Source Group has completed 5,619 plus placements since 2004, holds a 98.94% executive placement retention rate against an industry average of about 70 percent, and carries a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 681 plus verified reviews. The firm is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms #148 (2026), a 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, a ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, an Inc. 5000 honoree, an Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency, and a member of the American Staffing Association (ASA), with 32 plus offices nationwide. People. Process. Service.
What is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety job in Albany, NY?
Our client in Upstate New York is hiring a Director of Environmental Health and Safety on a direct hire basis. Albany is the preferred home base, and candidates in the Rochester and Farmington area or Syracuse will also be considered. This is a field-focused leadership job, not a desk job: expect to travel about 70 to 75 percent of the time across the Northeast.
The work is roughly 80 percent occupational safety and 20 percent environmental. The organization already has safety policies, procedures, and programs in place. What it needs now is a leader who can make them stick: stronger execution, better employee engagement, more consistent incident reporting, and the same standard enforced at every site.
Who is the client?
The client is a growing international organization specializing in recycling, resource recovery, and sustainable material processing, with operations across the United States and abroad. Executive leadership has made workplace safety a top organizational priority while the company keeps expanding its operational footprint.
What does the organization offer an EHS leader?
- An established international presence with continued growth throughout the Americas
- A strong commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible resource management
- Executive leadership that has made workplace safety a top organizational priority
- Opportunities for professional development and long-term career advancement
- An opportunity to lead meaningful improvements in safety culture and operational performance
What will the Director of EHS lead across the Northeast?
The Director provides strategic and hands-on leadership for occupational safety and environmental programs across multiple processing facilities and redemption centers. The person in this seat leads and develops the existing EHS team, partners closely with operations and senior leadership, and serves as the visible face of safety throughout the organization.
What are the safety program and compliance responsibilities?
- Lead and continuously improve environmental, health, and safety initiatives across approximately 10 major operating facilities and 50 smaller redemption centers
- Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations and applicable federal, state, and local environmental and safety requirements
- Drive implementation, enforcement, and continuous improvement of established safety policies, procedures, and standard operating practices
- Strengthen incident reporting practices, conduct or oversee investigations, and identify opportunities to reduce workplace injuries
- Establish and monitor safety performance metrics, reporting trends, and continuous improvement initiatives
- Support environmental compliance activities and related reporting requirements
What are the team leadership and safety culture responsibilities?
- Build a proactive safety culture through employee engagement, leadership accountability, and consistent communication
- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop existing EHS professionals while supporting future team growth
- Develop and deliver safety training programs for employees, supervisors, and managers
- Present safety performance, initiatives, and recommendations to senior leadership
- Support global safety initiatives and coordinate with international leadership on organizational safety priorities
- Partner with cross-functional teams on new technologies, operational improvements, and emerging safety initiatives
What are the field, equipment, and fleet safety responsibilities?
- Conduct frequent facility visits, safety inspections, operational assessments, and employee training
- Partner with site leadership to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and implement corrective and preventive actions
- Support safety initiatives involving industrial equipment, forklifts, pallet jacks, and other material handling operations
- Collaborate with fleet safety personnel on transportation and driver safety initiatives
- Work with operations leadership at facilities running multiple shifts, including around-the-clock operations
- Travel extensively throughout the assigned region to maintain a visible and engaged presence across operating facilities
What qualifications does the Director of EHS role require?
The client wants a seasoned safety leader who has already run programs inside working industrial operations and can coach a team while earning credibility on the floor.
What are the required qualifications?
- Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, or a related field
- 7 to 10 years of safety management and training experience
- 2 to 3 years of experience leading, managing, and coaching EHS personnel
- Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations, occupational safety practices, and workplace safety training
- Demonstrated experience implementing, enforcing, and improving safety programs within an operational environment
- Experience developing safety initiatives, influencing operational leadership, and driving employee accountability
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach and develop EHS employees
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills, including the ability to engage with frontline employees and senior executives
- Ability to work effectively in active industrial, processing, warehouse, or plant environments
- Willingness and ability to travel approximately 70 to 75 percent throughout the Northeast
- Valid driver's license
What experience gives a candidate an edge?
- Experience in recycling, waste management, material recovery facilities, industrial processing, warehousing, or plant operations
- Previous responsibility for safety programs across multiple operating locations
- Experience with fleet safety, DOT regulations, or CDL driver safety programs
- Experience supporting unionized operations
- Familiarity with forklift, pallet jack, and material handling equipment safety training
- Experience implementing cultural or organizational change within an established workforce
- Professional safety certifications, such as the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) credential from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals
What regulations will an EHS Director in Upstate New York work under?
Candidates relocating from a State Plan state should note how New York is set up. New York's OSHA State Plan covers only state and local government workers through the Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau. Private employers, including this client, fall under federal OSHA, so federal standards govern every facility this Director will oversee.
The redemption centers add a New York-specific layer. Under the state's Returnable Container Act, commonly called the Bottle Bill, redemption centers register with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which sets rules on what containers they accept and how they handle them.
Why does safety leadership matter so much in recycling?
Recycling is hard on people. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics injury data for 2024, released in January 2026 and summarized by Waste Dive, workers at materials recovery facilities had an injury rate of 5.8 per 100 full-time workers, compared with a total recordable rate of 2.3 across all private industry. Forklifts, pallet jacks, conveyors, and around-the-clock shifts are exactly where a visible, engaged EHS leader moves those numbers.
What bonus and benefits come with the Director of EHS role?
The client offers a target annual bonus of 25 percent along with a full benefits package:
- Comprehensive medical plan options, prescription coverage, dental and vision benefits, wellness resources, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match, company-paid life insurance, and disability coverage
- Paid time off, company holidays, and programs that help employees balance personal and professional priorities
- Additional voluntary insurance options
- The chance to lead an established EHS function and develop a growing team
- High visibility and direct interaction with executive leadership
- Career growth opportunities within a growing international organization
For broader market context, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reports a May 2025 median of $90,150 for occupational health and safety specialists and projects 19 percent growth for specialists and technicians from 2025 to 2035, well above the average for all occupations. Director-level leaders typically sit well above the specialist median.
Who is the ideal candidate for this EHS Director role?
The right person is an experienced, approachable, hands-on EHS leader who would rather be on a processing floor than behind a desk. They build relationships with hourly employees, hold supervisors accountable without losing them, and turn programs that already exist on paper into the way work actually gets done at every site.
How do you apply for the Director of EHS job in Albany, NY?
Apply through Frontline Source Group's How to Apply page and reference the Director of Environmental Health and Safety role in Albany, NY. Once your application or resume is in the system, Frontline's AI recruiter, Lexi Reed, may call you for an initial phone interview. Every Frontline recruiter uses an @frtline.com email address; see the scam alert page if anyone claiming to be from Frontline contacts you another way. When an interview is scheduled, the interview instructions page walks you through preparation.
Why do employers use Frontline Source Group for EHS leadership searches?
Safety leaders are hard to replace, and a bad hire at the director level costs far more than the search. Frontline's health, safety, and environment executive search practice recruits EHS Directors, EHS Managers, and safety professionals for recycling, manufacturing, energy, and industrial employers nationwide, including New York employers served through the New York City office.
- 5-Year Placement Warranty: every direct hire is covered for five years, 20 times longer than the 90-day guarantee common in the industry. Details are on the 5-Year Placement Warranty page.
- Published pricing: engagement models and fees are posted openly on the pricing page, which is rare in staffing.
- Proven results: 5,619 plus completed placements and a 98.94% executive placement retention rate, with client feedback on the testimonials page and recognition listed on the awards page.
Employers hiring EHS leadership can start a search through the employer request form.
Frequently Asked Questions: Director of EHS Job in Albany, NY
What is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety job in Albany, NY?
It is a direct hire leadership role with a growing international recycling and resource recovery organization in Upstate New York. The Director leads OSHA compliance, safety training, incident reporting, and an existing EHS team across about 10 major facilities and 50 smaller redemption centers in the Northeast.
Where is the Director of EHS role based?
Albany, NY is the preferred location. Candidates based in the Rochester and Farmington area or in Syracuse will also be considered, since the role covers facilities throughout the Northeast.
How much travel does the Director of EHS role require?
Expect to travel approximately 70 to 75 percent of the time throughout the Northeast. The client wants a visible safety leader who spends real time at processing facilities and redemption centers, and a valid driver's license is required.
How is the role split between safety and environmental work?
The position is about 80 percent occupational safety and 20 percent environmental. The emphasis is on OSHA compliance, safety training, program implementation, and building a culture of accountability, with support for environmental compliance and reporting.
How many facilities will the Director of EHS oversee?
The Director leads EHS initiatives across approximately 10 major operating facilities and 50 smaller redemption centers, about 60 sites in total. Some facilities run multiple shifts, including around-the-clock operations.
What qualifications are required for the Director of EHS job?
The client requires a bachelor's degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, or a related field, 7 to 10 years of safety management and training experience, 2 to 3 years leading EHS personnel, strong OSHA knowledge, comfort in active industrial environments, and a valid driver's license.
Is a CSP certification required for this role?
No. A professional safety certification such as the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) is preferred, not required. Recycling, waste management, multi-site, fleet or DOT safety, and unionized operations experience also strengthen a candidate.
What bonus and benefits come with the Director of EHS role?
The role carries a target annual bonus of 25 percent, comprehensive medical, prescription, dental, and vision coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, a 401(k) with company match, company-paid life insurance, disability coverage, paid time off, company holidays, and voluntary insurance options.
Which OSHA program covers private recycling employers in New York?
Federal OSHA. New York's State Plan, run by the Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau, covers only state and local government workers, so private employers such as this client follow federal OSHA standards.
How do I apply for the Director of EHS job in Albany, NY?
Apply at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference the Director of Environmental Health and Safety role in Albany, NY. Your application goes straight to the Frontline Source Group team handling this search.
How will Frontline Source Group contact me after I apply?
After you apply or upload a resume, Frontline's AI recruiter, Lexi Reed, may call you for an initial phone interview, and the recruiting team follows up with candidates whose background fits the role. Frontline staff only use @frtline.com email addresses. Learn more at frontlinesourcegroup.com/scam-alert.html.
What is Frontline Source Group's 5-Year Placement Warranty?
It is Frontline Source Group's coverage on every direct hire placement, including EHS leadership roles like this one. It lasts five years, 20 times longer than the 90-day guarantee common in the industry. Details are at frontlinesourcegroup.com/5year-placement-guarantee.html.
