What Is the EHS Manager Direct Hire Job in Louisville, KY?
Published on: Sep 25, 2026
Frontline Source Group is recruiting a direct hire Environmental Health and Safety Manager for a well-established manufacturing organization in Louisville, Kentucky. The EHS Manager joins plant leadership, leads a team of EHS and security professionals, and drives a proactive safety culture across a heavily unionized operation of about 650 employees.
Frontline Source Group is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms #148 (2026), 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, Inc. 5000 honoree, and Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency, and a member of the American Staffing Association (ASA). Since 2004 the firm has completed 5,619 placements with a 98.94% executive placement retention rate, holds a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 676 verified reviews, and backs every direct hire with the 5-Year Placement Warranty.
What is the Environmental Health and Safety Manager job in Louisville, KY?
Our client is a well-established manufacturing organization with a large, complex Louisville operation that combines heavy industrial processing with packaging and finishing operations. This is a highly visible leadership opportunity within one of the organization's most complex manufacturing facilities, supporting approximately 650 employees in a heavily unionized environment. This is a direct hire opportunity.
The organization is making a significant investment in advancing its safety culture and is seeking an EHS leader who can help move the operation beyond reactive safety management toward a more proactive, prevention-focused approach.
The Environmental Health and Safety Manager will serve as a key member of the plant leadership team and provide strategic leadership and technical direction for environmental, health, and safety programs across the Louisville operation. This is not solely a compliance-focused EHS position. The successful candidate will be expected to lead people, influence behavior, and drive cultural change throughout a large and complex manufacturing environment.
The EHS Manager will lead a team of technical EHS professionals and security personnel while partnering closely with the Plant Manager, EHS Director, operations, maintenance, engineering, and union employees. The ideal candidate must be equally comfortable coaching a direct report, challenging an experienced operational leader, working alongside employees on the manufacturing floor, and presenting safety performance and initiatives to the entire plant population.
What will the Louisville EHS Manager lead and own?
A major focus of the position is continuing the organization's evolution from a historically reactive approach to safety toward a proactive culture centered on risk identification, prevention, employee engagement, and accountability. Responsibilities fall into three areas.
What are the leadership and safety culture responsibilities?
- Lead the development and execution of a proactive EHS strategy for a large, complex manufacturing operation
- Champion the continued transition from reactive incident management toward proactive risk identification and prevention
- Build credibility and influence across operations, maintenance, engineering, plant leadership, and the hourly workforce
- Lead, coach, and develop EHS professionals and other direct reports
- Champion cross-functional safety initiatives and personally lead projects involving managers, engineers, supervisors, and hourly employees
- Develop employees through coaching, accountability, and performance management
- Present safety performance, priorities, and initiatives during plant-wide employee town halls
- Establish a visible presence throughout the manufacturing operation and actively engage employees on the plant floor
- Partner with plant leadership to integrate safety considerations into operational and business decisions
- Drive Behavioral Based Safety, employee engagement, and continuous improvement initiatives
What are the union and employee relations responsibilities?
- Build productive working relationships within a highly unionized manufacturing environment
- Communicate effectively with union employees regarding safety expectations, initiatives, and operational changes
- Partner with operational leaders and employees to gain support for safety programs and improvements
- Navigate differing viewpoints while maintaining credibility, consistency, and appropriate safety standards
- Influence employee behavior and safety performance through communication, education, visibility, and relationship building
What are the EHS technical leadership responsibilities?
- Provide leadership and oversight for environmental, occupational health, and safety programs
- Partner with technical EHS resources to maintain compliance with applicable OSHA, EPA, state, and local requirements
- Oversee environmental compliance activities including permitting, reporting, hazardous waste, air emissions, wastewater, and related programs
- Lead and support incident investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective action initiatives
- Evaluate EHS risks and develop strategies to reduce employee exposure and operational risk
- Monitor EHS performance, identify trends, and establish improvement priorities
- Support regulatory inspections and ensure appropriate corrective actions and responses
- Maintain emergency preparedness and response programs
- Provide oversight and leadership for case management activities
- Partner with engineering and operations on capital projects and EHS improvements
What background does the EHS Manager role require?
The client is looking for a people leader with deep EHS technical grounding and a track record of moving safety programs beyond compliance in manufacturing or heavy industrial settings.
What education and experience are required?
- Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety and Health, Environmental Engineering, Engineering, a technical discipline, or a related field
- Progressive environmental, health, and safety experience within manufacturing or industrial operations
- Heavy industrial manufacturing experience strongly preferred
- Demonstrated experience directly leading, coaching, and developing employees
- Proven ability to personally lead major EHS projects or initiatives involving cross-functional teams
- Demonstrated success influencing operations, maintenance, engineering, and hourly employees
- Experience working within a unionized manufacturing environment strongly preferred
- Experience supporting a large hourly employee population preferred
- Demonstrated ability to move safety programs beyond compliance and reactive incident management toward proactive risk prevention
- Strong understanding of occupational safety and environmental compliance requirements
- Behavioral Based Safety experience
- Strong incident investigation, root cause analysis, and case management experience
- Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills
- Ability to establish credibility with employees ranging from plant floor personnel to senior leadership
- Strong strategic thinking, project management, and problem-solving capabilities
Which certifications strengthen a candidate?
A Certified Safety Professional (CSP) credential from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credential through the Board for Global EHS Credentialing, a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) credential, or an advanced degree is a plus. None is required to be considered.
What regulatory environment will the Louisville EHS Manager work in?
The EHS Manager partners with technical EHS resources to keep the plant compliant with OSHA, EPA, state, and local requirements. Two Kentucky-specific points matter for candidates coming from other states.
Which OSHA program covers Louisville manufacturers?
Kentucky runs an OSHA-approved State Plan. Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (Kentucky OSH), part of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet's Department of Workplace Standards, covers most private sector workplaces in the state, so inspections and enforcement at the Louisville plant run through Kentucky OSH rather than federal OSHA.
Which environmental programs does the role oversee?
The role oversees permitting, reporting, hazardous waste, air emissions, and wastewater programs under federal EPA and state requirements. In Jefferson County, air quality is also regulated locally by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, adding a local layer that EHS leaders relocating to Louisville should expect.
What benefits come with the Louisville EHS Manager role?
- Healthcare benefits and various wellness programs
- PTO and paid holidays
- 401(k) with company match
- Highly visible leadership opportunity within a large manufacturing operation
- Significant opportunity for professional development and advancement
- Exposure to complex heavy industrial and manufacturing operations
- Opportunity to lead meaningful safety and capital improvement initiatives
- Strong organizational investment in environmental, health, and safety programs
- Career opportunities across multiple facilities and business units
How does Frontline Source Group screen EHS Manager candidates?
A Frontline Source Group senior recruiter reviews every resume against the role profile, then interviews for EHS leadership scope, experience in unionized manufacturing, Behavioral Based Safety, incident investigation and root cause analysis depth, and environmental compliance knowledge. Only candidates who match the technical and leadership profile are submitted to the client. Frontline Source Group recruits EHS leaders nationwide through its health, safety, and environment executive search practice, alongside engineering and oil, gas, and energy recruiting.
How do I apply for the EHS Manager job in Louisville, KY?
If you are an experienced EHS leader looking to make a meaningful impact on safety culture within a complex manufacturing environment, apply here. Before your interview, review Frontline Source Group's interview instructions.
Employers hiring EHS, safety, or plant leadership can submit a search through the employer request form, review engagement models on the pricing page, and read the terms of the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day industry-standard guarantee. People. Process. Service.
Frequently Asked Questions: EHS Manager Job in Louisville, KY
What is the EHS Manager job in Louisville, KY?
The EHS Manager job in Louisville, Kentucky is a direct hire leadership role with a well-established manufacturing organization. The EHS Manager joins the plant leadership team and leads environmental, health, and safety strategy for a complex operation of about 650 employees that combines heavy industrial processing with packaging and finishing.
Is the Louisville EHS Manager role direct hire or contract?
The Louisville EHS Manager role is a direct hire placement, so the selected candidate becomes a permanent employee of the client. Every Frontline Source Group direct hire is backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day guarantee common in the staffing industry.
Is the Louisville EHS Manager role on site or remote?
The role is on site at the Louisville, Kentucky manufacturing plant. The EHS Manager is expected to maintain a visible presence on the plant floor, engage directly with hourly and union employees, and present at plant-wide town halls, so it is not a remote position.
Who does the EHS Manager work with at the Louisville plant?
The EHS Manager leads a team of technical EHS professionals and security personnel and partners closely with the Plant Manager, the EHS Director, operations, maintenance, engineering, and union employees.
What experience does the Louisville EHS Manager role require?
The role requires a bachelor's degree in occupational safety and health, environmental engineering, engineering, or a related technical field, progressive EHS experience in manufacturing or industrial operations, and demonstrated experience leading and developing people. Heavy industrial and unionized manufacturing experience are strongly preferred.
Do I need a CSP or CIH certification for this EHS Manager job?
No certification is required. A Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Health Physicist (CHP) credential, or an advanced degree, is listed as a plus for the Louisville EHS Manager role.
What safety culture work will the Louisville EHS Manager lead?
The EHS Manager will continue moving the plant from a historically reactive approach to a proactive culture built on risk identification, prevention, employee engagement, and accountability, including Behavioral Based Safety, cross-functional safety projects, and plant-wide communication of safety performance.
What environmental compliance does the Louisville EHS Manager oversee?
The EHS Manager oversees environmental compliance activities including permitting, reporting, hazardous waste, air emissions, and wastewater programs, partnering with technical EHS resources to meet applicable OSHA, EPA, state, and local requirements.
Which OSHA program covers manufacturing plants in Kentucky?
Kentucky operates an OSHA-approved State Plan. Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (Kentucky OSH), part of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet's Department of Workplace Standards, covers most private sector workplaces in the state, including manufacturing plants in Louisville.
What benefits come with the Louisville EHS Manager role?
Benefits include healthcare and wellness programs, PTO and paid holidays, a 401(k) with company match, professional development and advancement opportunity, and career paths across multiple facilities and business units.
How does Frontline Source Group screen EHS Manager candidates?
A Frontline Source Group senior recruiter reviews each resume against the role profile, interviews for EHS leadership scope, union environment experience, incident investigation and root cause analysis depth, and environmental compliance knowledge, and submits only candidates who match the technical and leadership profile.
How do I apply for the EHS Manager job in Louisville, KY?
Qualified EHS leaders can apply through the Frontline Source Group how to apply page at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html. Employers hiring EHS leadership can submit a request at frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html.
