The Director, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Programs & Compliance provides strategic leadership and oversight of the organization's HSE management system, regulatory compliance programs, and continuous improvement initiatives across all business operations within Canada.
Reporting to the Vice President, HSE, the Director is responsible for developing, implementing, and governing corporate HSE standards, policies, programs, and performance metrics that support operational excellence, legal compliance, and a strong safety culture. This role leads the organization's Certificate of Recognition (COR®) program, claims management processes, compliance auditing framework, training strategy, and enterprise HSE management systems.
The Director partners closely with business leaders, operations teams, project management, and external stakeholders to ensure health, safety, and environment, are effectively managed while driving measurable improvements in organizational performance.
The successful candidate will be a strategic, results-oriented leader with extensive experience in construction, infrastructure, industrial, or heavy civil operations and a demonstrated ability to influence organizational culture, lead high-performing teams, and manage complex compliance programs.
Duties and Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & HSE Governance
- Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the company's Health, Safety and Environmental Management System.
- Establish corporate HSE strategies, objectives, performance indicators, and annual improvement plans aligned with organizational goals.
- Provide leadership, mentorship, and technical guidance to HSE Managers, Specialists, Coordinators, and operational leadership teams.
- Develop and maintain corporate HSE policies, standards, procedures, and best practices to ensure compliance and operational consistency.
- Serve as a trusted advisor on HSE risks, regulatory developments, and emerging industry trends.
- Support integration, due diligence activities, and organizational change initiatives from an HSE perspective.
Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure compliance with all applicable provincial, federal, and municipal health, safety, environmental regulations.
- Provide strategic oversight of the company's COR® program, including audit readiness, certification maintenance, continuous improvement initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
- Direct internal compliance audits, management system reviews, field inspections, and regulatory assessments.
- Lead investigations involving significant incidents, injuries, environmental events, regulatory violations, and high-potential near misses.
- Develop corrective action programs and verify effective implementation across the organization.
HSE Systems & Operational Excellence
- Lead and optimize the organization's electronic HSE management system, including data governance, reporting, analytics, and user adoption.
- Monitor and analyze leading and lagging performance indicators to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
- Develop executive-level dashboards, scorecards, and performance reports for senior leadership and business operations.
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives that enhance employee engagement, hazard identification, risk reduction, and operational performance.
- Establish standards for field inspections, observations, audits, and corrective action management.
Training, Culture & Engagement
- Develop and oversee the organization's HSE training strategy, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and business needs.
- Lead the design and implementation of onboarding, orientation, competency verification, and leadership development programs.
- Promote a proactive safety culture through employee engagement, communication strategies, recognition programs, and leadership accountability.
- Collaborate with operational leaders to strengthen workforce participation in health, safety, and environmental initiatives.
Claims Management & Return to Work
- Provide oversight and governance of workplace injury claims management and return-to-work processes.
- Monitor claims performance, costs, and trends while ensuring compliance with all provincial compensation requirements and internal standards.
- Partner with People and Culture and operational leadership to reduce injury duration and improve return-to-work outcomes.
Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary corporate liaison with regulatory agencies, industry associations, external auditors, and clients on HSE matters.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with regulatory bodies across Canada.
- Represent the organization in client prequalification processes, audits, industry working groups, and external HSE forums.
Must Haves:
- Bachelor's degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, Risk Management, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years progressive Health, Safety and Environmental leadership experience, including at least 5 years in a senior management or director-level capacity.
- Experience within construction, infrastructure, utilities, transportation, industrial, manufacturing, or heavy civil environments.
- Demonstrated success leading COR® certification programs, management systems, regulatory compliance initiatives, and enterprise HSE strategies.
- Proven experience managing HSE teams across multiple locations and operational divisions
- Extensive knowledge of provincial occupational health and safety legislation, environmental regulations, and transportation compliance requirements.
- Strong understanding of COR®, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, risk management systems, and auditing methodologies.
- Experience with HSE management software platforms.
- Exceptional leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and change management skills.
- Strong analytical and business acumen with the ability to leverage data to drive decision-making.
- Demonstrated ability to influence leaders at all levels of the organization.
- Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Professional designation such as CRSP, CRST, CHSC, CSP, or equivalent is strongly preferred.
Competitive total compensation package, commensurate with experience
Modern Niagara offers a competitive total compensation package including:
- Defined Contribution Pension Plan with a generous employer contribution
- Flexible Health and Dental benefits with tiered options to meet the needs of you and your family
- An annual health spending account to support your overall wellness
- 24/7 confidential support through our Employee and Family Assistance Program with access to comprehensive resources and professional services
- A competitive vacation package with additional vacation granted throughout your tenure with the organization.
- Employer Paid Parental Leave Top Up
- Annual Community Day is dedicated to volunteering and giving back to the communities where we live and work
- Corporate Discounts through various vendors across Canada for programs such as fitness, mobile phones, travel, home and auto insurance and many others
Here at Modern Niagara, because we know our people are the best in the industry, we pride ourselves on providing a total compensation package that rewards employees for their hard work and supports employees and their families in their overall wellbeing.
About Modern Niagara
Who We Are
Modern Niagara helps building owners, managers, and general contractors meet the mechanical, and electrical needs of their buildings across Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Southwestern Ontario, and Ottawa. We are committed to having a positive and meaningful impact on Canada’s infrastructure - and on the communities where we live, learn, work, and heal. We build for life.
Our Culture & Values
We value passion, initiative, determination, professionalism, and teamwork. Health and safety are embedded in everything we do, and our award-winning safety culture consistently performs well above industry standards.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Modern Niagara
We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization where everyone has access to opportunity, feels a sense of belonging, and can thrive. We actively work to remove barriers faced by members of equity-seeking groups (including women, Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and newcomers to Canada) in the construction industry. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and lived experiences and are committed to a barrier-free hiring process. If you require accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact us at careers@modernniagara.com so we can make appropriate arrangements.
We appreciate every applicant’s interest in joining Modern Niagara. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
