Safety & Emergency Preparedness Specialist

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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers countless ways to change lives. Our diverse community of more than 20,000 Breakthrough Makers will inspire you to pursue passions, develop expertise, and drive innovation.

At CHOP, your experience is valued; your voice is heard; and your contributions make a difference for patients and families. Join us as we build on our promise to advance pediatric care-and your career.

CHOP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or any other legally protected categories in any employment, training, or vendor decisions or programs. CHOP recognizes the critical importance of a workforce rich in varied backgrounds and experiences and engages in ongoing efforts to achieve that through equally varied and non-discriminatory means.

A Brief Overview
The Safety and Emergency Preparedness Specialist supports a safe, compliant, and resilient environment across the King of Prussia (KOP) Campus, including the Middleman Family Pavilion and the KOP Specialty Care Center (SCC). This role plays an integral part in site-level execution of environmental health and safety (EHS), emergency preparedness (EP) [incorporating the separate business continuity (BC) service line], and regulatory readiness programs to enhance environmental, staff, and patient safety, and promote continuous readiness. The Specialist is the KOP campus subject matter expert while partnering with enterprise leads, site leadership, and external stakeholders to advance preparedness, support incident response, and maintain regulatory readiness. The Specialist represents KOP campus interests and its unique operations through participation in enterprise-wide work. This role is imperative in understanding, communicating, and navigating the operational nuances specific to KOP campus and working with matrix leaders to integrate tailored approaches supporting KOP campus excellence with enterprise priorities and goals.

Effort Distribution: 50% Technical (Performing and owning technical aspects of a project) - 20% Strategic (Planning and Guidance) - 30% Building Organizational Capacity (Teaching, Coaching, Mentoring)

What you will do

• Technical - Program Activities
• Emergency Preparedness
• Plan, coordinate, and lead KOP-specific emergency preparedness initiatives including planning, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts through partnering with local and enterprise leaders and collaborating with enterprise EP Planners to optimize effectiveness of the full spectrum of preparedness activities on the KOP campus.
• Apply KOP campus subject matter expertise to develop and maintain KOP campus emergency plans and contribute to review and revision of enterprise emergency plans incorporating best practices, lessons learned, emerging risks, and after-action findings.
• Coordinate preparedness projects and task forces utilizing project management methodologies and tools, coordinating across departments to achieve milestones, align strategies, and completing impactful deliverables on schedule.
• Lead and support Hazard Vulnerability Assessments (HVAs) and related risk assessments for KOP campus utilizing relevant data analytics, external trending risk factors, and learnings from internal reviews to inform proactive risk reduction strategies at KOP campus in harmony with enterprise-wide approaches.
• Support critical incident management through Incident Management Team (IMT) coordination and participation at KOP campus, as well as facilitate activation during incidents, ensuring stakeholder engagement and clear communication.
• Contribute to continuous improvement planning resulting from activations and proactive risk reduction strategies, through compiling, analyzing, and presenting data to identify risk trends; collaborating with operational and clinical partners to develop proactive mitigation strategies, and supporting leadership in prioritizing mitigation investments and response readiness.
• Continuously monitor emerging threats and update assessments to ensure mitigation strategies remain relevant, data-driven, and adaptable to evolving operational contexts.
• Represent KOP campus business continuity through recovery planning to restore critical functions and minimize disruption, embedding recovery priorities into business continuity strategies.
• Act as liaison between enterprise EP and KOP departmental continuity planning and documentation in alignment with enterprise tools and expectations, managing site-level continuity materials including downtime phones, backup resources, and downtime materials.
• Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)
• Supports a coordinated and interdepartmental approach to review and maintain Environmental Health & Safety policies and procedures in collaboration with the enterprise Safety Program Manager and Industrial Hygiene Program Manager:
• Including, but not limited to hazardous and pharmaceutical waste program support, SPCC/ICP Plan maintenance, construction safety, interim life safety, hazard communication, air monitoring, ergonomics, bio-response, lab safety, indoor air quality, fire drill planning, fire exit simulations, Condition Red response training, physical plant safety auditing and fire alarm data management.
• Supports the physical environment by representing EHS on physical environment rounds, including recording findings in the enterprise documentation platform.
• Participates as a Service Department Leader (SDL) for PE rounds, ensuring EHS elements of compliance are met, monitors EHS metrics, supports targeted improvement efforts optimizing processes and outcomes, and provides informational reports highlighting outcomes and impacts at required meetings and forums.
• Serves as a backup point of contact for regulatory visits from PADEP, OSHA or other EHS regulatory authorities for the KOP campus providing inter-campus communications, coordination, and leadership to ensure proactive preparation resulting in fluid onsite visits.
• Coordinates respiratory programs for KOPH and KOP SCC, which may include local communication, training staff, fit-testing, and cataloguing information in the departmental documentation platform.
• Collaborates with key local and enterprise stakeholders to coordinate solutions, synthesize innovative approaches and best practices to support patient and staff safety and to reduce risk for injury or illness. Shares these solutions with the enterprise EHS leaders coproducing tests of change and/or implementation.
• Leads and conducts facility-related injury and safety incident investigations, determining causal factors and identifying appropriate corrective actions in cross-campus partnership with local leaders, Employee Safety and EHS leaders, developing reports within the departmental documentation platform.
• Partners with enterprise experts, providing KOP campus expertise, to inform, develop, and administer site-specific education and procedures as they relate to EHS program efforts at KOPH.
• Participates in enterprise emergency response programs, including laboratory, hazardous materials, bio-response, condition red response team, infrastructure failures and on-call programs.
• Regulatory and Accreditation Compliance
• Maintain continuous regulatory compliance with Joint Commission, CMS, OSHA, FEMA, PADEP, and DOH requirements specific to role responsibilities for EP and EHS for KOP campus.
• Supports and coordinates Physical Environment (PE) processes and rounds in KOPH to encourage cross-functional collaboration, support of a safe environment, and optimize collaboration to positively impact the physical environment, as well as in stewardship of regulatory compliance and readiness.
• Assist with coordination of and participates in onsite survey and inspection reviews, ensuring appropriate notifications, communication, and escalation.
• Assist Physical Environment with internal audits, survey preparation walkthroughs, and risk assessments.
• Supports local leaders in Physical Environment rounds to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance.
• Strategic (Cross Departmental EP/EHS/Regulatory)
• Partners with local and enterprise leadership in assessing risk and establishing strategy for preparedness and planning for emergency response, business continuity, safety, and compliance.
• Builds collaborative relationships with internal departments and external partners (e.g., regional coalitions, public health agencies) to develop mutually beneficial alliances and establish proactive functional and communication plans to be leveraged during routine operations, as well as unanticipated response activities.
• Cultivates ongoing partnerships and serves as KOP inter-campus liaison and subject matter expert on EP, BC, and EHS.
• Building Organizational Capacity (Cross Departmental EP/EHS/Regulatory)
• Develops, coordinates, and provides training and exercises related to EP, BC, EHS, and compliance to test and improve response capabilities at KOP campus.
• Support onboarding and ongoing education for clinical and non-clinical staff to maximize knowledge and confidence of leaders and staff in topics related to regarding EP, BC, and EHS expectations.
• Provides coaching and consultation to local leaders and staff on drills, exercises, and questions/concerns regarding EP, BC, EHS.
• Participates in the enterprise-wide on-call rotation for both EP and EHS functions providing 24/7 leadership support, as well as on-site leadership support during major events.
• Serves as the EP/EHS subject matter expert for KOP campus committees.
• Represent KOP EHS/EP functions on KOP and enterprise committees, taskforces, and engagement efforts.

Education Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree - Required
• Bachelor's Degree Environmental Health or Safety, emergency response and planning, code interpretation - Preferred

Experience Qualifications

• At least three (3) years healthcare compliance, safety and emergency management experience - Required
• At least four (4) years in a healthcare environment - Preferred

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated analytic ability and strong written and verbal communications skills (Required proficiency)
• Demonstrated understanding of the principles of ICS, HICS, NDMS, NIMS, and HSEEP (Required proficiency)
• Knowledgeable of NFPA codes (Required proficiency)
• Knowledge and skills related to planning, execution and evaluation of drills and exercises (Required proficiency)
• Medically cleared to wear Level B personal protective equipment (Required proficiency)
• Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) 24 hours training by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or within 180 days of placement into position (Required proficiency)
• Intermediate knowledge of safety guidelines / regulations including from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Association Advancing Occupational and Environmental Health (ACGIH), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Joint Commission (JC) (Required proficiency)
• Basic proficiency with personal protective equipment (Required proficiency)
• Intermediate proficiency with office software (Microsoft Office) (Required proficiency)
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills (Required proficiency)
• Strong critical thinking / problem-solving skills (Required proficiency)
• Strong interpersonal skills (Required proficiency)
• Strong organizational skills (Required proficiency)
• Strong time management skills (Required proficiency)
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision (Required proficiency)
• Ability to gather, analyze and make recommendations/decisions based on data (Required proficiency)
• Ability to convey complex or technical information in an easy to understand manner (Required proficiency)
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders at all levels including outside authorities having jurisdiction like the Fire Department, Department of Health and Joint Commission (Required proficiency)
• Ability to be on-call to trouble shoot and resolve problems (Required proficiency)
• Ability to influence others to accomplish tasks outside of the direct span of control (Required proficiency)
• Practical and working knowledge and skills within areas of environmental health and safety, emergency preparedness or regulatory compliance. (Required proficiency)
• Respiratory FIT Testing (Required proficiency)

Licenses and Certifications

• Certified Healthcare Environmental Manager (CHEM) - American Hospital Association (AHA) - upon hire - Preferred or
• Haz Waste Ops & ER 24or40 hour - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) - upon hire - Preferred or
• Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) - FEMA - upon hire - Preferred or
• Life Safety 101 Certification - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - upon hire - Preferred or
• OSHA 10-hr General Industry - Occupational Safety and Health Administration - upon hire - Preferred or
• OSHA Accident Investigation - Occupational Safety and Health Administration - upon hire - Preferred

To carry out its mission, CHOP is committed to supporting the health of our patients, families, workforce, and global community. As a condition of employment, CHOP employees who work in patient care buildings or who have patient facing responsibilities must receive an annual influenza vaccine. Learn more.

EEO / VEVRAA Federal Contractor | Tobacco Statement

SALARY RANGE:

Salary ranges are shown for full-time jobs. If you're working part-time, your pay will be adjusted accordingly.

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At CHOP, we are committed to fair and transparent pay practices. Factors such as skills and experience could result in an offer above the salary range noted in this job posting. Click here for more information regarding CHOP's Compensation and Benefits.