Associate Director Health, Safety, & Wellbeing

Would you like to join an international team working to improve the future of healthcare? Do you want to enhance the lives of millions of people? Grifols is a global healthcare company that since 1909 has been working to improve the health and well-being of people around the world. We are leaders in plasma-derived medicines and transfusion medicine and develop, produce and market innovative medicines, solutions and services in more than 110 countries and regions.

Summary:

Strategically define, evolve, and embed the Regional Health, Safety, and Wellbeing through intent-based leadership, ensuring full alignment with Grifols’ global framework, company policies, and applicable laws and regulations. Building on prior success in translating complex safety data into executive action and designing board-ready KPIs, this role champions a proactive, prevention-first approach that empowers teams to make informed decisions protecting the health, safety, and total wellbeing of employees and collaborators.

Drive operational excellence by integrating continuous improvement, efficiency, and human-centered safety into core processes linking cultural change to measurable outcomes. Leverage insights from internal audits, ISO 45001 integration, and cross-functional collaboration to identify systemic risks and accelerate resilience.

Lead the development and deployment of strategic initiatives that strengthen safety culture across the organization, fostering ownership, sustainable performance, and behaviors aligned with Grifols’ values of integrity, teamwork, innovation, and commitment to quality. This includes embedding wellbeing into leadership routines, promoting psychological safety, and modeling accountability at every level from frontline operations to executive governance.                   

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership, ownership, and accountability for the Regional Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Management System, ensuring full integration with Grifols’ global framework, company policies, and applicable laws and regulations. Through intent-based leadership, guide the system’s evolution to support proactive risk management, regulatory foresight, and operational resilience objectives.
• Conduct strategic analysis of enterprise-wide safety and wellbeing requirements to identify systemic gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement. Design and implement innovative, scalable solutions that enhance operational resilience, regulatory alignment, and employee wellbeing across all business units.
• Identify, interpret, and operationalize regulatory standards that influence business activities and operational exposures, guiding the development of forward-looking compliance strategies that ensure alignment with global requirements and enterprise risk management objectives.
• Design and implement enterprise-wide safety and wellbeing training programs that build capability, reinforce preventative behaviors, and align with strategic risk management goals. Continuously evaluate training effectiveness through performance metrics and stakeholder feedback, and report outcomes to drive accountability, improvement, and cultural adoption.
• Lead strategic investigations and periodic audits of regulations and industry best practices that impact the regional network, ensuring proactive compliance, risk mitigation, and continuous alignment with evolving standards and organizational priorities.
• Integrate H&S management systems into organizational practices and serve as the subject matter expert, and in ISO 45001 sites, adoption and related standards where applicable. Provide strategic guidance to ensure seamless implementation, alignment with global frameworks, and continuous improvement in health, safety, and wellbeing performance across the enterprise
• Serve as the lead authority for Health, Safety, and Wellbeing internal audits during inspections, driving enterprise-wide accountability and transparency. Provide strategic oversight to ensure audit findings translate into actionable improvements, reinforce compliance with global standards, and strengthen the organization’s culture of prevention, resilience, and continuous improvement
• Provide strategic oversight and leadership for global Health, Safety, and Wellbeing initiatives, ensuring consistency, scalability, and cultural relevance across all regions. Champion the integration of wellbeing into Grifols’ global governance frameworks, aligning programs with international regulations, industry best practices, and organizational values. Drive enterprise-wide initiatives that embed preventative risk management, operational resilience, and holistic wellbeing into business strategy, fostering a unified safety culture that empowers employees, strengthens stakeholder confidence, and positions Grifols as a global leader in health, safety, and wellbeing excellence.

Additional Responsibilities:

• The role encompasses providing strategic leadership, ownership, and accountability for Occupational Health, Safety, and Total Wellbeing programs, ensuring alignment with Grifols’ values and operational excellence objectives. Beyond compliance, this position serves as a visionary driver of a holistic health and safety culture, embedding wellbeing into the company’s long-term strategy and employee experience.
• Key responsibilities include analyzing systemwide safety and wellbeing requirements, identifying deficiencies and opportunities, and developing innovative, future-focused solutions to be implemented across the company. The role interprets and implements regulatory standards that affect operational exposures and business activities, while also guiding compliance plans that anticipate emerging risks. It develops employee safety and wellbeing training programs, evaluates their effectiveness, and reports results to leadership, ensuring continuous improvement and resilience.
• Strategically, the position integrates ISO 45001 adoption as a subject matter expert, while also championing next-generation prevention and wellbeing systems that align with Grifols’ values. At the regional level, the role defines and implements prevention and wellbeing strategies, advises businesses on risk management, allocates resources for prevention and wellbeing services, and collaborates with leadership teams to cultivate a proactive safety and wellbeing culture that supports both operational excellence and employee engagement.
• Representation duties extend to regional forums, inspections, and meetings with employee representatives, where the role advocates for employee-centered wellbeing initiatives and provides guidance on occupational risk prevention. It responds to official inquiries, monitors safety and health committee meetings, and conducts follow-ups with stakeholders to assess compliance, improvement opportunities, and cultural adoption of wellbeing practices.
• Regional safety and health responsibilities involve establishing common programs across sites, defining visionary improvement policies, implementing annual audit programs, and coordinating meetings with safety leaders to drive transformational action plans.
• In terms of medical and wellbeing services, the role manages occupational health surveillance and assistance programs, conducts health studies and epidemiological research, and plans preventive measures. It also promotes total wellbeing through vaccinations, awareness campaigns, mental health initiatives, resilience programs, and holistic health strategies that address physical, emotional, and social wellbeing.
• Finally, the position oversees outsourced prevention and wellbeing services by defining, contracting, and supervising external providers, while organizing medical examinations, health surveillance activities, and wellness programs. In doing so, it ensures a comprehensive, future-ready occupational health, safety, and wellbeing management system that not only protects employees but also empowers them to thrive.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Core Technical Competencies

• Global Health & Safety Expertise Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of occupational health, safety, and total wellbeing at an international level, including regulatory compliance, risk prevention, and strategic integration of wellbeing into business operations.
• Regulatory & Risk Leadership Anticipates and interprets evolving global regulations, proactively shaping compliance strategies and risk prevention frameworks that safeguard both employees and business continuity.
• Framework Development & Integration Designs and implements unified, scalable Health, Safety, and Wellbeing frameworks adaptable to diverse geographies, cultures, and operational environments.

Strategic Leadership Competencies

• Intent-Based Leadership Inspires and empowers teams by clarifying purpose and intent, fostering ownership, accountability, and alignment with organizational values.
• Operational Excellence & Transformation Drives continuous improvement, efficiency, and innovation in health, safety, and wellbeing processes, ensuring initiatives deliver measurable impact on business performance and employee engagement.
• Visionary Change Management Leads organizational transformation by embedding wellbeing into long-term strategy, cultivating resilience, and positioning Grifols as a global leader in employee health and safety culture.

Influence & Relationship Competencies

• Executive Influence & Communication Demonstrates strong influencing skills at the executive level, effectively communicating vision, strategy, and outcomes to boards, senior leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Stakeholder Trust & Relationship Management Builds credibility and transparency with internal and external partners, fostering trust and collaboration across regions and industries.
• Labor Relations Leadership Skilled in managing employee representatives and labor relations on Health, Safety, and Wellbeing matters internationally, ensuring constructive dialogue and collaborative solutions.

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Occupational or Industrial Safety, Safety Management, or Related Field.

Experience:

A minimum of 8 years of progressive safety leadership experience.

People & Culture Competencies

• Leadership & Team Development Proven ability to lead, inspire, and develop diverse, high-performing teams across geographies, cultivating a culture of safety, wellbeing, and operational excellence.
• Adaptability & Resilience Flexible and resilient in responding to evolving regulations, organizational changes, and emerging global health and wellbeing trends, ensuring continuity and agility.
• Culture Building Champions a proactive safety and wellbeing culture that integrates physical, emotional, and social health, positioning wellbeing as a strategic enabler of employee engagement and organizational success.

Occupational Demands:

Cognitive & Strategic Demands

• High-level analytical capacity to interpret complex regulatory frameworks and translate them into actionable strategies.
• Strategic foresight to anticipate emerging risks, evolving global standards, and future wellbeing trends.
• Decision-making under pressure, balancing compliance, operational continuity, and employee wellbeing in dynamic environments.
• Systems thinking to integrate safety, health, and wellbeing into enterprise-wide governance and performance frameworks.

Interpersonal & Leadership Demands

• Executive communication skills to influence boards, senior leaders, regulators, and employee representatives.
• Cross-cultural leadership to guide diverse teams across geographies, adapting strategies to local contexts while maintaining global consistency.
• Conflict resolution and negotiation in labor relations and stakeholder engagement, ensuring constructive dialogue and trust.
• Change management expertise to lead cultural transformation, embedding safety and wellbeing into organizational values and behaviors.

Operational & Organizational Demands

• Oversight of audits and inspections, requiring attention to detail and accountability for compliance outcomes.
• Program design and evaluation, ensuring training, wellbeing initiatives, and risk prevention systems deliver measurable impact.
• Resource allocation and prioritization, balancing budgets, external providers, and internal capacity to sustain global initiatives.
• Continuous improvement leadership, embedding efficiency, resilience, and innovation into all health, safety, and wellbeing processes.

Physical & Environmental Demands

• Periodic travel across regions and sites to lead inspections, audits, and stakeholder engagements.
• On-site presence in operational environments (labs, manufacturing, offices) to assess risks and model safety leadership.
• Ability to adapt to varied work settings, from executive boardrooms to frontline operational sites, maintaining credibility and influence in each context.

Third Party Agency and Recruiter Notice:

Agencies that present a candidate to Grifols must have an active, nonexpired, Grifols Agency Master Services Agreement with the Grifols Talent Acquisition Department. Additionally, agencies may only submit candidates to positions that they have been engaged to work on by a Grifols Recruiter. All resumes must be sent to a Grifols Recruiter under these terms or they will be considered a Grifols candidate.

Grifols provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race; color; sex; gender identity; sexual orientation; religious practices and observances; national origin; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; status as a protected veteran or spouse/family member of a protected veteran; or disability.  We will consider for employment all qualified applicants in a manner consistent with the requirements of all applicable laws, including but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

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Location: NORTH AMERICA : USA : CA-Los Angeles:US401 - LA CA-Headquarters

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