What are the responsibilities and job description for the Chemical Hygiene Officer and Dangerous Goods Shipping Specialist position at University of Rhode Island?
Position Information
Posting Number SF02230 Job Title Chemical Hygiene Officer and Dangerous Goods Shipping Specialist Position Number 109883 FTE 1.00 FLSA Exempt Position Type Professional Staff Union PSA/NEA - Professional Staff Assoc Pay Grade Level Grade Level: 11 Pay Grade Range Salary Hiring Range: $65,571 - $80,222 Status Calendar Year, Full-time, Permanent
Department Information
Department Environmental Health & Safety Contact(s)
Please note: Job applications must be submitted directly online only at: (https://jobs.uri.edu)
Contact Phone/Extension Contact Email Physical Demands Campus Location Kingston Grant Funded No Extension Contingency Notes Job Description Summary
Search will be open until filled. First consideration will be given to applications received by
10/28/2026. Applications received after 10/28/2026 may be reviewed depending on search progress and needs but are not guaranteed full consideration.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE POSITION SCHEDULE IS ELIGIBLE FOR HYBRID: 3 DAYS IN-PERSON, AND 2-DAYS REMOTE WORK.
Position Summary
Establish and maintain appropriate protocols and oversight for all areas of the University that contain hazardous chemicals. Ensure proper management of chemicals including storage, inventory, usage, and disposal. Assist University faculty, students and staff ship dangerous goods and other regulated hazardous materials in adherence with federal and state regulations. Perform all responsibilities as required of a university Chemical Hygiene Officer by federal regulations. Provide training for all University personnel, including faculty, staff, and students, who work with chemicals and/or who may manage waste.
Duties and Responsibilities
Key Duties And Responsibilities
Provide training for all laboratory and support personnel exposed to chemicals, including instruction regarding the safe use, storage, and disposal of chemical waste, as well as emergency procedures and regulatory requirements.
Inspect laboratories and other areas of campus that contain hazardous chemicals to ensure compliance with environmental health and safety and hazardous waste regulations. Document inspections using web-based inspection software. If necessary, conduct follow-up inspections to ensure the areas come into compliance.
Manage all aspects of the dangerous goods shipping program by ensuring items are classified properly in compliance with domestic and international dangerous goods regulations (DOT, IATA, IMDG), and applicable regulations pertaining to the shipment and/or storage of hazardous materials.
Assist faculty, staff, and students in procurement of appropriate shipping and packaging containers. Pick, pack and process packages of hazardous materials/dangerous goods for shipment. Use shipping software to ship hazardous materials/dangerous goods. Provide day-to-day regulatory guidance on packaging specifications, marking, labeling, and shipping documents.
Maintain subject matter expertise and certifications for shipping dangerous goods in compliance with all federal and state regulations.
Provide assistance to Principal Investigators (PIs) and lab users in preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use of certain chemicals, procedures or equipment.
Respond to and contain hazardous chemical spills during business hours by performing defensive and offensive response actions to stop a hazardous material spill within laboratories and other University locations.
Response actions are limited to cleaning small chemical spills (4L liters of less) of limited hazards (not particularly hazardous substances or radioactive materials), where a cartridge air-purifying respirator is sufficient means of respiratory protection. A powered air purifying respirator may be used in lieu of air purifying respirator. Be able to calibrate and use portable gas detectors (e.g., photoionization detector, 4-gas meter, ammonia meter) to assess respiratory hazards.
Containerize spill cleanup material and other waste in appropriate containers.
Perform air monitoring (if necessary) to ensure space is safe to occupy.
Maintain spill supplies, sampling equipment and PPE, including respiratory protection.
Provide guidance and develop training materials to assist University personnel in complying with EPA and DEM requirements in order to ensure regulatory compliance with hazardous waste (RCRA) disposal regulations and the University Chemical Hygiene Plan.
Track and report on the following: employee training, hazardous waste manifests, chemical acquisitions and inventories, summaries of work completed, etc., and related reports.
Collect data and prepare reports for regulatory agencies and assist in the implementation of corrective actions and recommendations that result from inspections by these agencies.
Serve on the University’s Waste Minimization Committee to assist the campus in the following:
reducing usage of hazardous chemicals, substituting safer chemical alternatives, reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals, promoting recycling and proper management of campus waste.
Conduct regular inspections to ensure that laboratory safety standards are rigorously followed.
Develop emergency plans for handling accidental spills and personnel contamination and for investigating laboratory accidents.
Provide advice on chemical laboratory security.
Other Duties And Responsibilities
Be on call to respond to incidents involving chemical handling, storage, disposals, environmental spills, and biosafety issues.
Attend training classes on safety and regulatory compliance topics in order to stay current on these topics.
Maintain annual Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) refresher training per OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.120, specifically 8-hour Hazardous Materials Technician Level III, as provided by the University.
Perform Other Duties As Required.
LICENSES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT:
Personal computers, printers; cell phone; word processing, spreadsheet, and database management software. Valid driver’s license.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Required
Preferred Qualifications
EEO Statement
URI is unwavering in its commitment to equal opportunity, community, equity, and diversity. In furtherance of its mission to serve and support all learners as the state’s public flagship university, URI continues to expand efforts to recruit and retain a broadly representative workforce as well as to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of those efforts. All employment decisions, including hiring, are made without regard to protected status. Qualified individuals with disabilities may request reasonable accommodation by contacting the URI benefits office at 401-874-2416. For TTY assistance, contact R.I. Relay Services at 711.
Environmental Conditions
Environmental Conditions
The incumbent is subject to both inside and outside work, and extreme cold and hot temperatures can be encountered, as well as noise, hazards, hazardous materials, atmospheric conditions, oils, etc. May need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). The nature of the work requires bending, reaching, ascending and descending stairs, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting (up to 50 lbs.), carrying, feeling, talking, and hearing.
Posting Date 10/07/2026 Closing Date Special Instructions to Applicants Quicklink for Posting https://jobs.uri.edu/postings/17166
Posting Number SF02230 Job Title Chemical Hygiene Officer and Dangerous Goods Shipping Specialist Position Number 109883 FTE 1.00 FLSA Exempt Position Type Professional Staff Union PSA/NEA - Professional Staff Assoc Pay Grade Level Grade Level: 11 Pay Grade Range Salary Hiring Range: $65,571 - $80,222 Status Calendar Year, Full-time, Permanent
Department Information
Department Environmental Health & Safety Contact(s)
Please note: Job applications must be submitted directly online only at: (https://jobs.uri.edu)
Contact Phone/Extension Contact Email Physical Demands Campus Location Kingston Grant Funded No Extension Contingency Notes Job Description Summary
Search will be open until filled. First consideration will be given to applications received by
10/28/2026. Applications received after 10/28/2026 may be reviewed depending on search progress and needs but are not guaranteed full consideration.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE POSITION SCHEDULE IS ELIGIBLE FOR HYBRID: 3 DAYS IN-PERSON, AND 2-DAYS REMOTE WORK.
Position Summary
Establish and maintain appropriate protocols and oversight for all areas of the University that contain hazardous chemicals. Ensure proper management of chemicals including storage, inventory, usage, and disposal. Assist University faculty, students and staff ship dangerous goods and other regulated hazardous materials in adherence with federal and state regulations. Perform all responsibilities as required of a university Chemical Hygiene Officer by federal regulations. Provide training for all University personnel, including faculty, staff, and students, who work with chemicals and/or who may manage waste.
Duties and Responsibilities
Key Duties And Responsibilities
Provide training for all laboratory and support personnel exposed to chemicals, including instruction regarding the safe use, storage, and disposal of chemical waste, as well as emergency procedures and regulatory requirements.
Inspect laboratories and other areas of campus that contain hazardous chemicals to ensure compliance with environmental health and safety and hazardous waste regulations. Document inspections using web-based inspection software. If necessary, conduct follow-up inspections to ensure the areas come into compliance.
Manage all aspects of the dangerous goods shipping program by ensuring items are classified properly in compliance with domestic and international dangerous goods regulations (DOT, IATA, IMDG), and applicable regulations pertaining to the shipment and/or storage of hazardous materials.
Assist faculty, staff, and students in procurement of appropriate shipping and packaging containers. Pick, pack and process packages of hazardous materials/dangerous goods for shipment. Use shipping software to ship hazardous materials/dangerous goods. Provide day-to-day regulatory guidance on packaging specifications, marking, labeling, and shipping documents.
Maintain subject matter expertise and certifications for shipping dangerous goods in compliance with all federal and state regulations.
Provide assistance to Principal Investigators (PIs) and lab users in preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use of certain chemicals, procedures or equipment.
Respond to and contain hazardous chemical spills during business hours by performing defensive and offensive response actions to stop a hazardous material spill within laboratories and other University locations.
Response actions are limited to cleaning small chemical spills (4L liters of less) of limited hazards (not particularly hazardous substances or radioactive materials), where a cartridge air-purifying respirator is sufficient means of respiratory protection. A powered air purifying respirator may be used in lieu of air purifying respirator. Be able to calibrate and use portable gas detectors (e.g., photoionization detector, 4-gas meter, ammonia meter) to assess respiratory hazards.
Containerize spill cleanup material and other waste in appropriate containers.
Perform air monitoring (if necessary) to ensure space is safe to occupy.
Maintain spill supplies, sampling equipment and PPE, including respiratory protection.
Provide guidance and develop training materials to assist University personnel in complying with EPA and DEM requirements in order to ensure regulatory compliance with hazardous waste (RCRA) disposal regulations and the University Chemical Hygiene Plan.
Track and report on the following: employee training, hazardous waste manifests, chemical acquisitions and inventories, summaries of work completed, etc., and related reports.
Collect data and prepare reports for regulatory agencies and assist in the implementation of corrective actions and recommendations that result from inspections by these agencies.
Serve on the University’s Waste Minimization Committee to assist the campus in the following:
reducing usage of hazardous chemicals, substituting safer chemical alternatives, reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals, promoting recycling and proper management of campus waste.
Conduct regular inspections to ensure that laboratory safety standards are rigorously followed.
Develop emergency plans for handling accidental spills and personnel contamination and for investigating laboratory accidents.
Provide advice on chemical laboratory security.
Other Duties And Responsibilities
Be on call to respond to incidents involving chemical handling, storage, disposals, environmental spills, and biosafety issues.
Attend training classes on safety and regulatory compliance topics in order to stay current on these topics.
Maintain annual Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) refresher training per OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.120, specifically 8-hour Hazardous Materials Technician Level III, as provided by the University.
Perform Other Duties As Required.
LICENSES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT:
Personal computers, printers; cell phone; word processing, spreadsheet, and database management software. Valid driver’s license.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or related laboratory science or environmental health and safety.
- Minimum three years of professional experience in safety and chemical hygiene and hazardous waste management.
- Demonstrated knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations (such as EPA, RIDEM, OSHA, ANSI, and NFPA).
- Demonstrated experience advising laboratory workers and others on chemical safety, exposure control, and compliance regulations.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain detailed records.
- Demonstrated computer skills, including word processing and database management.
- Demonstrated strong verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
- Demonstrated proficiency in written communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups/populations.
- Must be able to be medically cleared to wear a respirator per 19 CFR 1910.134.
- Must be able to don an air purifying respirator. A powered air purifying respirator may be used if recommended to fulfill duties of this position and at the request of a licensed health care provider.
- Must have and maintain a valid driver’s license.
Preferred Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience and knowledge of dangerous goods shipping and applicable regulations.
EEO Statement
URI is unwavering in its commitment to equal opportunity, community, equity, and diversity. In furtherance of its mission to serve and support all learners as the state’s public flagship university, URI continues to expand efforts to recruit and retain a broadly representative workforce as well as to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of those efforts. All employment decisions, including hiring, are made without regard to protected status. Qualified individuals with disabilities may request reasonable accommodation by contacting the URI benefits office at 401-874-2416. For TTY assistance, contact R.I. Relay Services at 711.
Environmental Conditions
Environmental Conditions
The incumbent is subject to both inside and outside work, and extreme cold and hot temperatures can be encountered, as well as noise, hazards, hazardous materials, atmospheric conditions, oils, etc. May need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). The nature of the work requires bending, reaching, ascending and descending stairs, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting (up to 50 lbs.), carrying, feeling, talking, and hearing.
Posting Date 10/07/2026 Closing Date Special Instructions to Applicants Quicklink for Posting https://jobs.uri.edu/postings/17166
Salary : $65,571 - $80,222