Safety Director

Job Overview
The Safety Director provides enterprise leadership for the development, execution, and continuous evolution of the company’s safety strategy across warehouse, shop, retail, transportation, and corporate environments. This role serves as a key member of the leadership team, driving a proactive, risk-based safety culture that enables business growth while protecting employees, customers, and company assets. This role is accountable for enterprise-wide safety performance, regulatory compliance, and total cost of risk across multiple nationwide locations. The Director ensures alignment between safety strategy and business objectives, positioning safety as a competitive advantage that supports operational excellence, scalability, and profitability.

Responsibilities and Duties

Enterprise Safety Strategy and Leadership

• Establish and lead a forward-looking, enterprise-wide safety vision aligned with the company’s strategic plan.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on risk exposure, regulatory trends, and safety performance.
• Drive a culture of safety excellence and accountability across diverse business units, from high-volume distribution to skilled repair operations.
• Lead multi-year safety roadmap development, prioritizing initiatives that reduce risk, improve productivity, and enable growth.
• Champion safety as a business enabler by balancing compliance requirements with operational efficiency.
• Act as a change leader supporting acquisitions, new site launches, and operational expansion with scalable safety frameworks.
• Benchmark against industry best practices and continuously evolve programs to maintain a best-in-class safety organization.

Operational Excellence and Performance Management

• Own enterprise safety performance metrics, including TRIR, DART, preventable vehicle accidents, CSA scores, and workers’ compensation trends.
• Build and operationalize a data-driven safety management system that provides actionable insights and predictive analytics.
• Ensure consistent execution of safety programs across all locations through standardized processes, governance, and accountability structures.
• Design and implement scalable safety programs that reduce risk while supporting labor productivity and operational throughput.
• Partner with departments such as Operations, Finance, and Human Resources to embed safety into business planning, forecasting, and decision-making.
• Lead enterprise workers’ compensation strategy to reduce frequency, severity, and overall cost of claims.
• Oversee vendor relationships related to safety, claims management, and fleet safety technologies to ensure performance and ROI.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure enterprise compliance with OSHA, DOT, and FMCSA regulations across all business units and geographies.
• Establish governance frameworks to ensure consistency, accountability, and audit readiness across locations.
• Serve as executive sponsor and subject matter expert during regulatory inspections, audits, and external agency interactions.
• Oversee critical compliance programs including OSHA recordkeeping, driver qualification files, ELD compliance, and drug and alcohol testing.
• Develop and lead enterprise emergency response and crisis management programs.
• Identify emerging risks and implement proactive mitigation strategies across facilities and fleet operations.
• Provide executive oversight and guidance on serious incident investigations and high-risk events.

Leadership and Organizational Development

• Sets vision for their area and aligns their team to produce profitable business results and achieve high performance.  
• Act as a company representative by leading change, communicating proactively and regularly setting and holding others accountable to goals and expectations. 
• Critically think through decisions to maximize impact. 
• Ensure operations are run effectively through delegation, resource utilization, and budget management. 
• Safeguard the company through incident and conflict management. 
• Participate in and help manage the full employee life cycle. 
• Retain employees by engaging them, appreciating them, and building a positive team culture. 
• Develop employees’ performance through coaching and feedback to foster a positive career path for them. 
• Own decisions, actions, and results, ensure they and others honor commitments and uphold standards. 
• Cut through complexity with clear communication that eliminates uncertainty and ensures mutual understanding. 
• Show up honestly and humbly; building trust through genuine, thoughtful words and actions. 
• Serve and invest in others by providing the right balance of direction and empowerment while making people feel appreciated. 
• Stay steady under pressure, considering people, priorities, and impact with care. 
• Engage thoughtfully when it matters, adapting to needs, feedback, and changing circumstances. 

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety, Occupational Health, Business, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10 years of progressive safety leadership experience, including enterprise or multi-site responsibility.
• Proven experience leading OSHA and DOT/FMCSA compliance programs in transportation, distribution, or industrial environments.
• Professional certification such as CSP, ASP, or equivalent strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling safety programs across complex, multi-location organizations.
• Strong financial and business acumen, with the ability to link safety performance to operational and financial outcomes.
• Expertise in safety management systems, risk mitigation strategies, and regulatory compliance frameworks.
• Advanced analytical capabilities with experience leveraging data to drive decision-making and performance improvement.
• Exceptional leadership, influencing, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate effectively at the executive level.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex regulatory concepts into actionable insights.
• Experience leading through change and driving organizational transformation.
• High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to lift/carry 25 lbs infrequently.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to travel to field locations including warehouses, shops, and yard environments.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) 5% Match
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid jury duty
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Referral program
• Vision insurance

Ability to Relocate:

• Grand Rapids, MI 49507: Relocate with an employer provided relocation package (Preferred)

Work Location: In person