Contractor Safety & Health Mgr

American Electric Power•San Benito, TX

1d•$116,255 - $151,133•Onsite

About The Position

The Contractor Safety Program Manager leads the AEP Texas contractor safety management program and provides end-to-end oversight of contractor qualification, approval, assurance, performance, and continuous improvement. The position partners with Operations, Safety and Health, Procurement, Legal, Emergency Management, and contractor leadership to verify contractors are qualified for the work assigned and that documented safety programs are consistently executed in the field. The role manages the relationship with VERO, supports contractor risk classification and approval decisions, conducts contractor safety audits and field effectiveness reviews, oversees contractor incident investigations and corrective action closure, facilitates contractor safety governance, and uses performance data to strengthen contractor selection and strategic alignment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in industrial safety or engineering.
Seven (7) years of safety experience in industrial safety.
Thorough working knowledge of the federal safety and health laws (OSHA and MSHA) and related standards in construction and general industry.
Ability to formulate and coordinate safety and health programs and proposals at all levels of management within the system and employing skill in preparation, presentation and method of approach where a high degree of tact and persuasion is necessary.
Maintain valid driver's license.

Nice To Haves

Previous Managerial and/or Project Management experience is desired but not required.
Prefer project level experience maintaining safety programs.

Responsibilities

Serve as the AEP Texas program owner and primary relationship manager for VERO, including contractor enrollment, qualification status, renewals, documentation quality, system issues, and performance reporting.
Partner with Operations and Procurement to assign contractor risk tiers based on the scope and hazards of the work before contractor enrollment or contract execution.
Verify medium-risk and high-risk prime contractors and subcontractors meet applicable qualification, insurance, safety program, and approval requirements before they perform work.
Maintain accurate contractor records, approval status, approved work types, deficiencies, conditional approvals, renewal dates, and supporting documentation.
Monitor pending submissions, pending reviews, expired information, renewals, conditional approvals, and other contractor status exceptions and drive timely resolution.
Conduct risk-based desktop reviews of contractor submissions, including safety programs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) records, Experience Modification Rate (EMR) information, citations, training systems, incident investigation processes, emergency procedures, and supporting evidence.
Lead structured contractor office audits to evaluate leadership commitment, safety governance, staffing, competency management, training, subcontractor controls, incident learning, and the contractor’s ability to support the proposed scope of work.
Conduct field effectiveness reviews to verify written programs, procedures, training, and risk controls are understood and consistently applied by contractor supervisors and workers.
Interview contractor employees in the field to test hazard recognition, pre-job planning, stop-work authority, critical control understanding, emergency expectations, and supervisor follow-through.
Document audit findings, classify deficiencies by risk, establish required corrective actions, assign owners and due dates, and verify effective closure rather than accepting documentary closure alone.
Develop and maintain a risk-based contractor audit schedule based on work risk, contractor performance, incident history, workforce exposure, work volume, prior findings, and changes in scope.
Develop and maintain contractor scorecards that combine exposure-normalized lagging indicators with leading indicators, including Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) exposures, preventable vehicle accidents, high-energy events, good catches, field verification results, repeat findings, action closure, supervisor engagement, training and qualification gaps, and reporting timeliness.
Review contractor performance trends by contractor, work function, district, geography, project, crew type, and risk exposure to identify emerging risks and systemic weaknesses.
Establish routine performance reviews with contractor leadership and AEP Texas operational sponsors based on contractor risk and performance.
Identify repeat deficiencies and determine when enhanced oversight, performance improvement, suspension, restricted work scope, or disqualification should be considered.
Evaluate contractor concentration, duplication, and fragmentation and recommend opportunities to reduce administrative burden and improve safety and operational consistency through strategic alignment.
Review contractors within defined work functions and recommend a preferred group of top-performing contractors based on safety capability, field execution, capacity, operational performance, geographic coverage, storm capability, and commercial considerations.
Manage the AEP Texas conditional approval process for contractors that do not meet standard qualification or audit requirements.
Require a documented business justification, defined scope and location, deficiency-specific controls, accountable owners, measurable corrective actions, enhanced oversight, and an expiration or reassessment date.
Develop and monitor contractor Safety Improvement Plans (SIPs) for conditionally approved or underperforming contractors.
Verify SIP actions are implemented and effective in the office and field before recommending removal of conditional status or reduced oversight.
Maintain visibility of all conditional contractors and escalate overdue, ineffective, or unsupported conditional approvals to appropriate AEP Texas leadership.
Ensure contractors provide timely notification of injuries, illnesses, vehicle events, property damage, environmental events, near misses, and significant high-energy exposures.
Confirm contractors meet their employer-specific regulatory reporting responsibilities and initiate an appropriate investigation.
Review contractor investigations for factual accuracy, causal depth, control failures, organizational contributors, and corrective actions that address causes rather than relying primarily on retraining or awareness.
Require corrective actions to have an accountable owner, completion date, closure evidence, and effectiveness verification.
Track contractor investigation and corrective action status to closure and escalate overdue or ineffective actions.
Arrange contractor incident report-outs to the appropriate level of AEP Texas management based on actual outcome, potential severity, SIF exposure, operational impact, regulatory exposure, and repeat history.
Identify lessons with broader application and coordinate communication to other contractors, AEP Texas Operations, safety committees, Procurement, and leadership.
Maintain confidentiality, legal-review protocols, evidence preservation, and document retention requirements in partnership with Legal and other responsible functions.
Plan and facilitate contractor safety committee meetings, contractor leadership forums, and working sessions.
Establish annual calendars, agendas, documented decisions, assigned actions, due dates, and closure expectations.
Use committee meetings to address trends, significant events, high-energy exposures, critical control performance, recurring field barriers, storm readiness, regulatory changes, and shared learning.
Ensure meetings are action-oriented and do not become general communication or compliance forums.
Coordinate participation by Operations, Safety and Health, Procurement, Legal, Risk, Emergency Management, and other functions based upon the topics under review.
Administer contractor good catch submissions and ensure reported conditions are reviewed, assigned, communicated, and closed.
Screen submissions for high-energy exposures, systemic issues, recurring conditions, potential cross-contractor learning, and immediate operational risk.
Verify the feedback loop is closed with the submitting contractor or employee.
Promote reporting quality without creating incentives that drive low-value volume or underreporting of incidents.
Track good catch themes, resulting controls, closure timeliness, and evidence of risk reduction.
Develop a risk-based alternate qualification pathway for contractors with fewer than 50 employees when full-system requirements are disproportionate to the contractor’s size and exposure.
Ensure the alternate pathway does not reduce critical safety requirements for high-risk work.
Evaluate contractor capability using available evidence such as loss runs, claims history, training records, competency records, citations, leadership interviews, work history, references, field demonstrations, and increased initial oversight.
Define when a small contractor must use the standard VERO pathway, may use a simplified pathway, or is not eligible for the proposed risk tier.
Establish enhanced field monitoring, restrictions, mentoring, or sponsor requirements when limited historical data creates uncertainty.
Maintain readiness information for emergency and storm contractors, including qualification status, approved work types, geographic capability, workforce capacity, key contacts, mobilization requirements, and outstanding safety deficiencies.
Coordinate with Operations and Emergency Management to verify emergency contractors understand AEP Texas safety expectations and their role within the Incident Command System (ICS).
Participate in pre-storm readiness reviews, contractor resource planning, mobilization exercises, and post-event reviews.
Support integration of contractor resources into the applicable Operations, Planning, Logistics, Safety, and Finance processes without creating a separate contractor command structure.
Track contractor mobilization, onboarding, staging, field deployment, demobilization, incidents, hours, and lessons learned.
Confirm contractor readiness during blue-sky periods rather than waiting until activation.