Corporate Director of Safety (North America)

Cleaver-Brooks • Thomasville, GA

2d

About The Position

The Corporate Director of Safety provides strategic leadership and enterprise-wide governance of occupational safety programs across multiple heavy manufacturing plants in North America. This role is responsible for developing, implementing, and sustaining a world-class safety management system that protects employees, contractors, and visitors while ensuring regulatory compliance and supporting operational excellence. The Director serves as a key advisor to executive leadership and plant management, driving a proactive, data-driven safety culture aligned with the company’s business objectives, OEM manufacturing risks, and continuous improvement philosophy.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Environmental Health & Safety, or related field required
• 10+ years of progressive safety leadership experience in automotive, heavy manufacturing or OEM environments
• Proven experience leading safety programs across multiple manufacturing sites
• Strong background in high-risk industrial operations (machining, fabrication, welding, assembly, automation, heavy equipment)
• Experience working in both U.S., Canadian and Mexican regulatory environments preferred
• Executive-level leadership and influencing skills
• Deep technical knowledge of manufacturing safety systems
• Strong understanding of OSHA, Canadian OHS and Mexican (STPS) regulations
• Ability to translate risk into business impact
• Change management and culture transformation expertise
• Excellent communication at all levels of the CB enterprise and presentation skills
• Data-driven decision making and analytical capability
• Ability to balance standardization with operational flexibility

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree preferred
• CSP (Certified Safety Professional)
• CIH, CHST, or equivalent credentials
• Lean / Six Sigma certification a plus

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Governance Develop and execute a North America–wide safety strategy aligned with corporate values, operational goals, and risk profile of heavy OEM manufacturing.
• Establish standardized safety policies, procedures, and management systems across all plants while allowing for site-specific risk controls.
• Serve as the corporate authority on safety governance, escalation, and decision-making.
• Lead the evolution of the company’s safety culture from compliance-based to proactive and prevention-focused.
• Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management Ensure compliance with all applicable safety regulations and standards, including OSHA (U.S.), provincial OHS (Canada), Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), CSA, ANSI, NFPA , and relevant industry standards.
• Oversee regulatory inspections, audits, citations, and corrective action plans.
• Anticipate regulatory changes and assess their impact on manufacturing operations.
• Lead enterprise-level risk assessments for high-hazard activities (e.g., machine guarding, LOTO, confined space, cranes/rigging, robotics, welding, foundry/forge operations).
• Manufacturing Safety Programs Direct the design and implementation of critical safety programs, including: Machine safeguarding and automation safety Safe lifting using overhead systems Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Contractor and visitor safety Powered industrial vehicles and material handling Ergonomics and human factors Electrical safety and arc flash Hot work, confined space, and working at heights Development of plant specific annual safety training that meets with the regulatory agency requirements.
• Partner with Engineering and Operations to integrate safety into equipment design, capital projects, and new product introductions.
• Develop a Cleaver Brooks specific training certification program for engineers, supervisors and other floor level leadership positions.
• Incident Prevention & Investigation Establish and maintain leading and lagging safety metrics, dashboards, and performance targets.
• Thoroughly investigate lost time and recordable incident investigations, determine actionable root cause analyses, and enterprise-wide corrective actions.
• Ensure lessons learned are shared and standardized across all facilities.
• Champion near-miss reporting and hazard identification programs.
• Leadership, Coaching & Culture Lead, mentor, and develop a regional safety team supporting plant-level safety professionals.
• Influence plant managers and operations leaders to own their safety performance.
• Drive leadership safety engagement, including safety walks, reviews, and accountability systems.
• Support labor relations and union environments where applicable.
• Support, drive and execute a continual training system Data, Systems & Continuous Improvement Implement and optimize safety management systems (SMS), digital reporting tools, and analytics platforms.
• Use data and trends to prioritize risk reduction and resource allocation.
• Integrate safety into Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Benchmark safety performance against industry peers and best practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Collaborate closely with Operations, Engineering, HR, Legal, Risk Management, and Supply Chain.
• Support due diligence for acquisitions, plant expansions, and new site startups.
• Partner with HR on training, competency development, and behavioral safety programs.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, maternity support program, discounted virtual physician visits, voluntary medical benefits (Critical Illness, Hospital Care, and Accidental Injury), FSA, HSA, life insurance, short term and long-term disability
• Cash matching 401(k) plan
• Paid time off and 11 paid holidays
• Tuition assistance
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Pet insurance
• Employee discount program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees