Director, Enterprise Safety & Operational Excellence

Walker-Miller Energy•Detroit, MI

53d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Enterprise Safety & Operational Excellence, is responsible for leading enterprise-wide safety, fleet management, and facilities operations across a geographically dispersed workforce. This role provides strategic and operational oversight ensuring process excellence of Safety, Fleet, and Facilities functions by driving the consistency of values, behavior, and best practices for field team members in conjunction with operations. The position ensures safe, compliant, efficient, and resilient operations by establishing scalable operating standards, strengthening governance, driving continuous improvement, mitigating risk, and enhancing organizational performance to support long-term business growth and operational excellence.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in occupational safety, engineering, business administration, operations management, facilities management, environmental health and safety, organizational leadership, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
10+ years of progressive experience in safety, facilities, fleet operations, field operations, business continuity, operational excellence, enterprise risk, strategic operations, or related operational leadership roles, with at least 5 years in a people leadership, multi-site management, or enterprise program leadership capacity.
Strong working knowledge of OSHA standards, workplace safety programs, incident investigation practices, emergency preparedness, business continuity planning, operational resilience, facilities compliance, risk management practices, and driver safety requirements.
Experience managing distributed teams, vendors, budgets, service providers, office locations, fleet assets, and enterprise-wide operational initiatives across multiple states, regions, or business units.
Demonstrated ability to develop policies, governance frameworks, standard operating procedures, dashboards, reporting routines, training programs, business continuity plans, risk mitigation strategies, and scalable operating processes.
Proven ability to lead enterprise-wide transformation, balance strategic planning with operational execution, sound judgment, financial discipline, organizational effectiveness, change management, and strong cross-functional collaboration.

Nice To Haves

Utility operations, energy industry, or critical infrastructure experience.
Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) or related advanced degree.
Experience leading enterprise-wide transformation, operational excellence, or business resilience initiatives.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent project/program management certification preferred.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification or higher preferred.
Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Business Continuity certification, Change Management Certification or related certifications preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and continuously improve enterprise-wide safety strategies, policies, procedures, and training programs for office-based, field-based, and remote team members.
Ensure compliance with OSHA and all applicable federal, state, and local safety regulations across all locations and operating environments.
Lead incident prevention efforts, root-cause investigations, near-miss reporting, risk assessments, corrective action plans, and follow-up processes to reduce risk and prevent recurrence.
Establish, monitor, and report safety performance metrics, including Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), incident frequency, severity rates, vehicle-related incidents, training completion, corrective action closure rates, and other operational risk indicators.
Develop and oversee safety communications, toolbox talks, workplace inspections, emergency preparedness, ergonomic assessments, business continuity activities, and required drills to strengthen organizational readiness and resilience.
Partners with leaders across Operations, HR, IT, Finance and field teams to reinforce accountability, promote safe behaviors, and build a proactive safety culture.
Define, document, and continuously refine end-to-end field processes to ensure clarity, efficiency, consistency, operational alignment with organizational objectives.
Partner closely with Operations, field teams, and other departments to validate workflows, remove friction points, and ensure processes support real-world conditions and strategic priorities.
Establish and maintain standardized best practices, governance frameworks, and operating standards across all field regions, ensuring consistency in service delivery, safety, customer experience, and operational performance.
Develop quality benchmarks, performance metrics, audit mechanisms, dashboards, and reporting routines to monitor field team output, support data-driven decision-making, and drive continuous improvement.
Create and manage clear escalation paths for technical issues, customer concerns, operational risks, and business disruptions, ensuring timely resolution and accountability.
Partner with training teams to translate processes into practical learning materials, job aids, and onboarding content for field personnel.
Monitor adherence to defined processes, identify gaps, and implement corrective actions to maintain high operational standards.
Analyze performance data, employee feedback, operational KPIs, and emerging risks to drive continuous improvement, process optimization, and strategic enhancements.
Maintain accurate, highly visible, and up-to-date process documentation, standards, procedures, and workflow maps.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives that identify operational inefficiencies, reduce waste, strengthen controls, and improve safety, quality, service delivery, and cost performance across safety, fleet, facilities, and field operations.
Use performance data, process observations, employee feedback, audit results, incident trends, customer impacts, and operational metrics to prioritize improvement opportunities and develop practical action plans.
Facilitate cross-functional problem-solving sessions with Operations, Safety, HR, Finance, IT, field teams, and other business partners to address root causes, remove barriers, and implement sustainable solutions.
Establish routines for monitoring improvement progress, measuring outcomes, reporting results, and ensuring accountability for timely execution and long-term adoption.
Promote a culture of learning, innovation, and proactive problem solving by encouraging team members to surface ideas, challenge current processes, and participate in improvement efforts.
Apply continuous improvement methodologies, such as Lean, Six Sigma, process mapping, standard work, root-cause analysis, and after-action reviews, to improve operational consistency and organizational effectiveness.
Provide strategic and operational leadership for facilities operations across all regions, ensuring workspaces are safe, functional, secure, resilient, and aligned with business needs.
Manage preventative maintenance, repairs, building services, utilities, janitorial support, security systems, access controls, emergency response procedures, and business continuity requirements.
Oversee vendor selection, contract management, service-level expectations, issue resolution, and performance reviews for facilities-related suppliers and service providers.
Partner with leadership on lease administration, office openings or closures, renovations, relocations, space planning, seating strategies, workplace utilization, and long-term infrastructure planning.
Develop and manage facilities budgets, capital improvement plans, maintenance schedules, asset inventories, and facility performance metrics.
Ensure facilities comply with applicable building codes, safety requirements, accessibility standards, insurance requirements, company workplace policies, and operational resilience objectives.
Lead strategy and oversight of company fleet operations across multiple geographies, including vehicles assigned to field, operations, and leadership team members.
Ensure vehicles are safe, properly maintained, appropriately insured, and compliant with applicable Department of Transportation, state, local, and company requirements.
Oversee vehicle acquisition, assignment, registration, maintenance, repairs, replacement planning, disposal, fuel programs, lifecycle management, and total cost of ownership.
Establish and enforce policies for authorized vehicle use, driver eligibility, motor vehicle record checks, accident reporting, distracted driving prevention, inspections, maintenance schedules, and fleet risk management.
Evaluate and implement technologies such as telematics, fleet management platforms, GPS tracking, maintenance reporting tools, driver safety dashboards, and performance analytics to improve safety, efficiency, and accountability.
Analyze fleet utilization, mileage, fuel consumption, accident trends, maintenance spend, replacement cycles, and operational performance indicators to identify opportunities for cost savings, risk reduction, and continuous improvement.