Safety Officer

Calvert County Government•Athens, AL

12d

About The Position

The Calvert County Department of Public Works is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Safety Officer to join our team. This role offers the opportunity to make a direct impact by promoting safe work environments and ensuring compliance across all county departments. The ideal candidate will be well-versed in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and other Microsoft products to prepare reports, maintain accurate safety records, track training and compliance data, and share important safety information with staff countywide. Develops, implements, and coordinates occupational health and safety programs for Calvert County to encourage safe working habits and environments and reduce risk/liability for the county. The work involves work site inspections to identify and resolve safety issues. Provides required safety training for county workers. The Safety Officer works under the general supervision of the Buildings and Grounds Division Chief.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in occupational health and safety or related field.
Four years of experience implementing a safety program, including safety inspections, instructing of safety training, accident investigation, and property loss analysis.
Valid driver’s license.
Must obtain Forklift Trainer Certification within the first six (6) months of employment.
Operation of County owned vehicle.
Subject to background investigation.
Requires long periods of standing, frequent walking indoors, repeated bending, crouching, stooping, stretching or reaching; recurring lifting of objects up to 49 pounds; operation of keyboard devices.
Site work exposes worker to dirt and soil, and work is subject to frequent interruptions and inflexible deadlines.
Knowledge of principles and practices relating to occupational safety, risk analysis, MOSH/OSHA and accident prevention.
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding employee safety and workers compensation.
Knowledge of common occupational and environmental health hazards.
Knowledge of loss control methods, principles, and techniques.
Ability to conduct effective safety/loss control inspections and accident investigations.
Ability to identify problems and potential loss situations and make appropriate recommendations.
Ability to speak publicly.
Ability to establish and maintain effective record keeping systems.
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others encountered in the workplace.

Responsibilities

Develops, implements, and coordinates occupational health and safety programs within all county departments; serves as technical expert on applicable federal, state, and local occupational health and safety laws, rules, and regulations; disseminates health and safety information to departments and employees.
Analyzes injury/accident reports to determine safety issues and trends, investigates safety concerns, recommends corrective action, and ensures implementation of corrective plans.
Provides assistance in the development of programs designed to reduce the incidence of job-related accidents and illnesses; monitors the effectiveness of safety programs.
Plans, implements and delivers safety training programs for county employees such as forklift certifications, confined spaces safety and gas monitoring, lock out/tag out, blood borne pathogens, self-contained breathing apparatus; fit testing for respiratory protection; identifies and acquires necessary training and informational materials; develops and maintains required record keeping for safety and health programs.
Oversees the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) contract and work with Community Resources staff to ensure ADA compliance is up to date and projects/repairs are completed and documented.
Ensures safety equipment, precautionary devices, flags, sign barricades and other safety items are available and in use at all times; inspects equipment regularly and recommends replacements as needed.
Coordinates annual inspections of all county occupied facilities in accordance with Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace requirements; performs spot inspections.
Coordinates routine fire/evacuation drills and updates evacuation maps for county buildings.
Responds to employee concerns on occupational health and safety issues; promotes better occupational health and safety practices; reviews, develops, and recommends procedural changes when necessary.
Evaluates hazardous conditions and practices and develops hazard control practices and programs; performs safety audits; advises management on solutions.
Reviews worker’s compensation claims for corrective action.
Leads monthly Safety Committee meetings; maintains safety logs and related files; prepares educational and public informational material; attends a variety of meetings related to safety.
Reviews and updates to the County Risk Management and Safety Manual.
Drafts and implements internal safety policies.
Performs related work as required.