Utility Safety Officer

City of Palo Alto • Palo Alto, CA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Join the City of Palo Alto as a Utility Safety Officer and apply your expertise to advance safety across electric, water, gas, wastewater, and fiber utilities, supporting reliable service for our community. The Utilities Safety Officer designs, implements, manages, and continually evaluates the Utilities Department's health and safety programs including utility-specific industrial safety, job-related training programs, and investigations within the Department. This position ensures compliance with applicable federal, state, and local workplace safety and environmental regulations, including timely completion of mandatory training requirements for the City's electric, fiber, water, gas and wastewater utilities staff. This position works in the office and field and requires independent judgment and knowledge of principles and practices of health and safety program administration, conducting audits, inspections, investigations and developing applicable training programs.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree from accredited college or university with major course work in occupational health and safety, industrial hygiene or a closely related field; and, Four years of increasingly responsible experience in the development and administration of safety and training programs and experience in utilities operations; or, An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential job functions and possession of the required knowledge and abilities.

Nice To Haves

• A strong background in utility safety (electric, fiber, gas, water, and wastewater)
• A thorough understanding of utility operations, workplace safety, and environmental regulations to ensure organizational compliance.
• Extensive experience interpreting and implementing OSHA requirements, developing and delivering safety training programs, and identifying training needs through worksite audits, hazard assessments, and evaluations of work practices.
• An engaging and collaborative leader who fosters accountability, influences safe work behaviors, and promotes a proactive, organization-wide culture of health and safety.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and manage the Utilities Department's safety/health program; manage the development and implementation of goals, objectives, policies, and procedures for the safety program in collaboration with others; identify resource needs.
• Lead Department managers and other staff in the development of a safety program.
• Conduct investigations and review injury/accident reports and evidence to determine cause, effect, liability, and prevention methods; recommend and implement modifications to working procedures as needed to reduce and/or eliminate the frequency and severity of accidents and incidents.
• Regularly track and report incident frequency and severity rates from personnel and vehicle accidents.
• Coordinate with risk management staff as appropriate.
• Review and assess risk and liability from third-party claims and take appropriate action to reduce and/or eliminate the frequency and severity of third-party claims and incidents.
• Participate in budget preparation and administration; prepare cost estimates for budget recommendations and submit justifications for materials and supplies; monitor and control expenditures.
• Coordinate safety training activities in response to management requests and regulatory compliance requirements; arrange for appropriate training to meet identified needs.
• Conduct training and/or arrange for outside vendors/consultants; schedule training and document attendance and maintain related records in a training database; manage contracts for contractors and vendors that provide training.
• Participate in safety inspections and audits conducted by outside agencies; Conduct independent audits of Department facilities/work locations to ensure compliance yearly and as needed to identify potential safety hazards and/or unsafe working conditions.
• Assist the Department's first responders in emergency events when appropriate.

Benefits

• Option of a 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off
• Tuition reimbursement, leadership training, and career growth opportunities
• Potential enrollment for dependents in the Palo Alto Unified School District (pilot program, subject to change)
• $10,000 in childcare subsidies (pilot program, subject to change)
• Incentives for walking, biking and taking transit to work. The City of Palo Alto participates in the Clipper Bay Pass program (Employee Cost: $5 per month).
• Defined-Benefit Retirement Plan: with competitive pension benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level