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Contact Erin Pals at epals@saigepartners.com or, you can schedule an appointment at https://calendly.com/epals-1/interiew-s  to learn more about this opportunity!

Director Of Safety

Job Overview: Our client is seeking an experienced, hands-on Director of Safety to lead and advance safety initiatives across a large, diversified transportation organization. This individual will oversee company-wide safety programs, regulatory compliance, driver safety, accident prevention, and risk management while driving continuous improvement across all transportation operations.

The organization operates approximately 850 power units, travels 50 million miles annually, and supports nine terminals across multiple states. Transportation services include ammonia, waste, dump, petroleum, propane, and liquid asphalt transportation.

The Director of Safety will lead an established team of nine safety professionals, including six Field Safety team members and three Safety Compliance professionals. This role will work closely with executive leadership, Operations, Maintenance, and terminal management to strengthen existing programs, improve measurable safety performance, and maintain a proactive safety culture.

The ideal candidate is a strategic yet approachable leader who understands the complexities of large-scale transportation operations, particularly specialized and hazardous materials transportation. This individual must be comfortable challenging unsafe practices, holding teams accountable, and escalating significant safety concerns when necessary.

This is a Direct Hire role.

Safety Leadership & Strategy

• Lead the development and execution of company-wide safety strategies across all transportation divisions.

• Strengthen the organization's safety culture through employee engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Develop initiatives to reduce preventable accidents, improve driver performance, and minimize operational risk.

• Establish measurable safety goals, KPIs, and performance expectations.

• Partner with executive leadership, Operations, Maintenance, and HR to advance safety priorities.

• Advise senior leadership on safety performance, regulatory exposure, and emerging risks.

• Identify and escalate significant safety concerns, particularly when operational priorities conflict with established safety standards.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a nine-person safety organization consisting of six Field Safety professionals and three Safety Compliance professionals.

• Establish clear expectations, performance standards, and accountability across the safety team.

• Provide ongoing coaching, mentoring, and professional development.

• Build strong working relationships with terminal leadership, drivers, and independent contractors.

• Evaluate team effectiveness and identify opportunities to improve organizational capabilities.

• Partner with Operations to address safety deficiencies while maintaining clear ownership of day-to-day operational execution.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management

• Oversee compliance with applicable FMCSA, DOT, and state transportation regulations.

• Maintain oversight of driver qualification files, hours-of-service requirements, ELDs, drug and alcohol testing, and other regulatory requirements.

• Ensure compliance with hazardous materials transportation regulations, including specialized training and operating requirements.

• Lead internal safety audits, regulatory reviews, and corrective action initiatives.

• Oversee accident investigations, root-cause analysis, and follow-through on corrective actions.

• Maintain effective safety policies and procedures for company drivers and independent contractors.

• Monitor regulatory changes and coordinate necessary updates with operational leadership.

• Support acquisition-related safety due diligence and integration, including compliance reviews, incident trends, training, and safety standards.

Safety Technology & Performance Improvement

• Leverage safety technology and data analytics to improve visibility, identify risks, and drive measurable performance improvements.

• Analyze telematics, onboard cameras, ELDs, and other safety data to identify trends and opportunities.

• Establish and monitor meaningful safety KPIs, including accident frequency and severity, DOT recordables, Netradyne scores, coaching outcomes, and corrective-action completion.

• Improve driver coaching, training, incident prevention, and compliance processes.

• Evaluate and recommend new technologies, systems, and process improvements.

• Collaborate with Operations and Maintenance to improve equipment safety and overall fleet performance.

Driver Safety & Training

• Oversee driver safety orientation, ongoing training, and recurrent education programs.

• Ensure training programs address the unique safety requirements of specialized transportation divisions.

• Establish consistent safety expectations for company drivers and independent contractors.

• Strengthen driver engagement through coaching, communication, and field-level leadership.

• Provide safety standards and guidance for specialized loading, unloading, and transportation activities in partnership with Operations.

• Support driver retention through effective safety engagement, education, and employee development.

• Minimum of 8 years of progressive transportation safety experience, including leadership responsibility within a trucking or transportation organization.

• Strong working knowledge of FMCSA, DOT, and interstate motor carrier safety regulations.

• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and managing transportation safety programs.

• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop safety professionals.

• Experience supporting multi-terminal or geographically dispersed transportation operations.

• Strong understanding of accident investigation, root-cause analysis, risk mitigation, regulatory audits, and driver safety programs.

• Experience utilizing transportation safety technology, performance reporting, and data analytics to drive improvement.

• Ability to measure and improve safety performance through accident rates, severity, DOT recordables, driver coaching, compliance, and corrective-action closure.

• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with executive leadership, operations personnel, drivers, and regulatory agencies.

• Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.

• Must be willing and able to work on-site at the corporate headquarters in Greensboro, NC.

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Saige Partners, one of the fastest growing technology and talent companies in the Midwest, believes in people with a passion to help them succeed. We are in the business of helping professionals Build Careers, Not Jobs. Saige Partners believes employees are the most valuable asset to building a thriving and successful company culture. Contact us to learn more about the opportunity below or check out other opportunities at https://careers.saigepartners.com/.