Risk Manager

The Risk Manager owns the strategy and execution of Barnhart's risk program — insurance structure and placement, claims and third-party liability, risk financing and risk mitigation. Together with the Senior Transactions Counsel, this role forms the second pillar of Barnhart's legal and risk function: one side focused on commercial transactions, the other on risk management, working as one team. This role exists to serve the branches.

It partners with Branch Managers, Safety, Operations, and Finance as a hands‑on advisor and analyst who helps the field prevent losses, respond well when incidents occur, and understand the true cost of risk in their business. The Risk Manager works closely with and under the direction of the SVP Risk Management and Administration to identify, assess, and mitigate risk enterprise‑wide, and provides clear, data‑driven recommendations to leadership on risk strategy.

• Serve as the primary risk and insurance resource for branch and regional leadership — accessible, responsive, and practical. Help branches understand their loss experience, their cost of risk, and in coordination with Safety, the specific actions that will improve both.
• Engage early. Advise branches during job planning and pursuit on insurance requirements, coverage gaps, subcontractor and third-party exposures, equipment and cargo risk, and site conditions that drive claims.
• Partner with Safety to build risk literacy in the field, including evidence preservation, claim reporting timelines, subcontractor insurance verification, and what to do — and not do — in the first hours after an incident.
• Visit branches and job sites to understand operating realities, build trust with teams, and ensure risk guidance is grounded in how work gets done.
• Give branches clear, timely, decision-ready answers, and treat responsiveness to the field as a core measure of the role.

• Oversee and manage all insured claims, including workers' compensation, auto, general liability, riggers, cargo, equipment, and warehousing, among others.
• Lead Barnhart's response to third-party liability claims — bodily injury, property damage, and damage to customer equipment or facilities — from first notice through investigation, coverage determination, reserve setting, and resolution.
• In coordination with the SVP Risk Management and Administration, direct and manage TPAs, carriers, brokers, adjusters, and defense counsel to ensure timely and proper responses to claimants, sound decision‑making, and efficient resolution. Coordinate with the Senior Transactions Counsel where a claim involves contractual defenses.
• Actively review claim reserves, retentions, deductibles, and total cost of risk to create optimized structures and support long-term planning.
• Manage uninsured and self‑insured losses, subrogation and recovery opportunities, and claims against Barnhart's vendors and subcontractors.

• Partner with Safety and Operations leaders to identify emerging risks and translate claims and loss data into targeted prevention — supporting Barnhart's safety-first culture with evidence, not opinion.
• Analyze loss drivers by branch, division, equipment type, customer, and job profile, and partner with Safety to build training, procedures, and controls that address the actual causes of loss.
• Participate in serious incident response and post-incident review alongside Safety and Operations, ensuring investigations determine facts and serve both prevention and claim defense.
• Advise on high-risk pursuits and unusual job scopes in coordination with Safety, Operations, and Engineering, so risk is priced and controlled before the work is…