Safety Manager

The Safety Manager is one of the designated safety authorities responsible for day-to-day administration overseeing and coordinating Whitsons’ workplace safety programs across two Culinary Centers, two Distribution locations, Corporate Offices and over 1300 kitchens and/or cafeterias where we provide food services on-site at client locations (On-Site Locations). This role serves as an operational safety authority for assigned locations, ensuring compliance with OSHA and company standards while driving a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture.

This position also plays a critical employee-facing role, providing outreach and support to injured team members, ensuring appropriate care, clear communication, and timely return-to-work whenever possible.

The Safety Manager functions as a highly autonomous, field-facing leader who conducts inspections, investigates incidents, and manages safety initiatives. While this role has no direct reports, it exercises significant influence and leadership across all On-site services, Culinary services and Corporate operations. This role will also serve as a back-up to the Workers Compensation Specialist, whose role serves as the primary liaison between the company and our Third-Party Administrator (TPA) in overseeing workers’ compensation claims and administration.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS,

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

Safety Program Oversight

• Oversee the implementation, execution, and continuous improvement of Whitsons’ safety programs across Culinary Centers, Distribution Depots, On-Site Locations, and Corporate Offices.
• Drive consistent adoption of safety policies, procedures, and best practices across all supported sites.
• Monitor safety performance metrics and identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Manage and support all Safety Programs across the organization.
• Provide guidance, communication, training support, and accountability to safety representatives.
• Serve as the escalation point for safety issues, compliance gaps, and high-risk incidents.
• Serve as the primary liaison for the Nurse Triage Program and ReEmployability Program.

Inspections, Audits & Compliance

• Conduct routine and ad-hoc safety inspections and compliance audits at Culinary Centers, Distribution Depots, On-Site Locations, and other company locations.
• Identify hazards, document deficiencies, write site-visit report with safety-improvement recommendations, and work with site leadership to implement timely corrective actions.
• Partner with Fleet Management to review driver logs, pre-trip and post-trip inspections, and fleet safety compliance.

Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis

• Respond to workplace injuries, accidents, and near-miss events in a timely and professional manner.
• Lead incident investigations to determine root causes and contributing factors.
• Prepare formal written investigation reports and submit them to the Director of Safety and relevant leadership.
• Partner with site leadership to develop, implement, and track corrective and preventive actions.

Training & Safety Engagement

• Manage and coordinate safety training, and toolbox talks across facilities and On-Site Locations.
• Facilitate Safety Committee meetings and safety engagement activities.
• Ensure all required safety postings, emergency information, and regulatory notices are current and properly displayed.

Reporting, Documentation & Data Management

• Maintain accurate OSHA logs, injury records, training documentation, and audit reports.
• Track incident trends, corrective action status, and training completion.
• Prepare safety summaries, metrics, and reports for leadership and regulatory needs.

Continuous Improvement & Risk Reduction

• Proactively identify opportunities to reduce injuries, fleet incidents, and operational risk.
• Stay current on OSHA regulations, food service and logistics safety standards, and industry best practices.
• Support special projects, audits, and company-wide safety initiatives as assigned.

Claims Management & Administration

• Serve as back-up to the Workers Compensation Specialist who is the primary point of contact with the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) for workers’ compensation claims and administration.

Special…