Director Operational Risk Jobs in Kansas City, KS

Primary Purpose

The primary purpose of this position is as follows:

The Safety Manager leads and manages Tnemec's company-wide safety and health program under the direction of the Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs. This position is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving policies, programs, and processes designed to prevent workplace injuries and occupational illnesses, reduce operational risk, strengthen the company's safety culture, improve safety performance, and ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local safety and health requirements.

The Safety Manager works closely with Operations, Human Resources, Environmental personnel, and facility leadership to integrate safety expectations into daily operations and business decisions. The position may support environmental personnel on matters that overlap with employee safety and health but does not have primary responsibility for the company's environmental compliance programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Listed below are the primary duties that will be performed in the order of importance.

(The most important duty is not necessarily the duty that requires the most time.)

1. Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Tnemec's company-wide safety and health programs, policies, procedures, and objectives to prevent workplace injuries and occupational illnesses, reduce operational risk, and ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
2. Develop and execute an annual safety plan with measurable goals, priorities, timelines, and performance expectations aligned with company objectives.
3. Establish and monitor leading and lagging safety performance indicators, including recordable injuries, lost-time incidents, near misses, audit findings, corrective action completion, training compliance, and repeat safety violations.
4. Provide regular safety performance reports and recommendations to the Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs, executive leadership, facility management, and other appropriate stakeholders.
5. Lead efforts to strengthen Tnemec's safety culture through employee engagement, supervisor accountability, formal and informal training, hazard and near-miss reporting, and leadership of the Cross-Functional Safety Team.
6. Establish clear safety expectations and accountability throughout the organization and work with facility leadership, supervisors, Human Resources, and employees to address unsafe behaviors, repeated violations, and unresolved hazards.
7. Exercise the authority to stop work when an imminent or serious safety hazard is identified and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented before work resumes.
8. Manage, coach, and develop assigned safety personnel, including the Baltimore Environmental Specialist, and ensure effective coordination of safety activities across all Tnemec facilities.
9. Develop, implement, and maintain regulatory and company safety programs, including Hazard Communication, respiratory protection, hearing conservation, personal protective equipment, lockout/tagout, confined space, powered industrial trucks, machine guarding, fall protection, hot work, and other applicable programs.
10. Develop, coordinate, and facilitate safety and health training for employees, supervisors, and managers at Tnemec production facilities, distribution centers, laboratories, and other company locations.
11. Maintain the Tnemec Safety Manual and ensure safety policies and procedures are current, effectively communicated, consistently implemented, and incorporated into employee training.
12. Establish and conduct routine facility safety audits and inspections, document findings, assign corrective actions and completion dates, verify the effectiveness of corrective actions, and escalate overdue or unresolved items to appropriate management.
13. Coordinate safety-related Management of Change reviews for new or modified materials, equipment, facilities, and processes, including high-hazard operations, and ensure identified controls are implemented before startup or use.
14. Conduct job hazard analyses, process risk assessments, and formal process hazard analyses when applicable for new and existing manufacturing, laboratory, maintenance, warehouse, and other work activities.
15. Maintain proficiency in the use, calibration, and maintenance of industrial hygiene and monitoring equipment, including multi-gas meters, LEL monitors, air-sampling pumps, noise dosimeters, respirator fit-testing equipment, and other direct-reading instruments.
16. Plan and conduct industrial hygiene exposure assessments for chemical, noise, respiratory, ventilation, heat, and other occupational hazards and recommend appropriate engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment.
17. Lead investigations of workplace injuries, illnesses, near misses, property damage, fires, chemical releases, and other significant safety events. Identify root causes, assign corrective and preventive actions, verify completion and effectiveness, and communicate lessons learned across applicable locations.
18. Coordinate workplace injury and workers' compensation activities with Human Resources and other responsible departments, including timely reporting, investigation, documentation, claim review, return-to-work support, trend analysis, and implementation of preventive actions.
19. Coordinate workers' compensation, property insurance, and other safety-related inspections and ensure findings and recommendations are evaluated, assigned, tracked, and completed.
20. Manage fire and life safety compliance activities, including fire extinguisher maintenance, fire protection system inspections, emergency planning, evacuation procedures, drills, and coordination with facility management and emergency response organizations.
21. Develop and maintain contractor safety requirements, including contractor qualification, orientation, safe work practices, permit requirements, oversight, and evaluation while contractors are performing work at Tnemec facilities.
22. Travel to Tnemec facilities as necessary to conduct audits, inspections, training, incident investigations, industrial hygiene studies, recordkeeping reviews, and other safety-related activities.
23. Serve as a technical resource to employees, supervisors, management, Human Resources, Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, and other departments regarding safety and occupational health matters.
24. Interact with applicable regulatory agencies and represent the company on external safety and health committees, professional associations, and coatings industry organizations, including ACA, SCHC, NFPA, and other relevant organizations.
25. Support environmental personnel on matters that overlap with employee safety and occupational health while maintaining primary responsibility for the company's safety and health programs.
26. Perform other safety and occupational health duties assigned by the Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs.

Internal and External Relationships

This position frequently interacts with the following internal and external stakeholders:

• All Tnemec facilities and departments, including Operations, Human Resources, Engineering, Maintenance, Environmental, Technical Service, Quality Control, laboratories, distribution centers, and facility leadership.
• Executive leadership, managers, supervisors, employees, and assigned safety personnel.
• Regulatory agencies, insurance representatives, occupational health providers, consultants, contractors, and emergency response organizations.
• Professional associations, standards organizations, and coatings industry groups.

Equipment Operation

The following equipment, tools, and resources are commonly utilized in this position:

• Industrial hygiene air-sampling pumps and related sampling media.
• Respirator fit-testing equipment.
• Portable and fixed gas and vapor monitoring instruments, including LEL and VOC monitors.
• Noise dosimeters and sound level meters.
• Direct-reading ventilation and airflow instruments.
• Detector tube and sampling pump systems.
• pH meters and other field monitoring instruments.
• Computer systems and software used for safety records, training, incident management, corrective action tracking, and reporting.

Education, Experience, and Professional Qualifications

The following education, experience, and qualifications are required or preferred for successful performance in this position:

• Bachelor's degree in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, engineering, chemistry, environmental science, or a related technical field.
• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible safety and occupational health experience, preferably within chemical, coatings, or industrial manufacturing operations.
• A minimum of three years of safety program leadership, or multi-site safety management experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead safety initiatives, hold employees and leaders accountable, influence operational decisions, manage conflict, and drive corrective actions through completion.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare accurate, professional reports and communicate effectively with executives, managers, supervisors, and hourly employees.
• Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), or a comparable professional certification is preferred. The ability to obtain an approved professional certification within a specified period may be considered.
• Current 40-hour HAZWOPER certification preferred.
• Training or qualification as a competent person in applicable safety areas, such as confined space entry, fall protection, excavation, or other assigned high-hazard activities.

Hazardous, Safety, and Environmental Factors

This position requires work in office, manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, and distribution environments. The employee may be exposed to hazardous chemicals, elevated noise, heat, moving equipment, powered industrial trucks, and other industrial conditions. Required personal protective equipment may include safety glasses, protective footwear, gloves, hearing protection, protective clothing, and respiratory protection.

The position may require extended periods of walking or standing, climbing stairs, bending, reaching, and carrying sampling or monitoring equipment. Travel to Tnemec facilities and occasional response outside normal business hours may be required. Essential functions must be performed with or without reasonable accommodation.

The employee must complete all required safety training, medical evaluations, respirator fit testing, and other qualifications before performing applicable work. All work must be performed in accordance with established company procedures and applicable regulatory requirements.