Location: May sit in any of our locations in Landover MD, Richmond VA, Raleigh NC OR Charlotte NC
Travel: Regular travel to operating locations
Direct Reports: Build and manage Safety and fleet-compliance team
Position Summary
The Director of Safety & Fleet Compliance provides strategic and hands-on leadership for occupational safety, commercial fleet safety, regulatory compliance, and risk reduction across Keany Produce & Gourmet’s perishable-food distribution operations. The role supports refrigerated and ambient warehouses, loading docks, food-production and value-added areas, offices, drivers, delivery routes, and company vehicles.
This leader builds a practical, prevention-focused safety culture while helping operations meet customer service, product integrity, and on-time delivery expectations. The Director partners closely with Operations, Transportation, Human Resources, Food Safety/Quality Assurance, Maintenance, and executive leadership to reduce injuries, collisions, claims, compliance exposure, and business interruption. This is not an environmental-management position.
Essential Responsibilities
Safety Leadership & Governance
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Develop and execute a multi-site safety and fleet-compliance strategy aligned with Keany’s operational goals, risk profile, and growth plans.
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Establish clear standards, accountability, and routines that embed safety into warehouse, production, transportation, and delivery activities.
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Advise executive and site leadership on significant safety risks, regulatory obligations, corrective actions, and resource priorities.
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Lead and coach site safety committees, operational leaders, supervisors, drivers, and designated safety representatives.
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Maintain company policies and procedures for occupational safety, vehicle operation, incident response, and related compliance programs
Warehouse, Distribution & Employee Safety
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Direct safety programs for refrigerated warehouses, coolers and freezers, loading docks, material handling, order selection, receiving, replenishment, sanitation, and value-added food operations.
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Ensure effective programs for powered industrial trucks, pedestrian–vehicle separation, dock safety, ergonomics and material handling, slips/trips/falls, machine guarding, lockout/tagout, hazard communication, personal protective equipment, contractor safety, and cold-environment exposure.
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Lead job hazard analyses and operational risk assessments; partner with leaders to implement feasible engineering, administrative, and work-practice controls.
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Conduct or oversee facility inspections and compliance audits, document findings, assign owners and deadlines, and verify sustainable closure of corrective actions.
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Coordinate safety requirements for new facilities, equipment, process changes, fleet assets, and expansion projects.
Fleet, Driver & DOT Compliance
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Own the enterprise fleet-safety program for commercial motor vehicles, delivery vehicles, trailers, and other company-operated vehicles.
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Oversee compliance with applicable U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requirements, including driver qualification files, hours of service, electronic logging, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle inspection/maintenance documentation, accident registers, and record retention.
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Partner with Transportation and Maintenance to monitor preventive maintenance, pre- and post-trip inspections, out-of-service issues, vehicle condition, and timely correction of safety defects.
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Use telematics, camera events, roadside inspection results, preventability reviews, and driver performance trends to target coaching and reduce collisions and unsafe driving behavior.
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Maintain consistent driver onboarding, qualification, road-evaluation, remedial-training, and annual review process.
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Monitor carrier safety performance and applicable compliance indicators; lead action plans that protect operating authority, insurability, and customer service.
Regulatory Compliance & Audit Readiness
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Maintain compliance with applicable OSHA, DOT/FMCSA, state occupational-safety, motor-vehicle, and workers’ compensation requirements.
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Manage regulatory inspections, inquiries, citations, and response plans in partnership with Legal, Human Resources, Operations, and other stakeholders.
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Maintain accurate policies, training records, inspection records, injury and illness logs, driver and fleet records, and other required documentation.
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Coordinate with Food Safety/Quality Assurance where employee or fleet safety intersects with sanitation, product handling, cold-chain integrity, facility security, and food-defense practices; food-safety program ownership remains with the designated Food Safety/Quality function.
Incident, Claims & Corrective-Action Management
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Lead or oversee prompt investigations of employee injuries, vehicle collisions, property damage, near misses, and high-potential events using consistent root-cause methods.
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Chair collision and preventability reviews and ensure corrective actions, coaching, discipline recommendations, or process improvements are applied consistently.
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Partner with Human Resources, insurance carriers, brokers, third-party administrators, and legal counsel on workers’ compensation, auto liability, general liability, and related claims.
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Support early reporting, return-to-work, litigation prevention, claim reviews, reserve discussions, and loss-control initiatives.
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Identify recurring causes and verify that corrective and preventive actions are completed and effective across affected locations.
Training, Communication & Safety Culture
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Design or approve role-specific safety and fleet training for employees, supervisors, managers, drivers, temporary labor, and contractors.
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Ensure training is practical, documented, delivered in languages and formats appropriate to the workforce, and reinforced through observation and coaching.
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Develop safety communications, toolbox talks, campaigns, recognition practices, and leader routines that encourage reporting and shared accountability.
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Build the capability of operational leaders to address unsafe conditions and behaviors in real time.
Metrics & Continuous Improvement
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Establish and report leading and lagging indicators, including injury rates, severity, lost time, near-miss reporting, audit completion, corrective-action closure, collisions, preventability, roadside inspections, driver events, training completion, and claim trends.
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Prepare concise dashboards and executive updates that identify trends, business impact, priority risks, and recommended actions.
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Benchmark performance, set measurable annual goals, and lead cross-functional improvement projects that reduce risk without compromising food quality, delivery service, or productivity.
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Manage the safety and fleet-compliance budget and evaluate vendors, consultants, training providers, and safety technology.
Emergency Preparedness & Business Continuity
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Maintain and test emergency action plans for fire, severe weather, power loss, ammonia or refrigerant events where applicable, vehicle emergencies, workplace violence, medical events, and other location-specific risks.
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Coordinate drills, emergency contacts, first-aid/AED readiness, and post-event reviews with facility leaders and external responders.
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Support business-continuity planning for incidents that could disrupt warehouse operations, cold-chain performance, or customer deliveries
Work Environment & Physical Expectations
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The position works across offices, warehouses, refrigerated/cold storage, dock, production, yard, and vehicle environments.
- The employee must be able to walk operating areas, use required personal protective equipment, occasionally climb stairs, and tolerate temperature changes, noise, traffic, and wet or slippery conditions during inspections.
- The employee should be able to lift a minimum of 50lbs
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Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions.
Success Measures
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Sustained reduction in preventable employee injuries, vehicle collisions, claim severity, and repeat findings.
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Strong audit readiness, accurate records, and timely closure of regulatory and internal corrective actions.
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Improved driver and leader accountability, training completion, near-miss reporting, and proactive hazard correction.
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Consistent safety standards across locations without compromising product integrity, customer service, or delivery reliability.
Qualifications
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Bachelor’s degree in occupational safety, transportation, logistics, risk management, business, engineering, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
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10 or more years of progressive safety, fleet safety, transportation compliance, risk, or operational leadership experience, including at least five years leading people or enterprise programs.
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Demonstrated experience supporting commercial fleet and distribution, food distribution, grocery, cold-chain, warehousing, manufacturing, or similar complex, high-activity operations.
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Strong working knowledge of OSHA requirements and DOT/FMCSA motor-carrier safety requirements; ability to translate regulations into practical operating standards.
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Experience leading serious-incident and collision investigations, corrective-action programs, regulatory audits, and workers’ compensation and auto-liability claim reviews.
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Ability to analyze safety, telematics, claims, and compliance data and convert findings into measurable improvements.
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Strong leadership, judgment, communication, and influencing skills; comfortable working with executives, site leaders, front-line employees, drivers, regulators, insurers, and external partners.
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Proficiency with Microsoft Office and safety, learning, claims, telematics, ELD, or fleet-management systems.
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Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly among company locations; occasional after-hours availability for serious incidents or emergencies.
Preferred Qualifications
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Professional certification such as Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Director of Safety (CDS), or comparable credentials.
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Experience with multi-site operations and a mixed commercial fleet serving dense urban, suburban, and regional delivery routes.
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Familiarity with refrigerated operations, cold-storage hazards, food-distribution workflows, and bilingual or multilingual workforces.
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Experience improving insurance loss performance, claim outcomes, and fleet-safety technology adoption.
Leadership Competencies
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Operational credibility: Builds practical solutions that work in fast-moving warehouse and delivery environments.
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Influence and accountability: Earns trust while holding leaders and employees accountable for standards and follow-through.
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Risk-based judgment: Prioritizes exposures with the greatest potential impact to people, customers, assets, and continuity.
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Data-driven improvement: Uses trends and leading indicators to prevent incidents, not simply report them.
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Calm incident leadership: Responds decisively, preserves facts, communicates clearly, and drives disciplined follow-up.
