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Job Description:

Director of Safety for ES Operations

Location: Flexible / Hybrid

Travel: As required to support high-risk operations

Position Overview

The Director of Safety – ES Operations provides senior leadership, professional oversight, and strategic direction for Environment, Safety, Health, and Risk (ESH&R) across ES Operations. This role partners closely with Global Business Unit (GBU) and operational leadership to drive consistent, risk-based safety performance, prevent Life-Changing Events (LCEs), and ensure compliance with corporate standards, regulatory requirements, and client expectations.

This role goes beyond compliance. The Director of Safety is a trusted advisor and influencer who drives culture change, embeds accountability at every level of the organization, and ensures safety is fully integrated into business planning and operational decision-making. The position receives broad objectives from the Corporate Vice President of Safety and exercises independent judgment in execution.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience in high-risk industries and understands how serious incidents occur — focusing on risk identification, prevention, and leadership behaviors rather than reactive metrics alone.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Safety Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of a risk-based safety strategy focused on preventing serious incidents and fatalities.
• Translate safety expectations into clear, actionable behaviors for leaders, managers, and frontline teams.
• Ensure safety is embedded into business planning, operations, and decision-making — not treated as a standalone function.

ESHARP Program Oversight

• Develop, communicate, and oversee Parsons’ Environment, Safety, Health, and Risk Program (ESHARP) across all office and project locations within ES Operations.
• Provide senior professional oversight, technical guidance, training, and support to GBU and Project Safety Managers to ensure consistent implementation of safety programs.
• Ensure effective implementation of safety standards, policies, procedures, and life-saving rules.

Leadership Engagement & Culture

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, influencing decision-making through data, insight, and credibility.
• Drive leadership engagement, accountability, and ownership for safety outcomes.
• Champion a proactive, learning-based safety culture aligned with Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) principles and continuous improvement.

Risk Management & Prevention

• Identify, assess, and prioritize critical risks across multiple programs, projects, and facilities.
• Establish and maintain effective risk registers, critical controls, and assurance processes.
• Lead and oversee incident and LCE investigations and learning reviews, ensuring systemic issues are addressed and lessons learned are applied.

Operational Excellence

• Lead safety audit, assurance, and verification efforts, including oversight of corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitor the effectiveness of safety and health programs and ensure compliance with internal reporting, recordkeeping, and workers’ compensation claim procedures.
• Balance strategic initiatives with day-to-day operational demands in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Metrics, Reporting & Governance

• Establish, monitor, and continuously improve leading and lagging safety indicators to measure performance and drive action.
• Collect, analyze, and maintain safety performance data and statistics across ES Operations to support enterprise risk management.
• Keep senior leadership informed of significant performance trends, emerging risks, and internal or external regulatory developments.
• Provide clear, concise safety and financial performance updates to executive leadership.

Finance, Budget & Resource Management

• Develop and manage the safety budget, ensuring alignment with business objectives and risk-based priorities.
• Forecast safety resource needs (staffing, training, tools, technology) and justify investments based on risk reduction and value creation.
• Monitor safety-related costs and partner with Finance and Operations to manage spend, variances, and appropriate cost allocation.
• Support business planning and proposals by integrating safety resource requirements into project budgets and pursuits.

Business Development & External Engagement

• Support business development and proposal activities by contributing safety strategies, compliance approaches, risk assessments, and performance data.
• Represent Parsons at national and international safety, health, and environmental conferences, industry forums, and professional organizations.

Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop safety professionals, setting clear expectations and driving accountability.
• Build organizational capability through mentoring, training, and role clarity across the safety function and operations.

Reporting Relationship

Reports to the Corporate Vice President of Safety and partners closely with ES Operations leadership, Global Business Units, and project teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or a related field. Degree in non-related field may be considered with relevant safety management experience.
• 12+ years of progressive safety leadership experience in high-risk industries (e.g., construction, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, aviation, industrial services).
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leaders and driving measurable safety culture change.
• Strong understanding of risk management, serious incident prevention, and safety management systems.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and competing demands while maintaining focus on critical risk.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage executives, field teams, and technical specialists.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certifications (CSP, CIH, NEBOSH, or equivalent).
• Experience implementing Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) or similar learning-based approaches.
• Experience supporting large, complex, or geographically distributed operations.

What Success Looks Like

• Leaders actively own safety outcomes and consistently model expected behaviors.
• Critical risks are clearly understood, prioritized, and effectively controlled.
• Safety is embedded into how work is planned and executed — not an afterthought.
• The organization demonstrates continuous improvement in culture, accountability, and risk reduction.

Security Clearance Requirement:

None

This position is part of our Corporate team.

For over 80 years, Parsons Corporation, has shaped the future of the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets. Our employees work in a close-knit team environment to find new, innovative ways to deliver smart solutions that are used and valued by customers around the world. By combining unique technologies with deep domain expertise across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, transportation, smart cities, and more, we're providing tomorrow's solutions today.

Salary Range: $134,100.00 - $241,400.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will continue to be posted for an average of 30 days until a qualified applicant is selected or the position has been cancelled.

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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