Warehouse Safety Manager

Warehouse Safety Manager

Position: Warehouse Safety Manager | Department: Safety & Compliance | Reports to: Director of Safety & Compliance | Location: Woodbridge, NJ with travel to FreezPak locations

Position summary

The Warehouse Safety Manager leads the development, implementation, and consistent execution of warehouse safety programs across FreezPak's multi-site, temperature-controlled third-party logistics (3PL) network. Reporting to the Director of Safety & Compliance, this role provides technical safety leadership to site management and compliance practitioners; identifies and controls material-handling, cold-environment, loading-dock, racking, traffic, and other operational risks; and ensures incidents, training, inspections, and corrective actions are properly documented and completed.

Essential responsibilities

• Promote and support a safety-first culture across all FreezPak warehouses, docks, yards, freezer/cooler work areas, and related operations.
• Serve as the primary operational resource for warehouse safety matters and advise the Director of Safety & Compliance, GMs, Operations, HR, Maintenance, supervisors, and site compliance practitioners on regulatory requirements, risk reduction, and safety trends.
• Develop, implement, maintain, and standardize warehouse safety policies, procedures, training materials, and site-specific plans across multiple locations.
• Lead safety programs addressing powered industrial trucks, pedestrian and equipment traffic, loading docks, trailer loading and unloading, pallet movement, storage racks, battery charging, conveyor or automation hazards, PPE, ergonomics, slips/trips/falls, fire prevention, emergency response, and cold-environment exposure.
• Conduct and document facility inspections, field observations, job hazard analyses, and risk assessments; identify unsafe conditions, behaviors, and compliance gaps; and prioritize corrective actions based on risk.
• Investigate injuries, near misses, property damage, powered-industrial-truck incidents, and other safety events; prepare timely incident reports, root cause analyses, corrective action plans, and leadership escalations.
• Track corrective actions to completion, verify that controls are effective, and identify recurring or systemic issues across locations.
• Promote immediate, accurate, and non-retaliatory reporting of injuries, hazards, and near misses.
• Manage or support powered industrial truck training and qualification processes, including operator evaluations, refresher training, and required records.
• Develop and deliver new-hire orientation, refresher training, toolbox talks, and supervisor coaching for warehouse employees and leaders; evaluate training effectiveness and maintain supporting documentation.
• Provide technical direction, coaching, and accountability to site compliance practitioners and warehouse leadership without replacing site management's responsibility for safe operations.
• Support compliance with applicable OSHA general-industry requirements and state/local safety requirements, including hazard communication, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, walking-working surfaces, emergency action plans, and required PPE.
• Maintain accurate OSHA logs and supporting records, training records, inspection documentation, incident files, and other required safety documentation; support regulatory reporting as directed.
• Lead or support OSHA, insurance carrier, customer, and internal audits; coordinate responses and corrective-action follow-up with site and corporate leadership.
• Prepare safety metrics, dashboards, trend analyses, and written updates for leadership, including serious-incident escalations and overdue corrective actions.
• Support emergency preparedness, drills, response planning, and post-incident reviews in coordination with site leadership.
• Monitor relevant regulatory developments and warehouse safety best practices and recommend practical program updates.
• Travel approximately 30%-40% to FreezPak locations and respond to serious incidents or urgent safety concerns outside regular business hours when necessary.
• Perform other related duties consistent with the role's safety leadership responsibilities and operational needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in occupational safety, environmental health and safety, industrial hygiene, engineering, or a closely related technical field required.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible occupational safety experience, including at least five years directly supporting warehousing, distribution, logistics, cold storage, or a comparable material-handling environment.
• Minimum of three years of experience leading safety programs, projects, or professionals across multiple facilities or a comparably complex operation.
• Demonstrated technical knowledge of OSHA general-industry standards and their application to powered industrial trucks, loading docks, warehouse traffic, racking, lockout/tagout, hazard communication, machine guarding, electrical safety, walking-working surfaces, PPE, and emergency preparedness.
• Demonstrated experience independently conducting incident investigations, root cause analyses, risk assessments, safety audits, and corrective-action verification.
• Experience developing, implementing, and standardizing written safety programs and training across operational locations.
• Experience maintaining OSHA recordkeeping documentation and presenting safety metrics, trends, and recommendations to senior and site leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to influence operational leaders, coach frontline employees and supervisors, and hold stakeholders accountable for corrective actions in a fast-paced warehouse environment.
• Strong written communication, investigation, documentation, data-analysis, organizational, and presentation skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and the ability to learn incident, audit, and training-management systems.
• Ability to travel approximately 30%-40%, maintain a valid driver's license, and respond to serious incidents or urgent operational needs as required.
• Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills preferred.
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry certification required at hire or must be obtained within 90 days of employment.
• Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Occupational Safety Specialist (COSS), or comparable recognized safety credential preferred.
• Experience in temperature-controlled, freezer, refrigerated, food-distribution, or third-party logistics operations strongly preferred.

Physical and work environment requirements

• Ability to work in active warehouse, loading-dock, yard, mechanical, freezer, and cooler environments while operations are in progress.
• Ability to walk and stand for extended periods; climb stairs; bend, reach, and access operational areas as needed to conduct inspections, observations, training, and incident response.
• Ability to work periodically in freezer and refrigerated environments and around powered industrial trucks, truck traffic, elevated storage racks, noise, and other normal warehouse conditions.
• Ability to wear all required personal protective equipment and comply with site safety, security, and access requirements.
• Ability to respond to significant incidents, urgent safety concerns, or emergency conditions outside regular business hours when necessary.

Success measures

• Employees understand how and when to report injuries, near misses, and hazards.
• Required training, inspections, and corrective actions are completed and documented.
• High-risk hazards are addressed promptly and repeat issues are reduced.
• Safety practices are consistent across FreezPak locations.
• Incident investigations focus on learning and prevention, not discouraging reporting.

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $75,000-$110,000 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, internal equity, and applicable market factors.

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Long-term disability
• Life insurance for employees, spouses, and children.
• Paid time off and holidays.
• Career development and growth opportunities.

Equal employment opportunity

FreezPak Logistics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.