EHS Manager - Field Services

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Job Summary:

 

The Safety Manager — Field Services owns the safety program for Forgent Power's field service organization, where technicians and engineers install, commission, test, maintain, modify and repair energized and de-energized electrical equipment at customer sites. The role exists to keep a mobile, geographically dispersed workforce safe across multi-employer worksites including utilities, data centers, substations, and industrial and commercial facilities. 

This is a safety-first role embedded in the operating organization. The Safety Manager reports to the Sr. Director of Field Service Operations and is expected to be a genuine partner to the business — but the first obligation is to the people doing the work, not to the schedule. The role carries independent authority to stop work, and an unfiltered escalation path to the VP of Services where safety and operational pressure conflict. 

Success is measured by injury prevention, the elimination of serious injury and fatality (SIF) potential, program maturity, genuine field adoption, and the credibility of safety as a trusted resource to crews and customers alike. 

 

Safety-First Mandate & Authority  

The following are explicit, non-delegable authorities of this role. They exist so that safety judgment is not subordinate to schedule or commercial pressure.  

• Stop-work authority — the Safety Manager may halt any field activity, at any site, without prior approval, and that decision stands until the Safety Manager is satisfied the hazard is controlled. 
• Qualification veto — the Safety Manager may withhold or revoke an individual's qualification to perform a task where competency or training requirements are not met, including overruling an assigned level or scheduled assignment. 
• Independent escalation — direct access to the VP of Services and Human Resources on any matter where safety and operational objectives conflict, without routing through the reporting line. 
• Investigation independence — the Safety Manager leads incident investigations and owns the findings; findings are not edited by the operating line before reporting. 
• Resource voice — the Safety Manager is consulted before commitments are made that materially change field risk, including short-notice mobilizations, energized work scopes, and crew composition. 

 

Key Responsibilities  

Electrical & High-Hazard Work Safety  

• Own the electrical safety program in alignment with NFPA 70E, OSHA 1910 Subpart S, and OSHA View phone number on us.fitly.work Subpart V as applicable, including arc flash and shock risk assessment, energized work permits, approach boundaries, and PPE selection. 
• Own hazardous energy control (lockout/tagout) and switching and tagging practices for field work, including coordination with customer and utility energy control programs. 
• Define and maintain qualified-person criteria, competency verification, and job-specific authorizations for field technicians and engineers, integrated with the Technical Qualification Program and the Field Service Skills Matrix. 
• Establish and oversee programs for other high-risk activities including working at heights, confined space entry, hot work, rigging and lifting, excavation, and mobile equipment operation. 
• Address hazards specific to transformer and switchgear service work, including insulating oil handling, SF6 gas, stored mechanical energy in breaker mechanisms, and testing with high-voltage sources. 

Field Execution & Site Presence  

• Be present in the field. Conduct and coordinate safety observations, site audits and safety inspections across both regions; coach technicians and supervisors in real time and verify closure of corrective actions. 
• Drive consistent use of pre-job planning tools including job hazard analyses (JHAs), pre-task briefings, and stop-work authority across all field crews. 
• Manage multi-employer worksite requirements including customer site orientations, site-specific safety plans, and coordination with general contractors and customer EHS teams. 
• Support project mobilization by confirming safety requirements, documentation, equipment and training are in place before work begins. 
• Partner with the Regional Service Managers on crew-level safety performance, and with scheduling so that qualification constraints are reflected in assignment decisions. 

Incident Management & Investigation  

• Lead the incident reporting and response process for injuries, near misses, property damage, environmental releases and vehicle incidents. 
• Conduct or facilitate root cause analysis using structured methods; ensure corrective and preventive actions are assigned, effective and closed on time. 
• Apply SIF-potential classification to incidents and near misses, and direct program attention to the small number of events capable of killing someone. 
• Partner with Human Resources and claims administrators on case management, return-to-work, and workers' compensation cost containment. 
• Share lessons learned across both regions and all entities to prevent recurrence. 

Program Leadership & Management System  

• Develop, implement and continuously improve the field services safety management system, aligned with corporate standards and recognized frameworks such as ISO 45001. 
• Set annual safety objectives, leading and lagging indicators, and improvement plans; report performance and trends to Field Service Operations and executive leadership. 
• Own field-specific safety policies, procedures and work instructions, ensuring they are practical, current and consistently applied across all regions and crews. 
• Serve as the subject matter expert on field safety risk and advise leaders on decisions affecting workforce safety, compliance and customer commitments. 

Qualification, Training & Safety Culture  

• Build and deliver the field safety training curriculum including new-hire onboarding, NFPA 70E qualification, LOTO, fall protection, first aid and CPR, and job-specific training; maintain accurate training records. 
• Serve as content authority for the Safety & Compliance domain of the Field Service Skills Matrix, and confirm that capability ratings are consistent with qualified-worker requirements. 
• Equip field supervisors and managers to lead safety effectively through coaching, toolbox talks and leadership engagement. 
• Champion a culture of ownership, transparency and continuous improvement, including recognition, employee engagement and near-miss reporting. 

Regulatory Compliance & Customer Requirements  

• Maintain compliance with federal, state and local OSHA, EPA and DOT regulations applicable to a mobile field workforce, including OSHA recordkeeping (300 / 300A / 301) and required postings. 
• Manage contractor prequalification and safety platform submissions (e.g., ISNetworld, Avetta, Veriforce), including safety statistics, written programs and audit responses. 
• Respond to customer safety requirements, audits and bid-stage safety questionnaires; represent Forgent Power in customer safety meetings as needed. 
• Serve as the point of contact for regulatory agency inspections involving field operations. 

Fleet, Environmental & Industrial Hygiene  

• Partner with Logistics and fleet management on driver safety, including DOT compliance where applicable, driver qualification, telematics review and defensive driving programs. 
• Oversee environmental compliance for field activities, including handling, transport and disposal of hazardous materials and waste (insulating oils, SF6 gas, batteries and chemical products) and spill prevention and response. 
• Coordinate industrial hygiene assessments and exposure monitoring (noise, heat stress, silica, chemical exposure) as required by field conditions. 

People & Budget  

• Manage the field safety budget including PPE, training, equipment and third-party services. 
• Lead, develop and manage the performance of EHS Specialists or Field Safety Coordinators as the function grows. 

Requirements:

 

Qualifications  

Required  

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety and Health, Environmental Science, Engineering or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience will be considered. 
• Minimum 7 years of progressive safety experience, including at least 3 years in a leadership or program-ownership role. 
• Demonstrated experience supporting a field services, electrical contracting, utility or construction workforce across multiple sites or regions. 
• Deep working knowledge of NFPA 70E, OSHA 1910 and 1926 standards, lockout/tagout, fall protection, confined space, and OSHA recordkeeping requirements. 
• Qualified to deliver NFPA 70E qualified-person training, or able to obtain instructor credentials within six months of hire. 
• Demonstrated, quantifiable results improving safety performance — for example reductions in TRIR, DART or SIF-potential events. 
• Experience leading incident investigations and root cause analysis, and driving corrective actions to closure. 
• Experience with contractor prequalification platforms and customer safety audit processes. 
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable motor vehicle record; ability to travel up to 50%, including on short notice. 

Preferred  

• Professional certification such as CSP (Certified Safety Professional), ASP, CHST or CIH. 
• OSHA 500 / 510 Authorized Trainer, NFPA 70E instructor credentials, or CESCP (Certified Electrical Safety Compliance Professional). 
• Hands-on background as a Journeyman or Master Electrician, field technician or field engineer — time spent doing the work carries real weight with crews. 
• Experience with switchgear, transformers or power distribution systems, including testing and commissioning environments. 
• Experience in data center, utility or critical-facility environments. 
• Experience implementing or maintaining an ISO 45001 management system. 
• Proficiency with safety management software and data and reporting tools. 
• Bilingual English / Spanish. 

Core Competencies & Behaviors  

• Safety-first judgment — treats safety as the first question, not a review step. Comfortable being the person who stops the job and holds the line when there is pressure not to. 
• Field credibility — earns trust with technicians and supervisors by understanding the work and being physically present where it happens. 
• Influence without authority — drives adoption of standards across a decentralized organization, and with customers and contractors who do not report to Forgent. 
• Risk-based prioritization — focuses on the highest-consequence hazards rather than the easiest to count. 
• Communication — translates regulatory requirements into clear, practical expectations; communicates effectively from crew level to executive leadership. 
• Analytical rigor — uses data and trends to identify risk, measure program effectiveness and focus resources. 
• Follow-through — manages multiple priorities, sites and deadlines with discipline and accountability. 

Performance Metrics  

Performance is assessed on leading indicators as much as lagging ones. A clean lagging record with no field presence and no near-miss reporting is not a passing year.  

• Zero serious injury and fatality (SIF) potential events; TRIR and DART performance against target. 
• Field observation and audit cadence met in both regions, with documented coaching and verified corrective-action closure. 
• Near-miss and hazard reporting rate — a rising rate early in tenure is a sign of trust, not of deterioration. 
• Qualified-person compliance: every technician performing a task holds current qualification for it. 
• Training completion against plan, including NFPA 70E requalification currency. 
• Prequalification standing maintained on all customer safety platforms; no lapsed submissions. 
• Incident corrective and preventive actions closed on time. 
• Customer safety audit outcomes and bid-stage questionnaire readiness. 

Working Conditions & Travel  

• Combines remote and office work with frequent time at customer sites and field locations across all Forgent entities. 
• Travel up to 50%, including overnight and short-notice travel in response to incidents or mobilizations. 
• Field work may involve exposure to outdoor weather, energized electrical environments, industrial and construction settings, noise and heights. 
• Must be able to wear required PPE including arc-rated clothing, hard hat, gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, fall protection and respiratory protection where applicable. 

Physical Requirements  

• Ability to climb ladders and stairs and access elevated or confined areas. 
• Ability to walk and stand for extended periods on uneven surfaces. 
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs (23 kg). 
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.