Director Safety and Emergency Management

Job Description

Puget Sound Energy is Washington’s largest and most established energy company, serving more than 1.7 million customers across a region with dynamic and rapidly evolving energy needs. With significant growth underway, and new technology reshaping the energy landscape, there has never been a more exciting time to join PSE. From new generation to new construction, there is an incredible amount of infrastructure to design, build, and deliver as we operate at the forefront of energy innovation. We embrace contractor partnerships and rely on data-driven decision making to shape the future of our business. Our culture is grounded in collaboration ensuring that every employee goes home safe at the end of the day.

We are seeking an experienced and visionary leader to lead and direct our Safety, Fleet, System Damage Prevention, and Emergency Management organizations. In this role, you will lead strategy, governance, regulatory compliance, operational support, and continuous performance improvement across these critical functions. You will be responsible for setting the vision, defining priorities, and ensuring effective execution to protect employees, customers, contractors, the public, and company assets.

This leader will develop and implement strategies that strengthen PSE’s safety culture, enhance operational readiness, reduce enterprise risk, and improve program effectiveness. You will direct the design, management, and delivery of cross-functional and transformational initiatives aligned with PSE’s evolving operational and strategic priorities. Success in this role requires a strong ability to lead through change, influence across a complex organization, and drive meaningful, measurable outcomes.

You will uphold the safety compliance standards inherent in PSE’s operating and field procedures while actively promoting a culture of total safety in every aspect of the organization. You will lead by example, ensuring that all work is performed responsibly and that safety remains our highest priority.  Experience working with a represented workforce in a complex and highly regulated environment is preferred.

This position also requires a strong ethical foundation. You will demonstrate a consistent commitment to conducting business honestly and ethically in alignment with PSE’s core values and Code of Conduct. You will ensure that all responsibilities are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Job Responsibilities

• Employee Safety, Development & Team Building
  
  • Provides leadership for employee safety, development, and team effectiveness across all areas of responsibility.
  • Promotes a culture of total safety by addressing hazards, near misses, and at-risk behaviors through audits, inspections, and active engagement.
  • Sets clear expectations and holds employees accountable for performance, safety, and compliance outcomes.
  • Oversees workforce planning, staffing, training, and development; ensures required training and certifications are completed.
  • Provides coaching, feedback, and leadership support to drive employee engagement, safety performance, and business results.
  • Ensures adherence to legal, regulatory, and operational standards.
  • Conducts performance reviews and supports development planning.
• Safety Leadership, Strategy & Culture
  
  • Provides enterprise leadership for Safety, Fleet, System Damage Prevention, and Emergency Management, aligning strategy, culture, and operational execution.
  • Establishes and executes a multi-year strategy for safety, workforce capability, emergency preparedness, and operational improvement aligned with enterprise priorities.
  • Integrates safety culture, skill development, and change leadership to strengthen operational readiness and resilience.
  • Leads safety initiatives through process improvement, operational excellence, and technology enablement.
  • Develops and utilizes metrics, dashboards, and data (including telematics and camera systems) to identify risk, improve performance, and coach leaders.
  • Promotes safe driving practices and implements programs to reduce vehicle incidents.
  • Sets expectations and ensures accountability for safety, compliance, performance, and change adoption.
  • Ensures training, certifications, and leadership development programs are sustained and future-focused.
  • Builds organizational alignment and engagement to support continuous improvement and safety outcomes.
• Fleet Management
  
  • Provides strategic oversight of fleet operations to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective performance.
  • Leads fleet safety, maintenance, lifecycle planning, utilization, and replacement strategies.
  • Uses data and analytics to reduce incidents, improve reliability, and manage risk.
  • Ensures compliance with safety, environmental, and transportation regulations.
  • Partners with Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to optimize fleet performance and investment.
• System Damage Prevention
  
  • Leads enterprise programs to prevent damage to PSE infrastructure.
  • Oversees 811 coordination, excavation safety, investigations, and corrective actions.
  • Partners with internal teams and external stakeholders to reduce risk and increase public awareness.
  • Develops metrics and accountability processes to drive continuous improvement.
  • Ensures compliance with applicable damage prevention regulations.
• Emergency Management & Preparedness
  
  • Leads PSE’s emergency management program and response readiness.
  • Oversees preparedness, response, recovery, continuity, and continuous improvement efforts.
  • Leads ICS training and readiness programs to strengthen response capability.
  • Directs emergency planning, exercises, and after-action reviews.
  • Ensures alignment with regulatory, mutual assistance, and industry standards.
  • Partners with internal and external stakeholders to enhance readiness and supports executive leadership during major events.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in safety management, engineering, industrial health, business, public administration, or a related field. An equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience may be substituted.
• Ten (10) years of experience leading safety programs in a regulated, high hazard operating environment, such as electric, gas, construction, industrial, or other critical infrastructure sectors.
• Five (5) years in a senior safety or operations leadership role with accountability for enterprise or multi-site safety performance.
• Professional safety certification (e.g., CSP, CIH) or equivalent demonstrated expertise in safety leadership and systems.
• Demonstrated experience advancing safety culture across field operations, leaders, contractors, and labor environments.
• Strong working knowledge of utility operations and field work risks, including construction, maintenance, fleet operations, emergency response, and contractor management.
• Proven expertise in safety management systems (SMS), risk assessment, incident investigation, corrective action programs, and leading and lagging safety indicators.
• Demonstrated experience ensuring compliance with the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), OSHA, or comparable safety regulations applicable to utility or critical infrastructure operations, including direct interaction with regulatory authorities such as Washington State L&I / DOSH or equivalents.
• Experience leading or supporting regulatory inspections, audits, investigations, and corrective action implementation with state and federal regulators.
• Ability to influence and partner across operations, labor, contractors, and executive leadership to drive consistent safety outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to translate safety strategy into executable programs that deliver measurable safety and operational performance improvements.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and program management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex safety topics to executives, regulators, and frontline audiences.
• Demonstrated leadership attributes including sound judgment, managerial courage, integrity, and the ability to balance independent safety oversight with collaborative partnership.
• Experience managing budgets, resources, and external service providers in support of safety objectives.

Desired Qualifications

• Advanced degree in applicable fields and/or advanced safety or emergency management certifications.
• Utility industry experience; understanding of utility operations, economics, accounting, finance, regulatory frameworks, and industry trends.
• Expertise in enterprise risk identification, risk calculation, and risk reduction methodologies, including hazard analysis, exposure assessment, and prioritization of mitigation strategies in high-risk operating environments.
• Experience with fleet management and system damage prevention programs.
• Expertise in emergency management, including incident command, emergency preparedness and response, and critical infrastructure restoration for electric, gas, or other utility systems.
• Demonstrated ability to collect, analyze, and interpret safety, operational, and risk data to inform decision making, including the use of advanced analytics, digital tools, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve safety performance and risk mitigation.
• Demonstrated experience supporting executive leadership during major incidents, emergencies, or system restoration events.

Additional Information