Director of Transportation Safety

Who We Are:

Lippert is a leading, global manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered products and customized solutions, dedicated to shaping, growing and bettering the RV, marine, automotive, commercial vehicle and building products industries. We combine our strategic manufacturing capabilities with the power of our winning team culture to deliver unrivaled customer service, award-winning innovation and premium products to all of our customers.

Why We are Different:

At Lippert, Everyone Matters. This is not just a tagline or empty promise; it is who we are. We have intentionally created a culture that values and celebrates our team members' unique and varied backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We strive to give our team members a deeper sense of purpose at work, and we continue to build a better work environment by aligning our cultural and business strategies with the needs of our team members.

What You will Get:

1. A unique, inclusive and supportive company culture.
2. Comprehensive benefit offerings including medical, dental, vision, 401k with employer match, vacation, and more!
3. Fair and competitive compensation.
4. Career development and mentoring and opportunities to grow.
5. Holiday, personal and vacation days.

Summary/Objective:

The Director of Transportation will be responsible for overseeing, developing, and implementing safety policies and procedures to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of goods and people within Lippert. The successful candidate will have a strong background in transportation safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management.

Duties and Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Develop and implement comprehensive transportation safety programs and initiatives, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, as well as industry best practices.
2. Oversee the management of safety audits, inspections, and investigations, and take appropriate actions to address identified safety risks and hazards.
3. Develop, implement, and maintain safety training programs for all employees, including drivers, maintenance personnel, and other staff.
4. Monitor and analyze safety performance data to identify trends and areas for improvement and develop targeted interventions to address identified issues.
5. Establish and maintain strong relationships with regulatory agencies, industry associations, and other stakeholders to stay informed of emerging safety issues and regulatory requirements.
6. Develop and maintain a proactive safety culture within the organization, fostering open communication and collaboration among all team members.
7. Ensure that safety policies and procedures are consistently applied and enforced across Lippert.
8. Manage budgets and resources related to transportation safety programs and initiatives.
9. Provide regular reports to senior leadership on the status of safety initiatives, performance metrics, and emerging issues.
10. Stay current on industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in transportation safety, and drive continuous improvement within the organization.
11. Mentoring and ensuring Subsidiaries and drivers follow U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
12. Develop a comprehensive and scalable DOT new hire training orientation program.
13. Develop companywide driver specific policies and procedures
14. Develop driver safety training program and conduct driver training
15. Oversee all aspects of development, implementation, standardization, and management of DOT Safety Compliance.
16. Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations regarding transportation safety, including, but not limited to, auditing driver qualification files and driver training programs, analyzing hours of service and addressing any exceptions, and ensuring the DOT Drug/Alcohol Program is following FMCSA.
    
17. Monitor and anticipate changes or developments in applicable DOT and OSHA regulations and proactively plan for, communicate to management, and address within the business units with minimal disruption to their respective operations.
18. Ensure company drivers are properly trained and licensed, including the development and delivery of training materials, meetings, and courses as required.
19. Oversee vehicle incidents and associated claims and work with risk and legal teams to mitigate losses.
20. Analyze vehicle incident data and work with company and business unit leadership to address trends that impact safety and compliance.
    
21. Review telematics, including maintenance service records to address trends that impact safety and compliance.
22. Report key compliance and safety metrics to enterprise, company, and leadership.
    
23. Represent the company as a subject matter expert for DOT to customers, contractors, suppliers, and regulatory agencies.
24. Act as a liaison between FMCSA, commercial carriers, drivers, and other stakeholders, including addressing concerns, providing guidance, and facilitating communication.
    
25. Serve as point of contact for company and business unit leadership for DOT compliance.
26. Respond to challenges with speed, agility, and solutions. Travel to conduct in-person meetings with key existing and prospective business partners.

Working Conditions:

• Primarily working indoors, office environment.
• May sit for several hours at a time.
• Prolonged exposure to computer screens.
• Repetitive use of hands to operate computers, printers, and copiers.

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree or equivalent (preferred) in Transportation Management, Safety Management, Safety Engineering, Occupational Safety and Health Technology, or a related field.
2. 7+ years of experience in DOT compliance, fleet safety, transportation management, or related role.
3. Must have experience with Telematics and the ability to incorporate data into focused driven fleet safety initatives.

Essential Functions:

1. Develop and execute a strategic plan for transportation safety, setting goals and objectives that align with Lippert's mission and vision.
2. Create, update, and maintain transportation safety policies and procedures, ensuring they are comprehensive, current, and meet all regulatory standards.
3. Develop and oversee safety training programs for all employees, ensuring full understanding and compliance with policies and procedures.
4. Investigate, document, and report transportation safety incidents, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
5. Regularly review safety performance metrics, identifying areas for improvement and developing targeted interventions to address identified issues.
6. Ensure that the organization maintains full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local transportation safety regulations.
7. Identify and assess potential safety risks, developing and implementing risk mitigation strategies to minimize exposure.

Competencies:

1. Ability to make informed and effective decisions in a rapidly changing organization.
2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
3. Ability to persuade and influence others to adopt safety practices and initiatives.
4. Analyze complex issues, identify root causes, and develop creative and pragmatic solutions to address safety challenges.
5. Plan, execute, and monitor safety initiatives and projects.
6. In-depth knowledge of transportation safety regulations and industry best practices.
7. Strong moral and ethical conduct.

Supervisory Responsibility:

This role will have supervisory responsibilities upon hire.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a fulltime salary position.

Travel:

Travel will be minimal and would be primarily local during the business day.

Preferred Education and Experience:

1. Transportation safety experience within a manufacturing organization
2. Ability to develop and conduct effective health, safety, and environmental training programs and meetings.
3. Effectively communicate EH&S goals and expectations.
4. Strong knowledge of DOT regulations, including hours of service, vehicle maintenance, and driver qualifications.
5. Working knowledge of injury prevention strategies.
6. Certification in DOT compliance or transportation safety preferred

Work Authorization/Security Clearance:

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the Team Member for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Lippert provides equal employment opportunity to all team members and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, disability, citizen status, protected veteran status, military service, marital status or any other legally protected category as established by federal, state, or local law. This policy governs all employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, job assignment, compensation, training, promotion, discipline, transfer, leave-of-absence, access to benefits, layoff, recall, termination and other personnel matters. All employment and personnel-related decisions are based solely upon legitimate, job-related factors, such as skill, ability, past performance, and length of service with Lippert.

Lippert's strong commitment to equal employment opportunity requires a commitment by each individual team member. Compliance with the letter and spirit of this policy is required of all team members. Violations of this policy should be immediately reported to your leader or to any member of leadership. Team members who violate this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Know Your Rights