Safety Manager
Claremont, North Carolina•Full-time
About the Job
About Williams-Sonoma DC -Claremont, NC:
Since it was founded in 1956, Williams - Sonoma has grown from Chuck Williams’ single store in Sonoma, CA into one of the largest retailers in the country, with some best known and most beloved brands in home furnishings, including Williams – Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm.
Our Distribution Centers serve as vital connections between factories and our retail, online and mail-order customers around the world. The Supply Chain environment is dynamic and fast-paced, and the network is expanding rapidly. If you have a background in distribution, manufacturing, engineering, transportation, finance, human resources, or home delivery – and are looking for a job with a strong opportunity for gaining new skills and for advancement – our Supply Chain Organization could be just the place for you.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc Supply Chain Overview:
By managing resources responsibly, caring for our people, and uniting around our values, we lead our industry and are proud to be recognized for our continuous action and progress in the following areas: Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies; Forbes Best Employers for Women and Diversity; Newsweek America's Most Responsible Companies; and USA Today Customer Service Champions. These honors reflect that we are truly a people-first organization.
- Over 4,000 Full-Time Associates across the Supply Chain.
- 14.5M square feet of small parcel, personalization, furniture, and manufacturing space in the domestic US, Williams-Sonoma has developed an agile and capable distribution network consisting of the following:
- Large package/furniture distribution centers located in Southern California, Northern California, Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey totaling 9.2M square feet plus another 1.2M square feet of standalone final-mile furniture hubs.
- Small package eCommerce distribution centers located in Mississippi and Arizona totaling 3.2M square feet, consisting of over 1,000 full-time associates and 1,500 seasonal/temporary associates in Mississippi.
- Sutter Street Manufacturing upholstery factories located in North Carolina and Mississippi totaling with over 1,400 full-time employees producing approximately $900 million to $1 billion in sales of upholstered furniture.
- Transportation Department for Ocean, Air, Trucking, and Rail consisting of over 30 transportation professionals located in Memphis, TN.
- 700 associates in our Sourcing offices in 10 countries in Asia and Europe including China, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Italy, and Turkey.
The Safety Manager serves as a senior, field-based leader responsible for executing, strengthening, and scaling the safety program across assigned sites. This role owns site-level regulatory compliance, program execution, strategic implementation, high-quality investigations, risk reduction, and the ongoing development of a strong safety culture.
The Safety Manager is expected to be highly knowledgeable in safety regulations, capable of independently leading site and regional safety initiatives, influential with operational leaders, and effective in managing multiple priorities simultaneously while aligning with corporate safety strategy.
The Safety Manager position is located in Claremont, NC.
You'll be excited about this opportunity because you will:
- Program Leadership & Execution:
- Serve as the primary safety authority for assigned facilities, responsible for executing corporate safety strategy at the site level.
- Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of safety programs, policies, SOPs, and standardized work.
- Translate corporate safety objectives into practical, site-level execution plans.
- Ensure consistency, effectiveness, and accountability of safety practices across assigned facilities.
- Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management:
- Maintain expert-level knowledge of applicable OSHA and other regulatory requirements.
- Ensure site compliance through proactive audits, inspections, documentation, and readiness for regulatory visits.
- Identify compliance gaps, develop corrective action plans, and drive closure.
- Conduct risk assessments and support Management of Change (MOC) processes for new equipment, processes, and facility changes.
- Incident Management & Investigations:
- Lead and oversee complex incident investigations, ensuring thorough root cause analysis and effective corrective actions.
- Ensure investigations meet corporate standards and are accurately documented in the safety management system.
- Identify systemic trends and recommend strategic improvements to reduce recurrence.
- Leadership & Influence:
- Act as a trusted advisor and safety leader to facility and operational teams.
- Influence behavior and performance without direct authority by partnering across Operations, Maintenance, HR, and Engineering.
- Coach and mentor Safety Coordinators and site leaders to improve investigation quality and program execution.
- Training & Culture Development:
- Oversee development and delivery of safety training programs, ensuring alignment with regulatory and operational needs.
- Support leadership in creating a proactive, engaged, and accountable safety culture.
- Drive behavior-based observations, engaging initiatives, and continuous improvement programs.
- Data Analysis & Strategy:
- Analyze safety performance data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
- Provide actionable insights and recommendations to the Director of Safety and site leadership.
- Support the development of regional safety metrics and performance reporting.
- Operational Support:
- Manage multiple priorities across sites, balancing strategic initiatives with real-time operational support.
- Support emergency response, serious injury prevention efforts, and oversight of high-risk activities.
- Participate in safety committees, audits, and site leadership meetings as required.
Check out some of the required qualifications we are looking for in amazing candidates:
- Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health, Engineering, or a related field.
- At least 5-8 years of progressive experience in safety management within warehousing, manufacturing, or logistics environments.
- This is an onsite and in office role.
- Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1910), incident investigation methods, and risk management processes.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, influence, and execute across multi-site operations.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and perform effectively in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Strong Microsoft capabilities including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Ability to travel up to 10-20% to support assigned facilities, audits, investigations, and safety initiatives.
We prefer some of these qualities as well:
- Professional safety certifications (CSP, ASP, CSHO, or similar)
- Experience in furniture manufacturing, particularly upholstery.
- Experience managing or mentoring safety professionals.
- Experience with safety management systems.
- Experience leading serious incident investigations and regulatory inspections.
- Demonstrated success improving safety performance metrics.
- Strong understanding of Power BI.
- Experience with Human Organizational Performance (HOP) concepts.
Review these physical requirements, as they play a major part in this role:
- Able to bend, reach, squat, and climb stairs/ladders.
- Able to walk to any area within the facility.
Our company benefits are second to none in the industry:
- Generous discount on all Williams-Sonoma, Inc. brand products.
- 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities.
- Paid vacations, Employee Assistance Programs, Time Off to Volunteer, Matching Gifts Community Service Program, and Holidays (in some locations).
- Health benefits, dental and vision insurance, including same-sex domestic partner benefits, Legal and Identity Protection Plans and Pet Insurance.
- For more information on our benefits offers, please visit MyWSIBenefits.com.
- To learn more about our Supply Chain culture and regional associate events, please visit: https://shorturl.at/R3OAX (Login credentials may be required)
EOE