What does a program safety manager do?
A program safety manager is someone who manages and provides oversight of an organization's safety program. Program safety managers plan, enforce, and conduct preventive care, safety, and compliance training programs. The managers manage and maintain comprehensive environmental health and safety programs at project site locations or premises. They oversee all the aspects of industrial and safety hygiene for compliance with the NFPA, API, and OSHA standards. Also, they conduct hyperbaric chamber fire safety drills for staff response improvement.
Program safety manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real program safety manager resumes:
- Manage the procurement program of personal protective equipment; ensure adequate protection of workers and ensure OSHA compliance.
- Collaborate with cross-functional team to successfully achieve initial ISO 14001certification.
- Maintain all OSHA data and update company programs to adhere to policy.
- Conduct new employee orientation to foster positive attitude toward EHS organizational objectives.
- Partner with various departments to ensure relevant EHS training is successfully implement.
- Provide oversight and technical guidance to facilities, systems, associate support equipment and operations to ensure adherence to safety guidelines.
- Purchase and maintain personal protection equipment (PPE) and first aid supplies.
- Develop and coordinate mission and personnel tracking processes for Travis AFB and higher DOD agency scrutiny.
- Reduce ergonomics relate injury risks by conducting workplace ergonomics assessments of office and manufacturing operations.
Program safety manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Program Safety Managers are proficient in Safety Program, OSHA, and Corrective Action. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Communication skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Program Safety Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Safety Program, 14%
Tasked with conducting employee training and safety program development involving six-sigma, accident investigation, root cause analysis and risk assessment.
- OSHA, 8%
Result: Trained approximately 275 National and Regional OSHA enforcement and compliance officers nationally.
- Corrective Action, 6%
Provide and justify recommendations and conclusions; define corrective action and defend or coordinate recommendations as required.
- Oversight, 6%
Provided overall management and oversight of the Group s safety and occupational health program.
- Safety Procedures, 5%
Created safety procedures to present to senior management to be implemented and distributed company wide.
- Patient Safety, 4%
Performed Patient Safety data analyst functions daily.
Most program safety managers use their skills in "safety program," "osha," and "corrective action" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential program safety manager responsibilities here:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a program safety manager to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what program safety managers do because "health and safety engineers produce designs showing potential problems and remedies for them." Additionally, a program safety manager resume shows how program safety managers use creativity: "prepared/submitted the sara title iii report to the us epa, listing hazardous chemical inventories, quantities, and release reports. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling program safety manager duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health and safety engineers must be able to interpret federal and state regulations and their intent so that they can propose proper designs for specific work environments." According to a program safety manager resume, here's how program safety managers can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "managed hazardous communication/safety programs for three aircraft maintenance units/support staffs totaling over 660 personnel. "
Problem-solving skills. program safety managers are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to program safety manager responsibilities, because "in designing solutions for entire organizational operations, health and safety engineers must take into account processes from more than one system at the same time." A program safety manager resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "resolved safety related issues in incident investigations. "
The three companies that hire the most program safety managers are:
- Sysco25 program safety managers jobs
- Black Hills7 program safety managers jobs
- Covanta4 program safety managers jobs
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Program safety manager vs. Industrial hygienist
An Industrial Hygienist plans and conducts health programs to educate employees about cleanliness, safety, and sanitation in the workplace. They investigate adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, and other conditions that can affect employees' health, comfort, or efficiency.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between program safety managers and industrial hygienist. For instance, program safety manager responsibilities require skills such as "oversight," "safety procedures," "patient safety," and "project management." Whereas a industrial hygienist is skilled in "environmental health," "indoor air quality," "ventilation," and "respirators." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Industrial hygienists tend to make the most money working in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $93,692. In contrast, program safety managers make the biggest average salary, $94,253, in the technology industry.industrial hygienists tend to reach similar levels of education than program safety managers. In fact, industrial hygienists are 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Program safety manager vs. Ehs coordinator
An EHS coordinator develops and organizes environmental health and safety (EHS) programs and protocols in a company. They typically perform research and analysis to determine the ideal practices, gather and analyze data to identify problem areas and their corresponding solutions, spearheading information drives within the company, and coordinating with different departments. They must also perform regular inspections to ensure that departments and procedures adhere to EHS laws and regulations. Moreover, an EHS coordinator implements EHS policies and regulations, developing new ones when necessary.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, program safety manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "oversight," "patient safety," "project management," and "powerpoint." Meanwhile, an ehs coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "environmental health," "safety committee," "contractor safety," and "continuous improvement." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, ehs coordinators achieve similar levels of education than program safety managers. They're 3.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program safety manager vs. Manager, environmental and safety
An Environmental and Safety manager is responsible for overseeing environmental sustainability concerning production and manufacturing processes and mitigating nature's hazardous effects. Environmental and Safety managers evaluate the methods and resources used to produce and eliminate procedures that violate safety laws and internal regulations. They also facilitate training and programs for the employees to ensure adherence to protocols and prevent accidents during operations. An Environmental and Safety Manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in reviewing incident reports and conducting root-cause analysis to avoid reoccurrence.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a program safety manager is likely to be skilled in "patient safety," "project management," "powerpoint," and "process improvement," while a typical manager, environmental and safety is skilled in "environmental health," "continuous improvement," "regulatory agencies," and "safety regulations."
Managers, environmental and safety make a very good living in the construction industry with an average annual salary of $85,529. On the other hand, program safety managers are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $94,253.Most managers, environmental and safety achieve a similar degree level compared to program safety managers. For example, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program safety manager vs. Safety specialist
Safety specialists examine various types of work procedures and environments. They observe if workplaces stick to the regulations on health, safety, and the environment. Also, they create programs to prevent injury or disease to workers and harm to the environment. Their duties include identifying hazards at the workplace and collecting samples of potentially toxic materials for examination. Another task they do is conduct training on emergency preparedness. Additionally, they explore and identify the causes of an accident to determine their preventative measures.
Types of program safety manager
Updated January 8, 2025











