How to hire a Safety Director

How to hire a safety director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step safety director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a safety director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new safety director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Safety Director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a safety director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A safety director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, safety directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of safety director salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Safety Director	Description	Hourly Rate
   Safety Director	Health and safety engineers develop procedures and design systems to prevent people from getting sick or injured and to keep property from being damaged. They combine knowledge of systems engineering and of health and safety to make sure that chemicals, machinery, software, furniture, and other consumer products will not cause harm to people or damage to buildings.	$26-62
   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.	$21-49
   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... Show More	$30-56

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • OSHA
   • DOT
   • Safety Procedures
   • PET
   • Patients
   • Safety Policies
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Risk Management
   • Safety Standards
   • CPR
   • Corrective Action
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Safety Audits
   • Safety Culture

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage institutional compliance with OSHA, EPA, DEP, JCAHO, AOA, NFPA, and other regulatory authorities.
   • Lead and manage ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 internal, third party, customer and supplier audits for the group.
   • Manage HSE programs for a national corporation specializing in concrete product manufacturing.
   • Conduct routine health, safety and environmental inspections in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910, EPA and NFPA standards.
   • Indoctrinate and train new employees in CPR, and basic first aid.
   • Teach CPR, first aid, blood borne pathogens and baby sitting classes.

   More Safety Director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your safety director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A safety director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, safety directors' average salary in mississippi is 53% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level safety directors earn 58% less than senior-level safety directors.
   • Certifications. A safety director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a safety director's salary.

   Average safety director salary

   $85,687yearly

   $41.20 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level safety director salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 21, 2025

   Average safety director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$144,567	$70
   2	District of Columbia	$112,642	$54
   3	Utah	$111,478	$54
   4	Massachusetts	$106,299	$51
   5	Washington	$101,967	$49
   6	Texas	$100,946	$49
   7	Connecticut	$99,321	$48
   8	North Dakota	$97,739	$47
   9	Michigan	$90,916	$44
   10	Colorado	$90,711	$44
   11	New York	$88,407	$43
   12	Tennessee	$87,745	$42
   13	Minnesota	$86,592	$42
   14	Maryland	$75,018	$36
   15	Alaska	$73,465	$35
   16	Pennsylvania	$73,299	$35
   17	North Carolina	$71,626	$34
   18	Missouri	$70,309	$34
   19	Illinois	$68,533	$33
   20	Georgia	$68,094	$33

   Average safety director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Genentech	$134,808	$64.81
   2	AstraZeneca	$129,222	$62.13	12
   3	Instacart	$126,736	$60.93
   4	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$122,755	$59.02	6
   5	Ecolab	$117,236	$56.36	34
   6	Rosendin Electric	$115,547	$55.55	21
   7	Amgen	$114,598	$55.10	5
   8	Regeneron	$111,764	$53.73
   9	Daiichi Sankyo	$107,597	$51.73	3
   10	Rockstar Games	$106,608	$51.25
   11	Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.c. Or Aza	$104,630	$50.30	1
   12	Johnson & Johnson	$104,198	$50.10
   13	Nucor	$102,667	$49.36	2
   14	Sysco	$102,273	$49.17	13
   15	Lbj	$99,977	$48.07
   16	Northrop Grumman	$99,498	$47.84	54
   17	Medstar Health	$98,991	$47.59
   18	Hilton Grand Vacations	$98,754	$47.48
   19	Jacobs Engineering Group	$97,585	$46.92
   20	EMCOR Group	$97,374	$46.81	68

4. Writing a Safety Director Job Description

   A safety director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a safety director job description:

   Safety Director job description example

   We are seeking an experienced leader to oversee the Life Safety business and portfolio. Reporting directly to a senior leadership team member, this leader will work cross-functionally with the Commercial, Commercial Operations, Technology, and Product Management organizations and leaders to develop and grow the emergency lighting portfolio, and assume control of the Life Safety P&L. This business leader will drive all aspects of its sales, product portfolio, and go to market strategy to position the business for success. Candidate must have previous Life Safety experience and expertise, a demonstrated ability to work effectively within a matrixed organizational environment, and prior P&L ownership are core requirements of this role. The location for this role is at the Greenville SC Headquarters, with up to 25% travel as required to perform Customer visits.
   
   The position plays a critical role on the Leadership team. In this role, you will be responsible for developing and implementing an effective Life Safety sales strategy that increases top-line sales growth, while increasing overall profitability. The sales strategy includes a New Product Development roadmap, which will outline NPD opportunities and timing, as well as effective go-to-market strategies in partnership with other members of your team. You will lead a cross-functional team responsible for the success of our overall Life Safety strategy, enabling them to adapt and execute quickly to deliver strong commercial results.
   Responsibilities:
   
   Define and develop strong multi-year sales and product roadmap strategies, leveraging prior industry and market experience
   
   Collaborate with marketing leaders and Life Safety marketers to ensure strategy alignment and provide insights for furthering our market reach
   
   Partner with commercial leaders to ensure a deep understanding of their key customers' needs and key drivers of value; drive and execute pipeline opportunities to create industry leading Life Safety business
   
   Leverage your experience and knowledge to provide excellent leadership to build, motivate, educate & activate a high performing team

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right safety director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with safety directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit safety directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your safety director job on Zippia to find and recruit safety director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit safety directors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new safety director

   Once you've selected the best safety director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a safety director?