Head of Safety

KFC South Pacific (Yum! Brands Subsidiary); Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work

Wellbeing programs

Onsite parking

Phone/internet allowance

Job summary

KFC SOPAC seeks a Head of Safety to lead safety and wellbeing strategy and governance across company and franchise operations. You will partner with operational leaders and the People Leadership Team to embed practical, compliant safety practices and strengthen organisational resilience.

You will oversee the National Safety & Wellbeing Business Partner and Safety Operational Risk Advisor, driving a culture of care, learning and proactive risk management.

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience in workplace health and safety, risk or wellbeing within a large multi-site organisation.
• Deep knowledge of Australian WHS legislation and incident reporting requirements.
• Experience developing enterprise safety strategy and governance aligned with ISO 45001.

Responsibilities

• Set safety and wellbeing agenda across KFC SOPAC, including strategy and operating plan.
• Lead governance, standards, and escalation across company and franchise ops.
• Oversee material operational safety risks across restaurants and support environments.
• Lead incident investigations, regulatory engagement and corrective actions.
• Champion psychosocial safety and wellbeing in partnership with People teams.
• Drive risk-based assurance and timely closure of gaps with regulators and auditors.
• Build safety capability with franchisees and operational leaders.

Skills

Safety leadership

Risk management

Stakeholder management

ISO 45001

Regulatory compliance

People leadership

Incident investigation

Education

Tertiary qualifications

Professional safety certification

Job description

• Lead safety and wellbeing strategy across KFC SOPAC
• Influence company and franchise operations across a large restaurant network
• Build a culture of care, accountability, learning and proactive risk management

At KFC, everyone has a seat at our table. We feed our people’s potential to make a difference and have fun along the way.

As our Head of Safety, you’ll report directly to the People Director and lead KFC SOPAC’s safety and wellbeing strategy, governance and operating framework across company and franchise operations.

You’ll lead the National Safety & Wellbeing Business Partner and Safety Operational Risk Advisor, partnering with operational leaders, franchisees and People Leadership Team colleagues to strengthen safety culture, prevent harm and embed practical, sustainable and legally compliant practices.

This is a highly influential role with the opportunity to shape restaurant practices, equipment and process design, leadership behaviour and investment priorities—helping protect our team members, contractors, customers and communities while strengthening organisational resilience.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Set the safety and wellbeing agenda

• Lead KFC SOPAC’s safety and wellbeing strategy, roadmap and operating plan.
• Build a culture of care, accountability, learning and proactive risk management.
• Advise senior leaders on material risks, regulatory developments and required action.

Strengthen governance and systems

• Own and continuously improve the safety management system, standards and governance.
• Set clear accountabilities, controls and escalation processes across company and franchise operations.
• Provide transparent executive reporting on performance, critical risks, actions and trends.

Manage operational risk and critical controls

• Lead the management of material operational safety risks across restaurants and support environments.
• Oversee critical controls for high-consequence risks, including equipment, manual tasks, hazardous substances, vehicles and contractors.
• Partner across the business to embed safety into equipment, processes, operational changes and projects.

Turn incidents into learning

• Oversee significant incident response, investigation, regulatory engagement and corrective action.
• Ensure investigations address systemic causes and deliver practical, owned and time-bound actions.
• Use trends, repeat events and weak signals to strengthen prevention and controls.

Champion wellbeing and psychosocial safety

• Lead KFC SOPAC’s worker wellbeing and psychosocial safety approach with People, Operations and specialist providers.
• Ensure psychosocial hazards are managed through effective controls, consultation and leader capability.
• Embed early intervention, confidentiality and wellbeing considerations into workforce and operating decisions.

Drive assurance and compliance

• Lead a risk-based assurance program that tests safety controls and management-system effectiveness.
• Monitor legal and internal compliance and drive timely closure of gaps.
• Manage engagement with regulators, advisers, insurers, auditors and specialists, supported by defensible documentation.

Build trusted partnerships

• Partner with franchisees and operational leaders to build consistent safety capability and expectations.
• Provide practical frameworks, insights and tools that help leaders meet their responsibilities.
• Represent Safety across executive, operational and project forums so risks are considered early.

Lead and inspire

• Lead, coach and develop the National Safety & Wellbeing Business Partner and Safety Operational Risk Advisor.
• Build a high-accountability team culture grounded in technical rigour, practical problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Set clear outcomes and decision rights while empowering the team to make a visible impact.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

You’re a credible and pragmatic safety leader who can combine deep technical expertise with commercial judgement, calm leadership and a genuine commitment to people.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Significant senior leadership experience in workplace health and safety, operational risk or wellbeing within a large, complex and multi-site organisation.
• Deep knowledge of Australian workplace health and safety legislation, regulatory expectations and incident requirements.
• Experience developing enterprise safety strategy, governance and management systems, ideally aligned with standards such as ISO 45001.
• Strong capability in operational risk, critical controls, incident investigation, root-cause analysis, assurance and corrective-action governance.
• Experience leading psychosocial risk and worker wellbeing approaches in partnership with operational and People teams.
• Commercial and operational acumen, with the ability to turn technical and legal requirements into practical solutions for restaurant and franchise environments.
• Highly developed stakeholder management, coaching, influencing and executive communication skills, including experience engaging regulators and external advisers.
• Confidence using safety data, trends and assurance insights to prioritise action and assess control effectiveness.
• High integrity and discretion, with the ability to manage serious incidents, confidential information and high-risk matters calmly and credibly.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications are highly desirable; professional certification or membership of a recognised safety or risk body is advantageous.

WHY KFC?

At KFC, you’ll join a people-first business where safety is central to helping everyone thrive. You’ll have the scale and influence to shape how we work across company and franchise operations, partnering with passionate leaders to build practical solutions that make a lasting difference.

You’ll also enjoy:

• Flexible and hybrid ways of working, including time together at our Frenchs Forest Restaurant Support Centre.
• Signature career development and leadership programs.
• Additional leave to focus on your wellbeing.
• Monthly mobile phone and home internet contributions.
• Salary continuance cover for permanent employees.
• Culture Club events and team initiatives that bring people together.
• Free secure onsite parking at Frenchs Forest.