Safety Manager

Ryan Lawn & Tree Inc; Merriam (KS); On-site; USD 105,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

Flexible work schedule

11 paid holidays + 1 personal holiday

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Job summary

Ryan Lawn & Tree Inc. is seeking a Safety Manager to lead the safety operating system as we scale across multiple states. You will own standards, drive risk reduction, and guide the Safety Specialists in partnership with Operations, Learning, and HR while aligning with branch leadership.

The role emphasizes field-based coaching, incident management, and proactive safety improvements to support growth, acquisitions, and new markets.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of safety leadership experience in a multi-site, field-based environment.
• Experience leading safety in landscape, tree care, construction, or related industries.
• Experience with incident management, workers’ compensation, and building safety systems.
• Strong communication skills to coach in the field and brief senior leaders.
• Willingness to travel regularly to branches and job sites.
• Bilingual English/Spanish is a major plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the enterprise safety system across branches and departments.
• Lead workers’ compensation and EMR strategy with HR and Operations.
• Build and maintain multi-state safety compliance processes.
• Lead safety committees and safety meetings.
• Manage near-miss reviews with corrective actions.
• Use injury/claims data to identify high-severity patterns and actions.
• Coach the Safety Specialists and align with leadership.
• Integrate safety into daily operations with department leaders.
• Support due diligence for acquisitions and multi-state growth.

Skills

Safety leadership

Incident management

Communication

Travel

Bilingual English/Spanish

Education

Bachelor's degree in safety or related field

CSP/ASP/OHST certification

Tools

Fleet safety tools

Telematics

Dashcam review

Driver coaching programs

Job description

Description

Did you know that Ryan Lawn & Tree is a $100M+ professional Lawn & Landscape company? We've built one of the most respected lawn and tree care companies in the Midwest, with room to grow across four states — Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. We're on a mission to raise the bar for our entire industry: attracting exceptional people, treating them right, and giving them the opportunity to build a career, not just take a job. It's work that leaves a mark on every community we touch — and on the people who do it.

Safety Manager - Salary range of $105,000 - $115,000 depending on experience.

The Safety Manager leads RYAN’s day-to-day safety operating system as the company scales across service lines, branches, and states. This role turns safety strategy into field execution by owning standards, coordinating risk reduction efforts, and leading the Safety Specialists in partnership with Operations, Learning, HR, and branch leadership. The Safety Manager stays connected to the field while managing the system-level work needed to improve injury performance, control fleet risk, and support growth into new markets, including commercial work.

Reporting structure

Reports to: VP of Human Resources
Direct reports: Fleet & Route Safety Specialist, Field Safety Specialist
Owns workers’ compensation and EMR work directly.

Core responsibilities

• Own the enterprise safety system: policies, standards, reporting expectations, follow-up rhythms, and accountability across branches and departments.


• Lead workers’ compensation and EMR strategy, including claim review, trend analysis, and prevention planning with HR and Operations.


• Build and maintain multi-state safety compliance processes.


• Lead the safety champion structure, safety committee, and core safety meetings.


• Manage the near-miss review and closure process (triage, ownership, corrective action, follow-through).


• Use injury, claims, collision, and near-miss data to identify high-severity patterns and drive corrective action in fleet and field environments.


• Coach and direct the Safety Specialists, setting clear priorities and expectations.


• Partner with branch and department leaders to integrate safety into daily operations.


• Partner with Learning Directors and Learning Specialists so safety is embedded in Foundations Academy and Foundations Academy 2 and reinforced through field coaching, while keeping Safety and Learning as separate reporting lines.


• Support safety due diligence and integration for acquisitions, new states, and new lines of business.

Requirements

• 5+ years of safety leadership experience in a multi-site, field-based environment.


• Experience leading safety in industries such as landscape, tree care, construction, field services, transportation, utilities, or similar.


• Demonstrated experience in incident management, workers’ compensation, compliance, and building systems that drive follow-through.


• Strong communication skills with the ability to coach in the field and communicate clearly with senior leaders.


• Ability to travel regularly to branches, job sites, ride-alongs, and training environments.


• Bilingual English/Spanish is a major plus.

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in safety, occupational health, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.


• Professional certification such as CSP, ASP, OHST, or similar.


• Experience with fleet safety tools, telematics, dashcam review, or driver-coaching programs.


• Experience supporting acquisitions, integration work, or multi-state growth

** SAFETY-SENSITIVE POSITION:

This is a safety-sensitive position requiring the operation of vehicles and equipment. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen (including marijuana), criminal background check, MVR check, and DOT physical (where applicable) before starting employment. Candidates must meet all screening requirements as a condition of employment.

We hire great people for our employee-owned company. As a member of our team, you'll become a partner in the highest-quality lawn and tree company in the Midwest.

Why work at Ryan?

In addition to being a non-smoking, EEOC-compliant company with real advancement opportunities, we offer:

• Starting compensation of $105,000 - $115,000 depending on experience, plus bonus opportunities


• Excellent benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance


• 401(k) with company match


• 100% Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)


• Flexible work schedule


• 11 paid holidays plus 1 floating personal holiday


• 17 Paid Time Off (PTO) Days