T&D Safety Section Manager — Lead Zero-Injury Projects

Burns & McDonnell; Appleton (WI); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Burns & McDonnell is seeking a Section Manager of Safety & Health in Appleton, WI to lead project safety policies in a heavy construction environment. You will develop high-performance teams and drive the zero-incident goal.

You will manage budgets, coordinate safety professionals, oversee AHAs, site safety plans, and regulatory compliance, and liaise with clients and regulators. Occasional travel required up to 75%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Engineering, or Construction Management required.
• 5+ years of construction safety, general industry safety, or construction management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to the section team and coordinate workloads across safety personnel.
• Drive profitable growth of the section by meeting staffing and billable goals.
• Oversee AHAs, site safety plans, emergency action plans, and local medical responder coordination.
• Ensure safety, quality, procurement, environmental compliance, and project controls across projects.
• Coordinate with contractors and stakeholders to plan tasks and eliminate hazards.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Description

The T&D Section Manager is responsible for leading and implementing project specific safety policies and procedures and provide professional Safety & Health leadership to the project management team in a heavy construction environment. The Section Manager will support and execute business strategy, develop high performance teams, and promote the AZCO culture, values and mission.

Job Duties

• Provide leadership to the section team; direct and coordinate work assignments, delegate workloads across section personnel and site safety specialists, and review performance to ensure efficient, cost-effective utilization of staff while providing ongoing feedback on strengths and professional development.

• Responsible for the profitable growth of the section; ensure staffing levels, resource loading, and project assignments meet construction and self-perform requirements while consistently achieving billable goals.

• Participate in project planning, scheduling, estimating, costing, and establishing critical Construction and Self-Perform objectives. Oversee pre-job planning activities, including the development and approval of Activity Hazard Analyses (AHAs), site-specific safety plans, emergency action plans, and local medical responder coordination.

• Responsible for successful project execution and timely completion of projects within budget while providing multi-faceted expertise in safety, quality, procurement, construction, environmental compliance, project controls, and public/community relations. Drive operational execution to achieve and maintain the corporate goal of zero safety incidents.

• Oversee the availability and appropriate use of critical safety equipment and ensure rigorous permitting and operational oversight for high-risk field activities, including hot work, confined space entries, lockout/tagout (LOTO), and excavations.

• Lead communication between Global Practice (GP) sections and Construction; coordinate with general contractors, subcontractors, and shared-worksite partners to plan tasks, eliminate hazards, and ensure safe, synchronized field execution.

• Implement, apply, and support company, global practice, and regional office programs and initiatives, including corporate Safety & Health program deliverables; successfully navigate and manage change across the section.

• Achieve stated corporate targets and standards for financial performance, margin generation, and overall section profitability.

• Manage section operating budgets, overhead, and expenditure of funds to maximize operational efficiency.

• Review workload projections and monthly financial deliverables, including project scheduling, budgeting, cash flow forecasting, and project status reports.

• Collaborate with business development managers, business line leads, project managers, and proposal production staff to develop proposals, establish competitive estimates, and secure self-perform work for section staff.

• Communicate issues, project status, risks, schedules, and costs to all internal and external stakeholders; develop and execute internal and external risk mitigation plans, presenting safety and operational milestones, challenges, and countermeasures in regular stakeholder meetings.

• Manage communication with governmental, industry, client, and public entities on project-related matters. Serve as a primary liaison between clients, site leadership, subcontractor safety representatives, and regulatory agencies (e.g., OSHA, MSHA).

• Conduct project safety, quality, progress, and financial audits and assessments as required. Oversee routine safety walk-through assessments, review findings, ensure corrective actions are resolved promptly, and maintain field documentation in an audit-ready state.

• Enforce strict adherence to company QA/QC standards, corporate safety policies, client site requirements, and applicable local, state, and federal OSHA regulations.

• Manage and resolve situations causing or warranting a work stoppage when conditions pose immediate danger to life or health (IDLH); lead post-stoppage investigations and collaborate with project teams to implement preventive measures prior to resuming work.

• Oversee the investigation of all safety, near-miss, property damage, and environmental incidents; ensure thorough root-cause analyses, witness statements, and formal reporting are completed. Oversee the execution of the Return-to-Work (RTW) policy, coordinating modified duty assignments with supervisors and executing worker compensation programs in coordination with Corporate Safety.

• Responsible for the recruitment, development, training, and retention of staff. Oversee and evaluate the success of onboarding and site orientation trainings, and the delivery and documentation of required Safety & Health training programs to ensure technical competency and compliance across all levels.

• Conduct timely, objective performance evaluations for department staff, establishing clear career progression pathways and accountability metrics.

• Provide leadership, guidance, and technical instruction to the department; consult with site personnel on complex construction, transmission, and safety challenges to recommend industry-leading best practices.

• Interpret and articulate organizational policies, purposes, values, and strategic goals to section personnel.

• Successfully manage multiple concurrent projects across diverse geographic locations; travel weekly to project and field sites as needed, including occasional weekend travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Engineering, or Construction Management and 5 years construction safety, general industry safety, or construction management required.

• Or applicable experience may be substituted for the degree requirement.

KSAs

• Familiarity with Zero Injury techniques of Construction Industry Institute required.

• Experienced knowledge of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Construction and General Industry Regulations, as well as America National Standards Institution (ANSI), National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), Army Corps of Engineers (CoE), Engineers Manual 385-1 and National Electrical Code (NEC) Standards.

• Experience in Transmission and Distribution, Substation and Switchyard construction and startup processes and procedures, electrical hazards, and electrical PPE requirement preferred.

• Previous leadership and/or management experience is preferable.

• Must demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to clearly and effectively present complex information to all levels of employees, management, and clients.

• Position requires the ability to thoughtfully and positively influence, lead, and manage change.

• Must be proficient in the use of computer software (i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

• Ability to present and teach safety concepts and classes.

License and Certs

• Valid driver's license required.

• Board of Certified Safety Professionals within 1 Year required.

• OSHA 10-hour Construction Outreach Safety Training Course or OSHA 30-hour Construction Outreach Safety Training Course required.

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E preferred.

• Adult First Aid and CPR/AED Trainer preferred.

Travel requirements

• Up to 75% travel. Travel percentage may differ as required by the project/section.

Job Safety & Health

Primary Location US-WI-Appleton

Schedule: Full-time

Travel: Yes, 75 % of the Time

Req ID: 264629

Job Hire Type Experienced

#LI-MF #ACO N/A