Senior Director, Safety & Risk

The Coca-Cola Company; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1 200 000 - 1 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beverage corporation seeks a Senior Director, Safety & Risk for the Africa Operating Unit to lead health and safety initiatives. This role entails developing safety culture, managing risks, and ensuring compliance while engaging with stakeholders to transform operational excellence. Ideal candidates have over 8 years of experience in safety leadership and a strong background in high safety maturity industries. The position is based in Johannesburg.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of senior leadership in Technical/H&S operations.
• Experience influencing in a complex, global, structured environment.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the AOU’s Occupational Health & Safety strategy.
• Lead Incident Management & Crisis Resolution processes.
• Own the Business Continuity Plan to ensure operational recovery.
• Engage with senior leaders and regulatory bodies.

Skills

Business Continuity Planning

Crisis Management

People Leadership

Risk Management

Safety Programs

Job description

Location(s):

Kenya

City/Cities:

Nairobi

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

No

Job Posting End Date:

November 12, 2025

Shift:

Job Description Summary:

Senior Director, Safety & Risk – Africa Operating Unit

Role Purpose

The Senior Director, Safety & Risk will be the strategic and operational leader for Health, Safety, and Risk Management across the Africa Operating Unit (AOU), shaping the future safety culture for The Coca-Cola System in the region. This pivotal role will advance operational excellence while embedding safety as a core business value, influencing across a complex network of bottling partners, internal leaders, and global stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Health & Safety Leadership

• Define, execute, and continuously evolve the AOU’s Occupational Health & Safety (H&S) strategy, ensuring alignment with global frameworks, Long Range Plans (LRP), and Annual Business Plans (ABP).

• Champion safety culture transformation through visionary leadership, ensuring a“Zero is Possible” mindset and embedding H&S as a competitive advantage.

• Integrate safety into business outcomes, influencing investment decisions, innovation pipelines, and operational design.

• Implement global H&S systems and governance structures, ensuring compliance with KORE requirements and occupational license-to-operate regulations.

• Lead the adoption of cutting-edge safety technologies and process innovations from high performing external industries (e.g., oil & gas, chemical, automotive, pharma).

2. Risk & Crisis Management

• Lead Incident Management & Crisis Resolution (IMCR) processes for the AOU, ensuring preparedness, proactive risk identification, and rapid response to protect people, operations, and brand reputation.

• Maintain robust Technical Risk Management Framework (TRMF) and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) integration, with actionable mitigation plans across manufacturing, logistics, innovation, and marketplace operations.

• Partner with PACS, Strategic Security, and franchise system leadership on risk mitigation, scenario planning, and high impact decision making.

3. Business Continuity

• Own and implement the AOU Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to ensure operational recovery during disruptions.

• Coordinate cross functional recovery teams and external bottler partners for synchronized effective responses.

• Keep leadership informed via clear, concise, and timely status reporting.

4. Stakeholder Engagement & Influence

• Engage with senior internal and external leaders, industry associations, and regulatory bodies to drive alignment and share best practices.

• Communicate with impact across multiple levels — from executive boardrooms to plant floor teams — adjusting style and messaging accordingly.

• Negotiate and align on safety priorities where strategic or operational interests may differ.

5. People & Capability Development

• Build and empower a high performing H&S team; mentor, coach, and enable others to lead safety effectively at all levels.

• Establish the AOU as a regional center of excellence for safety knowledge, benchmarking, and capability development.

• Foster cross system, cross functional collaboration to ensure “One Team” execution and shared accountability for safety goals.

Experience & Expertise

• 8–10+ years senior leadership in Technical/H&S operations, with proven success in cultural transformation and change leadership.

• Background from high safety maturity industries (energy, chemicals, manufacturing, automotive, pharma) strongly preferred.

• End to end Occupational Health & Safety leadership, covering manufacturing, logistics, and marketplace environments.

• Experience influencing in a complex, global, and matrixed system without direct authority.

• Proven track record of cross regional, cross functional leadership and delivering strategic plans in alignment with global business objectives.

• Strong knowledge of H&S management systems, risk management frameworks, compliance requirements, and crisis response best practices.

• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with executives, franchise partners, and regulatory or industry bodies.

Skills:

Business Continuity Crisis Management (Inactive), Business Continuity Planning (BCP), Crisis Management, Franchise Leadership, Handling Crisis Situations, People Leadership, Risk Management, Safety Management, Safety Programs

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.