Director of Risk Management

We are the nation’s largest family-owned commercial landscape company and pride ourselves on being the family you trust. The ideal candidate will thrive in a family business, relationship driven culture, and demonstrate enthusiasm for a field-based business, spending time in the field, and a passion for helping keep skilled labor safe.

The Director of Risk Management is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing risk management strategies to protect the company’s assets, employees, and reputation. They will manage the total lifetime cost of Field based risk, including Worker’s Compensation, Property, and Product Liability through safety programs, internal quality control programs, effective insurance coverage, and claims management – all while fostering a culture of safety and risk control. The Director will provide strategic and organizational risk management direction to all levels of the company and will be a collaborative thought partner with Operations. The Director position holds significant importance within the Company, as demonstrated by its direct reporting line to the CFO.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• In partnership with senior leadership, develop an enterprise loss improvement strategy and implementation plan.
• Foster a culture of safety and accountability across the organization.
• Develop, implement, oversee, and manage risk management activities.
• Oversee insurance programs, including policy procurement and renewals.
• Supervise the Safety Team and Claims Analyst in managing workers’ compensation, general liability, and property claims to reduce costs and company liability.
• Collaborate with, manage and optimize our key third party vendor relationships to ensure proper management of claims and that our goals and strategic initiatives are met.
• Ensure efficient claims processing, tracking, and resolution to minimize financial impact.
• Analyze claims data to identify trends and recommend proactive measures to reduce incidents.
• Develop, implement, and enforce safety policies, procedures, and training programs to reduce workplace accidents and injuries.
• Develop and maintain dashboards of leading and lagging indicators to track key risk and safety metrics
• Use data analytics to drive continuous improvement in risk management and safety initiatives.
• Provide regular reports to executive leadership, highlighting risks, mitigation strategies, and outcomes.
• Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on risk-related matters.
• Lead and mentor the risk management team, promoting professional development and performance excellence.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA and other relevant regulations.
• 10-20% travel within our operating regions of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Skills and competencies required in this role include:

• Good understanding of field operations risks.
• Effective at managing safety resources.
• Good communications with operating managers with the ability to build effective relationships to influence, motivate and inspire culture change around incident and injury prevention.
• Quantitatively adept at analyzing and communicating the economics of risk.
• Claims management expertise and vendor management.
• Adept at insurance related items including supporting the purchase of insurance and driving the working level of relationships with insurance companies.
• Working knowledge of Construction General Liability insurance.
• Strong knowledge of OSHA, DOT, workers’ compensation, and insurance principles.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Effective communication and leadership abilities, with a proven track record of building high-performing teams.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively across departments.
• Proficient in risk management software and Microsoft Office Suite.

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Occupational Safety, Risk Management or a related field.
• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in risk management, safety, or insurance, preferably within the landscaping, construction, or distributed service industries.
• Proven experience managing teams, including direct reports and cross-functional teams.
• Solid knowledge of and experience with multi-state disability and workers' compensation plans and regulations.
• Experience in professional/general liability claims and loss control management.
• Demonstrated leadership and organizational skills; initiatives and ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Solid grasp of mathematics, financial principles, and complex spreadsheets.

Perks and Pluses:

• Medical, dental, vision, FSA plans
• 401(k) with company match
• Nine paid holidays
• Paid vacation and sick leave
• Annual salary range of $140,000 - $150,000

Gothic Landscape is an Equal Opportunity Employer!