Director – Fire Protection & Life Safety

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:         

- Lead Company-wide safety and risk control services with an emphasis on fire and life safety.

• Work with senior and group leadership to reduce risk and improve fire and life safety performance; reduce risks of accidental losses; and improve business sustainability.
• Serve as primary loss control engineering Liaison with company’s insurance property loss control engineering team and with Corporate Risk Management Team (multi-million dollar impact) Deal directly with governmental authorities, industry trade groups, and fire and building, fire, mechanical and setting organizations – representing company interests. 
• Support S-W process risk reduction, chemical process safety and chemical safety and security functions as a fire, life safety and chemical expert, and as necessary, lead serious fire, life-safety and serious incident investigations world-wide in order to identify root-causes and determine means to prevent future occurrences. 
• Work on critical product safety and related packaging fire safety concerns. 
• Oversee large capital and all significant fire protection, life safety, property loss control, and fire alarm systems projects world-wide.
• Lead the organization in assuring safe handling, transport, and storage of hazardous materials and develop pertinent standards and guidance.
• Creates a global support network of third party fire protection and life safety experts and consultants to support system designs, installs, and performance testing and approval.

- Develop risk identification and control processes including the study of high risk or high consequence safety, process safety and loss exposures affecting employee, process, physical asset, or the community. 

• Participate in Fire and Life Safety Risk Assessments. 
• Occasionally lead and participate in EHS Assessments.
• Identify and mitigate potential catastrophic risks/exposures.
• Lead or participate directly in serious fire and/or life safety accident/incident or fatal injury or exposure investigations.
• Coordinate required performance tests for major engineered special-hazard fire detection, notification and fire suppression systems.

- Support organization adherence to Company Safety, Loss Control and Chemical Security Standards, in addition to regulatory and recognized national and international standards.

• Fully integrate and implement Sherwin Williams’ EHSMS.
• Provide oversight and direction to operating groups and locations concerning achievement of S-W Cares fire and life-safety standards.
• Lead development and maintenance of fire protection and life safety S-W Cares Standards..
• Represent Company interests in code development and research activities including, but not limited to, NFPA 30, NFPA 30B, ICC, COMAH, etc.
• Work with government regulators, investigators, local authorities and legal teams world-wide to represent S-W interests related to fire protection and life safety regulations and enforcement thereof.

- Provide support, direction and solutions to key operating regions world-wide in the identification of fire and life safety risks and risk mitigation programs, including but not limited to life safety, resin process safety, coatings and aerosol manufacturing fire and life safety, property loss control, and chemical process and storage safety.

• Develop or support business unit development of training programs and systems to support high-consequence risk mitigation programs.
• Support and lead hazard identification or risk assessments at critical facilities.
• Facilitate business unit development of audit and technical/human behavior/management systems knowledge expertise.
• Support work-at-height, electrical safety, vehicle safety and ergonomics areas by maintaining knowledge and expertise related to high risk or high consequence personnel exposures
• Work to develop solutions, cost estimates and budgets for the involved business unit, and provide safety and business justifications for capital planning.
• Identify solutions providers such as specialized contractors with knowledge and expertise in areas requiring risk control improvements.
• Facilitate effective business planning through risk identification and prioritization.
• Effectively address customer concerns related to fire and explosion hazardous properties of S-W products.
• Provides fire protection and life safety consultation to key customers and partners.

- Provide expert guidance to customers and prospective customers in areas concerning life-safety, fire risk and building code concerns related to the distribution, sale and use of Sherwin-Williams products.

FORMAL EDUCATION:

Required:

•  Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Technology, Chemistry, Physics, Human Error, or field related to Fire Protection and Life-Safety.

Preferred:

•  B.S. in Fire Protection Engineering

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• 7-10 years leadership experience in industrial and warehousing fire protection and life-safety
• Knowledge of chemical and physical hazards and fire and life-safety exposures common to the coatings, resin and aerosol industry
• Excellent interpersonal, group, and public speaking skills

Preferred:

• Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Fire Protection Engineering
• 10 years industrial fire protection and life safety experience
• Coatings industry experience

TECHNICAL/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

Required – maintain:

• Board certification by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). 
• Membership in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). 
• Membership in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).
• Maintains active, participative role in fire and life-safety, building, mechanical and green code design, and industrial and warehousing safety, process safety and chemical safety & security codes and standards development processes.

Preferred:

• Engineering (fire, electrical, mechanical or chemical) technical skills.

Travel 25-40%

About the Company:
Sherwin-Williams