About the Role: The Vice President of Safety & Risk Management is the organization's enterprise-wide safety, risk management, regulatory compliance and loss prevention strategy across corporate and franchise operations. As a key member of the leadership team, this individual will serve as a strategic business partner, organizational change agent, and trusted advisor to executive leadership. The VP will be responsible for transforming safety and risk management from a primarily reactive function into a proactive, data-driven business discipline that directly contributes to financial performance, franchise success, operational excellence, and brand reputation. Success in this role requires an executive who can balance big-picture strategic thinking with operational realities, translate complex risk exposures into actionable business strategies, and influence stakeholders across a decentralized franchise system.
What You’ll Do:
Enterprise Strategy & Executive Leadership
- Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year enterprise safety and risk management strategy aligned with the organization's growth objectives, financial priorities, and long-term business vision.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership, providing insight into emerging risks, regulatory developments, insurance exposure, and operational vulnerabilities that could impact business performance.
- Establish an enterprise risk management framework that identifies, prioritizes, and mitigates risks across corporate operations, franchise locations, transportation, and emerging business initiatives.
- Partner with senior leadership to evaluate the risk implications of new markets, service offerings, business expansion, and organizational initiatives.
- Translate complex safety, regulatory, and insurance data into actionable executive-level recommendations that support informed decision-making.
- Champion a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture that aligns operational accountability with financial and business outcomes.
Strategic Risk Management & Financial Performance
- Lead strategies designed to reduce the total cost of risk, including insurance premiums, claims frequency and severity, workers' compensation expenses, litigation exposure, and uninsured losses.
- Partner with Finance, Legal, Operations, insurance brokers, carriers, and third-party administrators to optimize insurance structures, coverage strategies, and risk financing decisions.
- Analyze historical claims data, loss trends, and emerging exposures to develop predictive risk models and proactive mitigation strategies.
- Develop financial models and business cases that demonstrate the return on investment of safety programs, technology, training, and risk mitigation initiatives.
Enterprise Safety Governance & Regulatory Strategy
- Establish and oversee an enterprise-wide safety governance framework that ensures consistent standards, accountability, and regulatory readiness across corporate and franchise operations.
- Provide executive oversight of compliance with applicable DOT, FMCSA, OSHA, and state transportation regulations, as well as workers' compensation and other relevant requirements.
- Ensure appropriate systems and controls are established for driver qualification files, motor vehicle records, drug and alcohol testing, hours of service, electronic logging devices, vehicle maintenance, and transportation registration requirements.
- Oversee enterprise audit strategies, regulatory assessments, and corrective action programs.
- Serve as an executive-level representative in significant regulatory matters, high-impact investigations, and strategic compliance discussions.
Fleet Safety, Technology & Operational Innovation
- Establish the strategic vision for fleet safety and transportation risk management across moving, junk removal, and other transportation-related operations.
- Evaluate and champion technology solutions, including telematics, driver monitoring systems, predictive analytics, and safety management platforms, that improve operational performance and reduce risk exposure.
- Develop strategies to reduce preventable vehicle accidents, improve driver performance, and minimize transportation-related losses.
- Collaborate with Operations and Technology leadership to integrate safety intelligence into operational decision-making.
Franchise Strategy, Influence & Operational Excellence
- Develop a strategic framework for embedding safety and risk management into franchise operations, franchise partner development, and ongoing business performance.
- Partner with Franchise Operations leadership to establish consistent safety expectations, performance standards, and accountability measures throughout the system.
- Identify opportunities to improve franchise profitability through reduced claims, stronger compliance, improved driver performance, and operational efficiencies.
- Collaborate with Training & Development to incorporate safety leadership, risk awareness, and accountability into franchise onboarding and operational training programs.
- Develop scalable resources, performance tools, and support structures that enable franchise owners to proactively manage risk within their businesses.
- Influence franchise partners through education, data-driven insights, relationship building, and demonstrated business value rather than relying solely on compliance enforcement.
Data Analytics, Performance Measurement & Executive Reporting
- Establish enterprise-wide safety and risk management KPIs that directly connect operational performance to financial outcomes.
- Develop executive dashboards, scorecards, and reporting frameworks that provide meaningful visibility into risk exposure, loss trends, and strategic progress.
- Establish performance benchmarks across corporate and franchise operations to identify best practices and areas requiring additional support.
Crisis Management, Business Continuity & Brand Protection
- Provide executive oversight and strategic direction during significant safety incidents, catastrophic losses, regulatory investigations, and other high-impact events.
- Establish enterprise-wide crisis response and escalation frameworks that protect team members, customers, company assets, and brand reputation.
- Partner with Legal, Human Resources, Operations, and executive leadership to coordinate responses to significant incidents and potential litigation.
- Oversee root cause analysis and ensure organizational learning is translated into meaningful improvements.
- Develop proactive strategies to strengthen business continuity, operational resilience, and preparedness for emerging risks.
Organizational Leadership & Change Management
- Build, develop, and lead a high-performing safety and risk management function capable of supporting the organization's evolving needs.
- Establish a long-term organizational structure, talent strategy, and succession plan for the safety and risk management function.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives that require alignment among Operations, Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Training, Technology, and Franchise Leadership.
- Drive enterprise-wide transformation initiatives that improve consistency, scalability, and long-term organizational effectiveness.
Required Education & Experience
- 12–15+ years of progressive leadership experience in enterprise safety, risk management, transportation compliance, insurance, or related operational disciplines.
- 7+ years of senior leadership experience, with demonstrated responsibility for developing enterprise-wide strategies, leading teams, influencing executive stakeholders, and managing complex, multi-location operations.
- Demonstrated success in translating safety and risk management initiatives into measurable financial results, including reductions in claims costs, insurance losses, and operational exposure.
- Extensive experience with commercial insurance programs, risk financing, claims management, and insurance renewal strategies.
- Strong knowledge of DOT, FMCSA, OSHA, workers' compensation, commercial fleet safety, and transportation regulatory requirements.
- Experience leading risk management initiatives within multi-location, franchise, transportation, logistics, moving, or field-service organizations.
- Strong financial acumen, including the ability to analyze loss trends, evaluate investment opportunities, develop business cases, and manage budgets.
- Exceptional executive communication, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Risk Management, Occupational Safety, or a related discipline.
- Professional certification such as CSP or ASP, CRM, CDS, OSHA 30, or DOT
- Experience working with captive insurance programs.
- Experience leading enterprise risk management.
- Experience implementing telematics, predictive analytics, and driver monitoring technologies.
- Experience within franchise systems, transportation, logistics, moving, waste removal, home services, or similarly decentralized operating models.
- Experience advising executive leadership on enterprise risk exposure, strategic investments, and business expansion.
Technology & Analytical Capabilities
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
- Experience with enterprise safety management systems, business intelligence tools, and executive reporting platforms.
- Familiarity with telematics platforms such as Motive, Samsara, Geotab, or comparable technologies.
- Ability to evaluate and leverage predictive analytics, reporting dashboards, and emerging safety technologies.
- Strong understanding of data-driven performance management and strategic reporting.
Work Environment & Travel
- Ability to travel up to 40% domestically to corporate and franchise locations, executive meetings, and industry events.
- Ability to engage directly with operational teams and conduct field visits in transportation, moving, and junk removal environments.
- Ability to occasionally lift and move up to 50 pounds.
Flexible work from home options available.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other
characteristic protected by law.
Employment Opportunities With College HUNKS
As Seen on ABC's Shark Tank, CBS’s Undercover Boss, HGTV's House Hunters, CNBC’s Blue-Collar Millionaires and more. With nearly 200 franchise locations across North America, College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving (CHHJ/M) is one of the largest and fastest growing franchise opportunities. The company is a multi-year consecutive winner of the INC 5000 Fastest Growing Companies award, and headquartered in beautiful sunny Tampa, FL. The “Brand Central" team provides franchise support to the franchise owners across the country and operates a World Class Sales and Loyalty Center.
A purpose-driven, values-based, socially conscious organization that has been recognized as one of the Top Places to Work and is known for its unique and fun company culture, CHHJ/M is an ideal place to flourish and grow as a professional.
COMPANY MISSION: To live our four core values of Building Leaders; Always Branding; Listen Fulfill and Delight; and Creating a Fun Enthusiastic Team Environment. To always provide our brand promise of a stress-free moving or hauling experience, and always provide our clients with H.U.N.K.S. (which stands for Honest, Uniformed, Nice, Knowledgeable, Service).
