HSE Quality & Food Safety Director Position SummaryThe HSE Director - Food provides strategic leadership for Food Safety across Guckenheimer's food service operations. This role is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving an enterprise-wide food safety strategy that protects our people, our guests, our clients, and the Guckenheimer brand.
As a senior leader and subject matter expert, the HSE Director partners closely with Operations, Culinary, Quality, People & Culture, Supply Chain, and client leadership to build a proactive culture where
food quality, hospitality, and operational excellence are inseparable.
The Director will translate regulatory requirements and ISS/Guckenheimer standards into practical, scalable programs that can be consistently executed across a diverse portfolio of food service operations.
Key PurposeThe HSE Director - Food will lead the strategy, governance, and execution of Guckenheimer's food safety programs with a focus on:- Protecting employees, guests, clients, and partners.
- Building a proactive and prevention-focused safety culture.
- Maintaining exceptional food safety and sanitation standards.
- Ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
- Reducing food safety risks and operational exposure.
- Strengthening accountability and HSE ownership at every level of the organization.
- Using data, technology, audits, and trend analysis to drive continuous improvement.
- Supporting operational teams with practical solutions that enable safe, high-quality food service.
Key Responsibilities & AccountabilitiesHSE Strategy & Leadership- Develop and execute the strategic Food Safety roadmap for Guckenheimer food operations.
- Serve as the senior food safety subject matter expert for Guckenheimer leadership and operational teams.
- Partner with senior Operations and Culinary leaders to integrate food safety into business strategy and day-to-day execution.
- Establish measurable objectives and drive accountability for performance across the organization.
Food Safety & Quality Assurance- Ensure effective implementation and continuous improvement of HACCP, sanitation, allergen management, temperature control, food handling, storage, labeling, and cross-contamination prevention programs.
- Partner with Culinary and Operations leadership to ensure food safety requirements are embedded into menu development, production, service, catering, and workplace practices.
- Monitor internal and external food safety audit performance and drive corrective and preventive actions.
- Analyze food safety incidents, trends, and near misses to identify systemic opportunities for improvement.
- Support teams in preparing for health department inspections, client audits, and regulatory reviews.
- Provide guidance on and assist with permit applications and plan check reviews.
Environmental & Sustainability Compliance- Support compliance with applicable environmental regulations and ISS sustainability commitments.
- Partner with operational and sustainability teams on responsible waste management, chemical handling, food waste reduction, recycling, and environmental initiatives.
- Identify opportunities to reduce environmental risk while improving operational efficiency.
- Ensure environmental considerations are incorporated into operational standards and HSE assessments.
Compliance & Risk Management- Maintain awareness of evolving regulatory requirements affecting food service
- Ensure programs align with applicable requirements, including relevant FDA Food Code, health department, environmental, and state/local regulations.
- Establish consistent processes for documenting compliance and maintaining required records.
- Identify emerging HSE risks and provide recommendations to senior leadership.
- Partner with Legal, Risk, People & Culture, Operations, and other stakeholders on complex HSE matters.
- Support business continuity, emergency preparedness, and crisis response planning.
Audits, Investigations & Corrective Actions- Develop and maintain a comprehensive food safety audit strategy.
- Analyze audit findings to identify recurring risks, trends, and systemic opportunities.
- Collaborate with operations on establishing corrective actions and ensure appropriate follow-through.
- Lead or provide oversight for significant food safety investigations.
- Ensure investigations use effective root-cause analysis methodologies rather than focusing solely on immediate causes.
- Share lessons learned and best practices across the organization.
Data, Analytics & Continuous Improvement- Monitor leading and lagging indicators, including food incident rates, near misses, audit performance, corrective actions, training compliance, and food safety trends.
- Use analytics to identify emerging risks and prioritize preventive action.
- Establish performance benchmarks and drive continuous improvement across locations.
- Present HSE performance, risks, trends, and recommendations to senior leadership.
Training & Safety Culture- Develop a scalable food safety education strategy for frontline employees, managers, culinary leaders, and senior leadership.
- Partner with Learning & Development and operational teams to deliver effective training programs on the practical application of food safety standards as applicable within their role.
- Coach leaders on building accountability and engagement around food safety.
- Create communication campaigns and tools that keep HSE visible, understandable, and actionable.
Success CriteriaSuccess in this role will be demonstrated through:- Consistently strong food safety and sanitation performance.
- compliance with regulatory, client, ISS, and Guckenheimer requirements.
- Timely closure of audit findings and corrective actions.
- Increased reporting and resolution of food related hazards and near misses.
- Effective identification and mitigation of emerging operational risks.
- Improved use of HSE data and analytics to drive preventive action.
- Strong partnerships between HSE, Culinary, Operations, and client stakeholders.
- A visible culture in which employees and leaders actively take ownership of safety.
Ideal Candidate Experience- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Public Health, Hospitality, Risk Management, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
- Significant progressive leadership experience in food safety, or risk management.
- Experience supporting large-scale food service, hospitality, contract dining, corporate dining, restaurants, manufacturing, or other multi-site operations strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience leading food safety programs across geographically dispersed locations.
- Strong knowledge of food safety principles, HACCP, sanitation, allergen management, and food service operations.
- Experience leading incident investigations, root-cause analysis, corrective action programs, and operational risk assessments.
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and frontline teams without relying solely on direct authority.
- Strong analytical, organizational, communication, presentation, and change-management skills.
- Ability to balance regulatory compliance with practical operational solutions in a fast-paced hospitality environment.
- Ability to travel as required to support operations.
Preferred QualificationsProfessional certifications are highly valued, including:- CP-FS - Certified Professional - Food Safety
- ServSafe Manager / Instructor
- HACCP certification or equivalent food safety credentials
Leadership CompetenciesThe successful candidate will demonstrate:Strategic Leadership - Connects strategy to broader organizational and operational priorities.
Operational Partnership - Understands that successful HSE programs must work effectively within real-world food service operations.
Influence & Collaboration - Builds credibility and strong partnerships across multiple levels of the organization.
Data-Driven Decision Making - Converts data into actionable insights and preventive strategies.
Continuous Improvement - Challenges existing practices and identifies better, safer, and more efficient ways of working.
People Leadership - Builds capability, accountability, and ownership throughout the organization.
Hospitality Mindset - Understands that protecting people and delivering exceptional experiences go hand in hand.
ISS offers full-time employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, as well as a comprehensive leave program based on employment status. The annual salary range for this position is $145000.00 - $175000.00 . Final compensation will be determined based on experience and skills and may vary from the range listed above.
