Dir, Risk & Safety Management

Director, Risk & Safety Management

ABOUT CITY HARVEST:

City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization and a fast-paced, high-performing nonprofit dedicated to helping feed millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. During our more than 40 years serving New Yorkers in need, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it free of charge to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets across the five boroughs. This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 100 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. City Harvest works alongside our community partners to boost community capacity, expand nutrition education, and strengthen local food systems. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city one day, one meal, and one New Yorker at a time while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and excellence to maximize our impact across New York City.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Director, Risk & Safety Management is responsible for leading the organization’s enterprise risk management, insurance, safety, business continuity, and emergency preparedness programs. This position develops and implements strategies that protect organizational assets, employees, customers, and reputation while fostering a culture of safety, compliance, operational resilience, and continuous improvement.

The Director partners with leaders across the organization to identify, assess, mitigate, and monitor operational, strategic, financial, and compliance risks while ensuring effective response and recovery from disruptive events.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk Management

• Lead the organization's enterprise risk management program, including risk identification, assessment, mitigation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Develop and maintain the enterprise risk register and facilitate periodic risk assessments with business leaders.
• Prepare risk reports and presentations for executive leadership and governance committees.
• Recommend strategies that strengthen organizational resilience and reduce enterprise risk exposure.

Insurance & Claims Management

• Direct the organization's commercial insurance program, including property, casualty, liability, workers' compensation, cyber, and other applicable coverages.
• Lead annual insurance renewals, broker relationships, underwriting submissions, policy negotiations, and coverage analyses.
• Manage insurance budgets and identify opportunities for cost optimization and risk financing.
• Oversee claims reporting, investigations, reserve reviews, and resolution activities in partnership with insurers, brokers, legal counsel, and third-party administrators.
• Analyze claims trends and recommend strategies to reduce claim frequency and severity.

Safety & Loss Prevention

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve organization-wide safety policies, programs, and training initiatives.
• Identify workplace hazards and implement risk mitigation and loss prevention strategies.
• Establish and lead an internal incident review process for significant workplace injuries, vehicle incidents, property losses, and liability events.
• Monitor safety performance metrics and recommend corrective actions that promote continuous improvement.

Business Continuity & Emergency Management

• Develop, maintain, and test business continuity and emergency response plans.
• Coordinate organizational preparedness efforts related to severe weather, facility disruptions, supply chain interruptions, cybersecurity events, public health emergencies, and other operational risks.
• Lead or support incident response teams during business disruptions.
• Facilitate post-incident reviews and implement lessons learned to strengthen organizational preparedness.

Contract Risk Review

• Review contracts, agreements, leases, and vendor relationships to identify potential risk exposures.
• Provide guidance regarding insurance requirements, indemnification, limitation of liability, and other contractual risk transfer provisions.
• Collaborate with legal counsel and business leaders to ensure appropriate risk mitigation strategies are incorporated into agreements.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong knowledge of enterprise risk management, commercial insurance, claims administration, safety management, and business continuity planning.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate complex risks and develop practical mitigation strategies.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level presentations.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and build collaborative relationships.
• Strong leadership skills with sound judgment, integrity, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in enterprise risk management, insurance, safety, business continuity, or a related field.
• Experience managing commercial insurance programs, claims administration, safety initiatives, and organizational risk assessments.
• Professional certifications such as ARM, CPRM, CRM, CSP, or similar credentials are preferred but not required.
• Experience supporting complex, multi-site organizations is preferred.

WHY WORK AT CITY HARVEST?

There are many fantastic reasons to choose a career with City Harvest. In addition to fighting food insecurity in New York, City Harvest offers the following Benefits and Rewards: 

• Competitive market salaries
• Generous time off
• Full benefits (medical, dental, vision) - employer contributions towards premiums
• Pet Insurance
• 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer-matching
• Free Mental Health Services with Better Help
• Commuter Benefits 
• Employer-provided life insurance 
• Professional development opportunities 
• Discounted staff perks (e.g., movie tickets, gym memberships, cellular plans) 

At City Harvest, we enjoy working in a team-based environment and value the benefits of a diversified workplace. City Harvest is an Equal Opportunity Employer.