HSE Quality & Food Safety Director

HSE Quality & Food Safety Director

Position Summary

The 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 Purpose

The 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 & Accountabilities

HSE 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 Criteria

Success 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 Qualifications

Professional certifications are highly valued, including:

• CP-FS – Certified Professional – Food Safety
• ServSafe Manager / Instructor
• HACCP certification or equivalent food safety credentials

Leadership Competencies

The 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.

Guckenheimer

At Guckenheimer, food is more than a meal—it is an experience that brings people together. Our commitment to exceptional hospitality begins with creating environments where our employees can work safely and our guests can dine with confidence.

The HSE Director – Food will play a critical leadership role in advancing that commitment, helping ensure that safety is not simply a requirement—it is embedded in how we lead, how we operate, and how we care for people every day.

People Make Places.

HSEQ Compliance: All employees must adhere to Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSEQ) policies and procedures to ensure a safe and compliant work environment. This includes following safety protocols, maintaining environmental responsibility, and upholding quality standards in all tasks. Employees are expected to actively participate in HSEQ training and report any potential hazards or compliance concerns.

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.

To Executive Search Firms and Staffing Agencies: ISS Facility Services / Guckenheimer does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered ISS Facility Services / Guckenheimer property, and ISS Facility Services / Guckenheimer will not be obligated to pay a referral fee. This includes resumes submitted directly to Hiring Managers without contacting the ISS Facility Services / Guckenheimer Human Resources Talent Acquisition Department.

As a global organization, ISS Group is committed to making the international community more resilient and just for all people. We encourage diversity and inclusion in their broadest terms, including ethnicity, race, age, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, language, culture, and educational background. We look to lead our industry by example and to positively influence the market wherever we operate.

Employment with ISS/Guckenheimer may be contingent upon successful completion of a background check and, where appliable, a drug and/or alcohol screening, in accordance with applicable laws and Company requirements.