Photo by Jordan Barab

Metro is searching for a leader to join General Manager Paul Wiedefeld in tackling the system’s follies and failures. Today, WMATA announced a national search for a Chief Safety Officer (CSO)—a position currently held by an acting staffer, according to a Metro spokesperson.

The CSO will report to Wiedefeld, who was sworn in as Metro’s GM last month after a seemingly promising candidate ended negotiations for the position.

A month before Wiedefeld’s arrival, the Federal Transit Administration assumed safety oversight of WMATA after “a number of accidents, incidents, and a demonstrated pattern of safety lapses and concerns with WMATA’s operations,” FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan wrote in the safety directive.

Most notably, a smoke incident at L’Enfant Plaza left one dead and two critically injured in January and an incident where two Red Line trains collided left nine dead in 2009.

An overview of the CSO’s job description includes providing “strategic leadership to ensure the day to day safety of the system, its employees and customers,” according to a release. Safety components include: “occupational health and environmental policies… risk and hazard assessment, data/trend analysis and field inspections to ensure compliance with policies, federal, state and local laws and regulations.”

Brave souls Interested candidates should send resumes to Gregg A. Moser of executive search firm Krauthamer & Associates.