Senior Director of Safety and Security

The Opportunity

KIPP Columbus Senior Director of Safety and Security plays an integral role on the Operations Leadership team and Regional team by overseeing safety and security efforts across all schools on campus.

The Senior Director of Safety and Security leads the Safety and Security team by directing planning implementing and coordinating all safety initiatives and safety and security operations on campus. Among these responsibilities are coordinating with law enforcement and outside agencies regarding threat assessments safety security and emergency operations as well as the development of policies and procedures for the safe and secure operations of schools and the campus. 

The Senior Director will enhance staff student and community interactions lead cross-functional teams and manage the security vendor partnership to support campus addition this position will support the school leadership team in building strong relationships within the school community that promote safety beyond the immediate school environment to help ensure the safety of students and staff. 

Responsibilities of KIPP Columbus Senior Director of Safety and Security include but are not limited to the following:

Building and maintaining a culture of safety at KIPP Columbus and individual schools

• Understanding and internalizing the climate and culture of safety at KIPP Columbus and the community 

• Building school safety and security goals objectives and priorities

  • Working directly with the regional School Support Team School Leader Team and Operations Team on building a safety and culture plan conducive for the Primary Elementary Middle and High schools on campus

• Overseeing emergency preparedness efforts for KIPP Columbus schools

  • Establishing and maintaining important but non-emergency procedures training and support for KIPP Columbus schools and campus

  • Ensuring that on-site staff have built appropriate (safe and efficient) procedures including daily arrival and dismissal procedures (including staff and contractor posts coordination and communication across academic and operations teams) routine standard response protocol drills and event support

• Overseeing and managing certain essential safety and security functions including but not limited to: 

  • Staff and Student ID distribution

  • Weapons Abatement 

  • Building Infrastructure

  • Visitor Safety Systems 

  • Vendor Management

  • Camera Systems 

  • Alarm Systems

  • Policies & Protocols

• Planning and facilitating annual and compliance required safety trainings for all staff as well as leading safety and security initiatives such as town halls 

Sharing and Coordinating Responsibilities with the Operations Team and School Leadership Team at each school and across campus

• Providing guidance and support to the Operations Team and contracted staff on day to day security operations and protocols including staffing needs (quantity and quality) weapons abatement etc.  

• Supporting and advising on the acquisition and maintenance of safety and security equipment (e.g. weapons abatement cameras) 

• Participating in the development and administration of the safety and security budget (with school leaders and ops teams) 

• Other initiatives will be based on interviews and roundtable discussions with various stakeholders

Managing and Supporting Crisis Situations for KIPP Columbus and Individual Schools

• Being the centralized KIPP Columbus lead on any escalated security issues or emergencies on or near campuses (e.g. gunshots nearby contraband student altercation etc.); on-the-ground support will be led by campus leads 

• Engaging with outside leaders and groups to ensure that there is coordination between KIPP Columbus and the community on each safety and culture plan 

• Supporting the Safety and Security team Ops Leads and school staff improving and maintaining effective relationships with students staff and stakeholders 

• Ensuring after-the-fact staff reports and other necessary correspondence coordinating with the school team and regional team

• Planning and managing all auditing on external compliance protocols with support from Operations and security teams across campuses. 

Acting as the Lead for Safety and Security Discussions outside KIPP Columbus

• Serving as the representative to committees other schools networks and community stakeholders concerned with improvements in Local Law Enforcement and fire services public education and departmental public relations 

• Maintaining positive working relationships and awareness with local agencies of new trends and developments in the field of law enforcement crime prevention fire suppression fire prevention and related support services; incorporate new developments as appropriate 

Assessing Security Operational Protocols

• Periodically observing arrival and dismissal to support and identify opportunities for protocol improvements and implementation 

• Ensuring all required reporting and contract compliance requirements are met in coordination with the Operations team 

• Ensuring that KIPP Columbus is provided with high quality security services to protect people and property identifying opportunities for improvement 

• Recommending and administering policies and procedures; recommend within policy appropriate service and staffing levels 

Vendor Management

• Managing all safety and security partnerships to ensure cross collaboration and coordination across all safety and security efforts for schools

• Providing guidelines and expectations

• Managing recurring meetings with all vendors

• Providing monthly progress updates to internal stakeholders  

Qualifications :

• Bachelors degree required with a minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in a related field OR 7 years of directly relevant professional experience in lieu of a degree

• Demonstrated experience in school safety security operations facilities management contract security military law enforcement or K12 safety and security environments

• Proven ability to engage students apply policies and procedures consistently and exercise sound judgment in high-stakes or sensitive situations

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust and credibility across students families staff vendors and external partners

• Ability to thrive in a team-oriented management environment while also operating independently and taking ownership of work streams as needed

• Demonstrated capacity to manage multiple priorities navigate complex situations and support a diverse team of employees while meeting evolving client and organizational needs

• Knowledge of or familiarity with the Columbus community and local context strongly preferred

Additional Information :

Compensation and Benefits

KIPP Columbus offers a robust benefits package including medical dental and vision insurances as well various voluntary benefits (such as short term disability long term disability life insurance and participation in the Ohio SERS/STRS retirement plan.)  We also offer seasons of life support with 10 weeks paid maternity leave and 4 weeks paid spousal leave/adoption leave.  

Statement of Non-Disclosure

KIPP Columbus is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying to the school for consideration of any position (admission employment etc.). KIPP Columbus does not discriminate on the basis of disability gender nationality race or ethnicity religion sexual orientation or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 4112.02 of the Ohio Revised Code

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time