Director of Safety and Security

Reports to: CFOO

FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Status: Full-Time/Twelve Month Position

Position Overview

The Director of Safety and Security is responsible for the overall security of the School campus, personnel, and students. He/she serves as a key member of the Core Crisis Team, participating in all emergency/crisis planning, and serves as the liaison between the School and the local police and other emergency providers. The position is salaried and exempt.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Secures campus and personnel by regularly patrolling campus including, but not limited to buildings, parking lots, athletic fields, monitoring surveillance equipment, inspecting buildings and access points, ensuring that windows and doors are locked (both electronic and conventional) and functioning as designed

  • Always maintain a positive and courteous demeanor; practice open dialogue and understanding, and communicate with others in an honest, professional, and respectful manner.

  • Demonstrate a high level of awareness, good judgment, and critical thinking skills in all aspects of the position.

  • Assists with morning and afternoon carpool and traffic control

  • Coordinate and participate in active shooter drills, fire drills, weather drills, etc. while providing and implementing recommendations to improve safety drills procedures.

  • Responds quickly to alarms and to emergency calls; primary alarm company contact for reports of alarms

  • Plan and execute a communication strategy for campus constituents including; best practice outreach program, educational communications, training, and customer surveys

  • Accompanies personnel and students between buildings and to parking lots upon request

  • Builds relationships with local law enforcement, and act as a liaison between CDS and local emergency services

  • Participates in school wide crisis planning as a member of the Core Crisis Team; ensures that procedure manuals are updated when appropriate; reviews and updates security policies annually

  • Ensures continuing education and training for security, fire and liability, and risk

  • Manages parking, assists with scheduling and administering special event parking and traffic control and safety (including crowd control plans). Issues parking spots/stickers to employees and students (with input from the dean of students)

  • Manage campus access control system by managing users as people leave CDS, begin their role with CDS, ensure appropriate changes are made to accommodate off-hours events, etc.

  • Monitor camera systems, card access, alarm systems, emergency phones, and other related systems. Provide any recommended opportunities for improvement and expansion.

  • Works with the CFOO and Controller on setting and managing the security budget

  • Ensures appropriate coverage by scheduling him/herself and other security personnel based on weekly needs of the school; hires additional outside security when needed

  • Monitors, reports, and follows up on behavior of suspicious people and vehicles

  • Logs all observations, occurrences and surveillance activities and ensures security staff complete daily reports

  • Politely directs visitors to appropriate check-in points; Ensure that all visitors to campus have proper identification and approval. Work with Administrative Assistants if anyone is flagged in SchoolPass.

  • Partner with Human Resources to review reports and departmental activities to identify the need for internal investigations where there is a violation of federal, state, county, or city ordinances and laws, or violations of School policy, procedure, or protocol.

  • Create, generate, and manage audits of all security software programs, emergency management and security programs, emergency response kits, services, and emergency preparedness initiatives.

  • Manage, coordinate, and supervise the work of third party and/or on-staff community safety officers.

Requirements and Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required to perform the essential duties of this job.

  • Must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher; At least seven years experience in a supervisory capacity in a security or public safety organization

  • Excellent management, communication, and public relations skills. 

  • Ability to manage a departmental budget. 

  • Ability to maintain strict confidentiality, to interface with a diverse constituency, and to represent CDS with integrity and professionalism

  • A growth-minded approach, with interest in leading, teaching, and mentoring

  • Strong technology skills with demonstrated ability to use multiple softwares and security technology. 

  • Ability to communicate effectively with students in grades PreK-12, teachers, administrators, fellow employees, parents and guardians, alumni, trustees, and independent contractors. 

  • Demonstrated cultural awareness, including knowledge of themselves and the cultural lenses they bring to interactions. Candidates will understand different perspectives; interact respectfully with cultures other than their own; and cultivate meaningful relationships with people who have had different cultural frameworks.

  • Ability to detect problems and report information to appropriate personnel in a timely and effective manner. 

  • Ability to quickly assess a situation and have an excellent sense of judgment. 

  • Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports concerning safety and security issues. 

  • Ability to resolve complaints and concerns and/or refer complainants to appropriate school personnel. 

  • Ability to work with others and independently.

  • Demonstrated ability to accomplish goals and objectives within established priority and timeframes

  • Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish respect, credibility and trust and maintain productive working relationships at all levels of the school

  • Ability to work extended hours, as needed. 

  • Familiarity with protocols for communication and working with local, state, and federal law enforcement, life safety, environmental, and public health agencies.

Americans with Disability Specifications

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Working Conditions and Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job unless those accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the school.

Must ascend and descend stairs. 

Must be able to stand or walk for at least two hours without rest. 

As work is occasionally outside, must be able to tolerate and perform duties in extreme, as well as normal, weather conditions. The employee may be occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, extreme cold, and extreme heat.

Must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 50 lbs. 

Noise level in the work environment is occasionally loud.

How to Apply

To apply for positions listed here, please send a current resume and a cover letter explaining your interest in and qualifications to employment@carolinaday.org.

Please include the position title in the subject line.

Application for Employment

Carolina Day School has an institutional commitment to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, Carolina Day School does not discriminate in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, gender, or any other characteristic.