Director, Public Safety

Director Of Public Safety

Reporting to the Chief of Public Safety or a designated senior University official, the Director of Public Safety is responsible for developing, implementing, training, and managing campus security / safety training, programs, and services across all University-owned campuses, with interim oversight of emergency management. The Director also serves as the chief architect of a customer-servicebased culture within Public Safety; setting clear service standards, coaching staff, measuring performance, and driving continuous improvement so that every community interaction is respectful, responsive, and reliable. This role ensures the safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors, and the protection of St. John's University property.

Responsibilities include overseeing 300+ full-time, per diem, and student worker personnel on all St. John's properties nationally and internationally; ensuring transparent, compliant, and cost-effective budget management; directing the development of an effective global strategy to mitigate security risks; developing and maintaining relationships with high-level law enforcement and international counterparts; developing access control strategies and other physical security measures; collaborating on activities with the corresponding Executive Emergency Management Team, Operation Team, and others as necessary to provide security and investigation expertise; owning the University's Public Safety Training Program and Academy functions; developing and maintaining competency-based curricula aligned to industry standards; coordinating the development, maintenance, and annual review of the local emergency operations plan and other plans; coordinating public information programs to keep all university residents informed about emergency management activities; acting as the University representative in dealing with other governmental and private organizations; accountable for maintaining and executing the Emergency Preparedness Plan; overseeing disciplinary issues; hiring new personnel to ensure that our Public Safety Officers and staff provide quality customer service to our community and campus visitors; serving as a liaison for investigations involving campus incidents; fostering collaboration with campus departments and student groups; establishing relationships with local law enforcement and emergency services; managing direct reports responsible for the day-to-day 24-hour internal and external operations required to maintain a safe environment for students and the St. John's community; maintaining benchmarked state-of-the-art security and safety functionality of all electronic systems; working closely with Student Affairs leaders; working closely with the designated senior official of Human Resources concerning personnel issues and confidential investigations; working closely with the external community and attending meetings as needed; acting as the Executive of the Operations Team; communicating with the Incident Commander during emergencies to ensure Senior Management is kept up-to-date on the situation.

Competencies include leadership & management, communication, legal & regulatory knowledge, interpersonal skills, and crisis response. Supervisory responsibility includes directly supervising all Branch Campuses and Training Staff and indirectly assisting in supervising all uniformed supervisors and officers. The work environment is campus-based with frequent interaction across departments, on-call 24 / 7 for emergency response, and collaborative work with law enforcement and emergency agencies. Physical demands include occasional participation in emergency responses or public safety events, moderate physical activity, high physical conditioning required for emergency scenarios, and exposure to hazardous environments. Position type / expected hours of work is full-time, Monday through Friday, 8 : 30 a.m. to 4 : 30 p.m., with some nights and weekends required, ability to work longer hours when required. Travel is primarily local. Qualifications include a Bachelor's Degree required, Master's Degree preferred, 10 to 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience within a security, public safety, or law enforcement organization, experience working in higher education security / public safety strongly desired, demonstrated experience and abilities in excellent decision-making and problem-solving skills, maintaining a high level of confidentiality, being highly flexible and accessible after normal business hours, ability to exercise good judgment, passion for the University environment, commitment to being consistent, fair, accessible, and visible, authentic communicator with exceptional interpersonal skills, true team player with a high level of professional ethics and personal integrity, leadership / management style that is confident, open, approachable, and transparent, in-depth understanding of applicable laws, risk management, security procedures, policy, and protocol necessary to inform an immediate and correct response to emergency situations, strong leadership, management, and interpersonal skills, excellent written and verbal communication abilities, skilled in public speaking, minimum 5 years in a supervisory role, ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, and thrive in a collaborative environment, demonstrated success in leading teams and managing complex projects, and valid Driver's License.