Associate Director, Physical Security

Grant Thornton•Chicago, IL

8d•$152,000 - $228,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Grant Thornton is seeking an Associate Director, Physical Security to join the team. The Associate Director, Physical Security leads the firm's dedicated physical security function owning physical security standards and programs across the firm's offices — access control, badging, surveillance, workplace safety, crisis management and emergency preparedness, travel risk support, and incident response for physical locations. The Associate Director sets global standards, provides security design input for new and changing offices, leads a small hands-on physical security team, and partners with Workplace Operations and Regional Managers for local execution.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in security management, criminal justice, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
10+ years of corporate physical-security experience, including program leadership
Experience with access-control, surveillance, incident-response, emergency preparedness, threat-assessment, and travel-risk processes
Strong provider-management, stakeholder-management, and communication skills
Ability to operate across a multi-site, multi-country footprint

Nice To Haves

Relevant certification (e.g., CPP) a plus

Responsibilities

Define global physical-security standards, policies, and programs across all offices
Establish a risk-based approach to site security, prioritizing by location profile and threat level
Establish crisis management and emergency/business continuity preparedness expectations, including emergency protocols, crisis coordination, and physical incident response procedures for evacuation, shelter-in-place, and active-threat scenarios
Partner with Information Security to ensure clear lanes and coordinated response where physical and cyber risks intersect
Define physical security design standards and provide input for new offices, builds, renovations, and security technology deployments
Continuously evaluate and propose automation and AI adoption opportunities within physical-security operations, partnering with Global Transformation & Integration on centralized prioritization and delivery
Own access control, badging, visitor management, and surveillance (CCTV) standards and systems
Lead physical-security incident response, investigations, and escalation management for firm locations
Monitor workplace violence risk, lead threat assessments, and coordinate appropriate prevention, escalation, and response actions with firm stakeholders
Coordinate workplace safety, travel risk assessments, and executive support for the Executive Committee (EC) where appropriate
Establish metrics and targets for efficiency, cost, and customer satisfaction across physical-security operations
Build, monitor, and act on reports and dashboards that track performance and progress against targets, elevating the function's data, analytics, and business-intelligence maturity
Manage guarding and security-technology providers, including performance and service delivery
Deliver execution regionally in partnership with Workplace Operations and Regional Managers
Lead a small physical security team with a hands-on operating style, staying actively involved in day-to-day priorities, escalations, and execution
Build awareness and training programs to strengthen a security-conscious culture
Advise firm leadership on physical-security risk and mitigation
Represent the function with strong executive presence, delivering clear, concise, and executive-ready communications and deliverables
Co-design the function's detailed target model with the Global Administrative Services Leader