AVP Corporate Security & Safety

CNA Insurance • Chicago, IL

4d • $152,000 - $242,000

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President, Corporate Security and Safety, leads an integrated, enterprise-wide program that protects the organization’s people, facilities, operations, executives, and reputation. This executive brings a proactive, intelligence-informed approach to physical security, personnel safety, workplace violence, travel, and crisis-related risks across corporate, field, and remote work environments.

Working closely with leaders in Human Resources, Employee Relations, Legal, Corporate Investigations, Risk Management, Facilities, Technology, and business operations, the AVP translates emerging threats and operational realities into practical strategies, clear policies, and effective response capabilities. The role serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, balancing strategic program leadership with visible, hands-on accountability for security and safety outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in security management, criminal justice, risk management, business, safety, emergency management, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred
• A demonstrated commitment to continued professional education and development, staying current with the evolving security, technology, and regulatory landscape relevant to the organization’s industry and global footprint.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible corporate security, safety, law-enforcement, public-sector security, risk-management, or related experience, including significant leadership responsibility.
• At least five years of experience leading security, safety, or protective-services teams, programs, budgets, and external vendors.
• Demonstrated experience leading workplace violence prevention and threat-management efforts, physical-security operations, emergency preparedness, crisis response, and executive or travel security.
• Experience operating in a complex, multi-site, matrixed organization; experience supporting a national or global enterprise is preferred.
• Knowledge of relevant safety, life-safety, security, and emergency-management regulatory requirements and industry practices.

Nice To Haves

• advanced degree preferred

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a risk-based corporate security and safety strategy aligned with the organization’s business objectives, culture, and risk tolerance.
• Lead the assessment and mitigation of threats to employees, executives, visitors, facilities, operations, and brand reputation across domestic and international locations, as applicable.
• Establish security and safety governance, policies, standards, performance measures, and reporting that provide senior leaders with meaningful visibility into risk, incidents, program maturity, and emerging issues.
• Partner across the enterprise to ensure security and safety considerations are embedded in business planning, workplace design, operating decisions, and crisis preparedness.
• Lead the organization’s workplace violence prevention and threat-management program in partnership with Employee Relations, Human Resources, Legal, Corporate Investigations, and other key stakeholders.
• Direct the evaluation, escalation, and management of threats involving employees, facilities, executives, and company events, including remote and field-based work environments.
• Assess executive-protection requirements and direct appropriate protective measures for senior leaders, including the CEO, based on risk, business need, and organizational protocol.
• Oversee security support for business travel, corporate aviation, high-profile events, and other activities requiring enhanced protective planning.
• Maintain productive external relationships with governmental agencies and relevant private-sector counterparts.
• Provide strategic and operational oversight of physical security systems and technologies, including access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, visitor management, alarm monitoring, and related protective systems.
• Direct security operations, incident response, investigations, vendor performance, and service-provider relationships to ensure consistent and effective protection across the organization.
• Build and lead an intelligence-led, predictive approach to emerging workplace and enterprise risk, positioning the function at the forefront of evolving threats to employees, executives, facilities, travel, and business operations, and translating domestic and international intelligence into proactive prevention rather than reactive response.
• Advance the effective use of technology, data, and analytics to strengthen situational awareness, incident management, investigations, and decision-making.
• Partner with Technology and Information Security leaders on converged risks, including insider threat, information-related aspects of physical security incidents, and technology-enabled threats, while respecting clear ownership boundaries.
• Lead the organization’s life-safety and emergency-management programs, and partner with enterprise crisis-management leadership to support crisis-preparedness efforts, ensuring that plans are current, scalable, tested, and aligned with operational needs.
• Contribute security and safety expertise to the development, maintenance, and execution of the Crisis Management Plan, and serve as an active member of the Crisis Management Response Team in support of enterprise crisis-management leadership.
• Direct emergency exercises, tabletop simulations, drills, training, and after-action reviews to strengthen organizational readiness and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Facilities, Human Resources, Risk Management, and business leaders to identify and address workplace safety hazards, ergonomics concerns, regulatory requirements, and other employee-safety issues.
• Support business continuity and resilience planning by ensuring security and safety risks are incorporated into response and recovery strategies.
• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing security and safety team; establish clear expectations, build bench strength, and promote succession planning for critical roles.
• Create a culture of prevention, accountability, service, sound judgment, and continuous learning across the security and safety function.
• Manage departmental budgets, external-provider expenditures, capital investments, and resource allocation to deliver measurable value and appropriate risk reduction.
• Prepare and present concise, decision-oriented reports on security and safety metrics, incidents, trends, strategic initiatives, and resource needs to senior leadership.
• Represent the organization with professionalism, discretion, integrity, and sound judgment during routine operations and high-consequence events.

Benefits

• comprehensive and competitive benefits package to help our employees – and their family members – achieve their physical, financial, emotional and social wellbeing goals

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive