Safety & Security Manager

Heathwood Hall Episcopal School•Columbia, SC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Provides school-wide leadership for campus safety, physical security, emergency preparedness, and contracted security services. The manager maintains an all-hazards safety and emergency management program for Heathwood Hall's 26 buildings and 122-acre campus; coordinates prevention, preparedness, response, continuity, and recovery; and administers the relationship with the school's outsourced security team from Defender. The role protects students, employees, visitors, property, and continuity of operations while preserving the welcoming character of the school. It requires calm, high consequence judgment, confidentiality, visible leadership, and close coordination across the school and with public safety partners.

Requirements

Calm crisis leadership and sound operational judgment
All-hazards planning, incident command, and corrective action follow through
Risk assessment, threat awareness, confidentiality, and emergency decision making
Cross functional coordination, community trust, and clear communication
Contract management, security technology, records, data, and resource stewardship
Bachelor's degree in security management, emergency management, criminal justice, public administration, education, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and directly relevant experience.
At least five years of progressively responsible experience in school safety, campus security, law enforcement, emergency management, military security, corporate security, or a comparable environment.
Demonstrated experience with all-hazards emergency planning, incident command, physical security operations, drills and tabletop exercises, incident documentation, corrective action tracking, contractor or team oversight, and protection of sensitive information.
Sound judgment, calm leadership, discretion, cultural competence, strong writing and presentation skills, and the ability to build trust, coordinate across organizational boundaries, and make timely decisions during high consequence events.
Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record; ability to satisfy school and contractor screening, training, and credential requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a PreK-12 school, college, hospital, faith-based institution, or similarly complex public facing campus, including student accountability, reunification, emergency notification, and high attendance event planning.
Completion of NIMS/ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800; school emergency operations, behavioral threat assessment, CPTED, first aid, CPR, AED, or related training. Required courses not completed at hire must be obtained within a timeframe established by the School.
Experience managing security contracts and access control, video, alarm, mass notification, visitor management, radio, incident management, or emergency equipment systems; familiarity with FERPA, mandated reporting, and Safe Church practices preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintains and continuously improves the school's all-hazards Emergency Operations Plan, including prevention, preparedness, response, continuity, recovery, evacuation, shelter in place, lockdown, severe weather, utility failure, medical emergency, missing child, building entrapment, and reunification procedures.
Sets daily security priorities, post coverage, patrol expectations, arrival and dismissal support, visitor management practices, incident escalation standards, and special event security requirements in coordination with school leaders and Defender.
Administers the Defender contract on the school's behalf; monitors coverage, post orders, officer qualifications and training, performance, incident follow through, invoices, and service levels; documents concerns and coordinates corrective action through Defender's management.
Establishes access control governance with Maintenance, Information Technology, Human Resources, and senior leadership, including authorization standards, key and credential issuance, inventories, audits, lost key response, code and credential changes, separation procedures, master key controls, and phased modernization of locks and electronic access systems.
Leads a campuswide safety inspection, hazard reporting, and corrective action program addressing buildings, playgrounds, athletic and event areas, pedestrian and vehicle circulation, construction, contractor activity, severe weather, wildlife, and other foreseeable campus hazards.
Assigns corrective actions to the responsible department and tracks them through completion.
Maintains an annual drill and tabletop exercise calendar; provides age-appropriate training and clear guidance for employees, students, substitutes, coaches, and event personnel; documents participation, observations, deficiencies, and corrective actions; and provides after action reports to school leadership.
Serves as the principal operational liaison with the school resource officer, other law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services, emergency management, and other response partners; maintains current contacts, campus information, emergency access procedures, and response protocols and supports periodic responder familiarization with the campus.
Coordinates the school's operational response to safety and security incidents and emergencies; ensures timely internal notification, student and employee accountability, preservation of relevant information, factual documentation, after action review, and corrective action.
Promptly transfers command to the school resource officer and/or other public safety authorities when appropriate.
Participates in threat assessment and behavioral safety processes within the manager's training and assigned role; maintains confidentiality and defers clinical, academic, employment, legal, child protection, and law enforcement determinations to the appropriate qualified professionals.
Develops scalable safety, security, traffic, parking, crowd management, severe weather, medical response, and emergency access plans for athletic contests, ceremonies, performances, rentals, summer programs, travel, construction activity, and other high attendance or elevated risk activities.
Maintains controlled incident records, training documentation, inspection findings, equipment readiness records, budgets, vendor records, and security sensitive plans.
Analyzes incidents, near misses, response times, recurring hazards, and contract service data and provides periodic trend reports and recommendations to the CFOO and senior leadership.
Coordinates emergency notification protocols and maintains current call trees, contact lists, communication templates, radios, mass notification systems, and redundant communication methods.
Supports designated school spokespersons during incidents without independently issuing public or media statements unless authorized.
Ensures emergency procedures address age-appropriate response, student accountability, supervision, accessibility, reunification, and the needs of early childhood students and other individuals who may require assistance during an emergency.
Coordinates routine inspection, testing, inventory, and documented readiness of assigned emergency radios, first aid and trauma supplies, AEDs, emergency lighting, alarms, reunification materials, and other response equipment with Health Services, Maintenance, Information Technology, and qualified vendors.
Establishes written roles and escalation protocols with division heads, Athletics, Health Services, Counseling, Human Resources, Information Technology, Transportation, Maintenance, Grounds, Marketing and Communications, the Chaplain, and other relevant functions.
Coordinates operational safety and emergency response without displacing their clinical, academic, employment, technology, communications, child protection, or legal authority.
Performs other duties reasonably related to campus operations and emergency response as assigned.