Director, Campus Safety

Director Of Campus Safety

Higher Ground Consulting is conducting this search on behalf of Front Range Community College. Please apply for the Director of Campus Safety through their applicant tracking system.

With three campuses along Colorado's Front Range, FRCC is the state's largest community college. We enroll close to 28,000 students annually from our diverse service area, which offers a variety of cultural and recreational activities.

Each year approximately 5,000 FRCC students transfer to four-year universities and FRCC offers more than 36 career training programs that prepare students for immediate employment and rewarding careers. Last year, more than 5,000 high school students took concurrent enrollment classes with us, earning college credit without having to pay college tuition. And we were recently ranked as one of the "Top Online Colleges" in the country by Newsweek.

One of FRCC's main goals is to offer educational excellence for everyone. The college's strong commitment to student success means we start by creating an inclusive and equitable environment—one where both students and employees feel they belong and are supported. FRCC's focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is woven into the fabric of our college conversations and decision-making processes. We are actively seeking to hire a workforce that reflects the diversity of our student body.

The college is also an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. For us, becoming an HSI is an intentional commitment to being a college where our Latinx (and other historically marginalized) students thrive.

FRCC employees and leaders work hard to create a culture of collaboration, innovation and pride. We're looking to hire people who share these values—along with our commitment to student success, equity and excellence.

Serving one of the state's most diverse student populations, the Director will help ensure that students, faculty, staff, and visitors experience FRCC as a safe, welcoming, and well-prepared place to learn and work.

FRCC seeks a leader to guide a collaborative, prevention-focused, and forward-looking safety program across its multi-campus system. The successful candidate will be a strategic systems thinker, a calm and credible crisis leader, a trusted relationship builder, and a culture shaper who leads with service, accountability, and transparency. This person must bring a prevention-first mindset and the executive judgment to make difficult decisions while maintaining trust. The ideal candidate has proven experience building strong relationships with campus leaders and external partners, developing the Campus Safety team through intentional professional development, assessing current operations and capabilities, and creating a multi-year roadmap that standardizes practices while preserving local responsiveness. They will also strengthen emergency operations and crisis management processes, ensure sustainable Clery Act compliance, and build confidence in the safety function through clear communication, preparedness, and prevention training.

FRCC's Strategic Plan, "Forward, Together," provides strategic, operational, and technical leadership for Safety Services across three campuses. You will direct day-to-day departmental functions, guide Assistant Directors and staff, and partner closely with the Associate Vice President of Facilities to shape long-term goals, priorities, and resource planning. You will foster a culture of accountability, service excellence, and continuous improvement amongst a team who takes pride in their part of student success.

This is an essential, highly visible leadership role requiring consistent on-campus presence and regular travel across all campuses to effectively coordinate departmental needs, collaborate with stakeholders, and foster a supportive culture. You may be required to work onsite or remain on campus during delayed starts, early releases, or campus closures. Please note: You need to be a Colorado resident on your first day of employment. Also, Front Range Community College is an E-Verify employer.

SALARY: $103,275-$105,341 annually

The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum starting salary for the position. When determining the starting salary for a new employee, FRCC takes into consideration a combination of the selected candidate's education, training and experience as it relates to the requirements of the position, as well as the position's scope and complexity, internal pay equity and external market value.

Lead Campus Safety with Vision and Impact

Front Range Community College seeks a strategic and hands-on leader to guide the future of campus safety across our multi-campus system. The position reports to The Vice President of Operations and in partnership with senior leadership, you will champion a proactive, community-centered approach—balancing emergency preparedness with prevention, transparency, and trusted partnerships.

This role calls for someone skilled in cross-campus (multi location) planning, crisis response, and relationship-building with faculty, staff, students, and external partners. You'll help shape a culture of safety that supports learning, belonging, and operational excellence.

The Role: Opportunities and Challenges

• Unifying three-campus safety operations into a cohesive, standardized, and scalable model
• Strengthening consistency in policies, emergency procedures, communication protocols, and operational workflows
• Building trust and visibility across campuses after an extended interim period
• Modernizing safety technology systems, reporting structures, preparedness training, and prevention education
• Enhancing Crisis Management Team effectiveness and ensuring campus-wide readiness through drills, tabletop exercises, and continuity planning
• Strengthening partnerships with local police, fire, EMS, emergency managers, and community organizations in each service area
• Advancing a safety culture that prioritizes belonging, accessibility, service, and shared accountability
• Positioning FRCC as a model for community college safety leadership grounded in collaboration rather than enforcement-first thinking

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

• Be well underway with IACLEA Accreditation and schedule an official on-site audit
• Resurrect and reimagine the Safety Committee to inform the college's safety needs, gather buy-in, and communicate improvements and challenges.
• Begin planning a campus based full-scale exercise and participate in local emergency management exercises based on the Emergency Operations Plan.
• Execute plans to develop a cohesive Safety Team and Culture
• Continue enhancing the training partnership between Campus Safety and the FRCC Larimer Campus Law Enforcement Academy
• Continue providing internal and external training opportunities to all Campus Safety employees
• Continue to focus on key instructor training credentials for Campus Safety employees to enrich their abilities to teach various safety topics to the campus community

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in public safety, emergency management, criminal justice, homeland security, higher education administration, or a related field
• Five or more years of progressive leadership experience in public safety, campus safety, emergency management, or a related environment designing institutional safety programs and SOPs
• Leadership experience including hiring, coaching, team development, performance accountability and remote management
• Demonstrated expertise in emergency operations, crisis response, preparedness planning, and security technology system
• Experience with various technical equipment and software, and proven experience working closely with IT and other technical resources.
• Valid Colorado driver's license or ability to obtain one
• Proven ability to work effectively with diverse populations and complex stakeholder groups
• Current or prior POST certification

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related discipline
• Experience in higher education or multi-site institutional safety environments
• Experience with Clery compliance, threat assessment, and continuity operations
• Bilingual Spanish/English capability

Why This Role Matters

This position is not simply about managing incidents. It is about shaping an environment where people can thrive.

The Director of Campus Safety will help define how Front Range Community College lives out its mission through a modern, inclusive, and collaborative approach to safety—one that reinforces student success, community trust, and institutional resilience.