Security Director

Director Of Safety, Security, Emergency Management, And Hazardous Materials

The Director provides enterprise leadership for Safety, Security, Emergency Management, and Hazardous Materials programs to protect patients, visitors, employees, providers, and volunteers. This role develops, implements, and continuously improves an integrated, data-driven program that supports regulatory and accreditation readiness and promotes a culture of safety. The Director serves as the primary liaison with internal leaders and external partners (e.g., public safety, emergency management, and regulatory agencies) and ensures preparedness for all-hazards events through planning, training, exercises, response, recovery, and mitigation activities consistent with national incident management principles and healthcare best practices.

Manages: Safety and Security Officers, Emergency Management Coordinator

Education/Training: Bachelor's degree in a related discipline required. Graduate degree in a related discipline preferred. Healthcare related training strongly preferred.

Licenses/Certification: Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA) preferred. FEMA/NIMS Incident Command System (ICS) courses: IS/ICS-100, IS/ICS-200, IS-700, and IS-800 required (or obtain within 6 months of hire). Additional FEMA ICS coursework (ICS-300/400) preferred. Healthcare workplace violence prevention/management training preferred. CPR/BLS preferred (per organizational requirement).

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and oversee the enterprise Safety, Security, Emergency Management, and Hazardous Materials management plans, policies, and procedures; ensure alignment with applicable regulatory, accreditation, and industry expectations.
• Direct development, maintenance, and evaluation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) using an all-hazards approach; conduct and document Hazard Vulnerability Analyses (HVA) and corrective action plans.
• Provide leadership guidance and support during activations; ensure effective incident command/Hospital Command Center operations, communications, documentation, and after-action reporting.
• Plan, coordinate, and evaluate emergency preparedness training and exercises (e.g., drills, tabletop, functional/full-scale) across the enterprise; track improvements to closure.
• Provide strategic and operational oversight of security operations, including staffing models, patrol/response standards, visitor management, access control, and coordination with law enforcement.
• Lead workplace violence prevention efforts, including risk assessments, de-escalation training, response protocols, and collaboration with clinical leaders and multidisciplinary teams.
• Oversee safety surveillance and risk reduction activities (rounding/inspections, hazard reporting, corrective actions, and trending) to reduce injury, incidents, and property loss.
• Direct investigations for significant safety/security events; ensure timely reporting, root cause analysis, and implementation of sustainable corrective actions.
• Manage regulatory and accreditation readiness related to the physical environment, safety, security, and emergency management, coordinate survey preparation, documentation, and response to findings.
• Partner with Facilities/Engineering, Clinical Operations, Infection Prevention, and other stakeholders to address construction/renovation impacts, life safety risks, and interim mitigation strategies as needed.
• Establish and monitor program metrics (e.g., incident trends, response times, training compliance, drill performance) and present results and recommendations to leadership committees.
• Develop and manage departmental budgets, including forecasting, expense control, and evaluation of security technology and contracted services.
• Recruit, develop, and lead staff; establish performance expectations, provide coaching, and promote a respectful, service-oriented culture.

Required Qualifications and Skills: Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare safety/security, emergency management, law enforcement, or a closely related discipline. Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary programs, and communicate effectively with executives, clinicians, staff, and external partners. Strong project/program management skills, including planning, prioritization, and adapting to changing operational needs. Budget development and management experience, including expense control, vendor/contract oversight, and business case development. Strong relationship-building skills and professionalism when partnering with internal stakeholders and external agencies (e.g., police, fire, EMS, emergency management). Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to maintain documentation, meeting minutes, training records, and corrective action plans. Ability to lead safety/security initiatives across clinical and non-clinical environments, including high-risk event response, de-escalation support, and crisis management. Experience supporting regulatory and accreditation activities (e.g., survey readiness, tracers, plans of correction) and collaborating with compliance/quality teams.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills: Familiarity with NFPA 99 and NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) concepts applicable to healthcare settings. CHPA, CPP, PSP, CEM, or similar professional certification(s). Experience with healthcare security best practices (e.g., IAHSS guidelines) and security technology assessments (access control, video, duress/panic alarms). Completion of advanced NIMS/ICS coursework (ICS-300/400) and/or position-specific incident command training. Experience developing and reporting program metrics and leading performance improvement initiatives.

Other duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Age and Diversity Related Criteria: Consistently treats patients, colleagues, and visitors with dignity and respect, while being sensitive to the differing needs of all age groups, backgrounds, characteristics, and cultures.

Ability to Fulfill Job Expectations: Must have the ability to perform essential functions of the position, including required work hours, locations, and physical demands, without posing a direct threat to the health and safety of self or others in the workplace, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to speak or hear both in person and via two-way radio. The employee is required to frequently walk, must be able to run, and is also frequently required to stand, sit, use hands to grip and secure restraints, and reach with hands and arms. Must be able to don and doff protective equipment. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 75 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move more than 100 pounds when assisting in a medical emergency or evicting an individual from the premises. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.