Director of School Safety and Crisis Management

Reports to: Chief Operations Officer

Purpose: Maintain a physically and psychologically safe environment for students, employees, and visitors by helping to develop, establish, and enforce safety and security policies that support student learning, growth, and success. This position performs supervisory and administrative tasks in developing, implementing, and managing programs designed to effectively address school safety with regards to student’s academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. Position is responsible for coordinating a comprehensive school safety program which includes working with local law enforcement agencies to monitor and coordinate the school resource officer program. Position also works collaboratively with the district’s Student Support Department (school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses) and the supervisors of these disciplines. Position engages in cross-departmental collaboration and works extensively with cabinet, school administrators, and the community on all areas of school safety. Work also involves implementing training programs for site-based administrators and specialized instructional support personnel.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Coordinate a district-wide comprehensive school safety program, policies, and procedures by studying organization operations and schedules; establishing internal controls; conducting inspections as appropriate; reporting potential hazards to appropriate departments; creating and updating RSS School Board policies and standard operating procedures, safety, and security manuals.
• Coordinate school safety compliance with federal, state, and local regulations by studying existing and new requirements and overseeing and enforcing school-wide adherence to requirements.
• Coordinate safety planning and practice to support academic processes of each school by creatively implementing best practices in safety, security, and emergency preparedness with proper adaptation to the environment, creativity, and innovation so the process of education can be enhanced rather than impeded by safety efforts.
• Serve as district’s liaison between all law enforcement agencies.
• Manage SROs and off-duty security for all schools.
• Manage and supervise security officers used to supplement SROs.
• Conduct and coordinate safety, security, and emergency preparedness training by developing, scheduling, and/or facilitating training for staff, students, and public safety officials relating to school safety, security, and emergency preparedness.
• Serve as a central resource internally and externally in response to safety concerns.
• Coordinate safety resources for athletic events and facilitate efforts of SROs to ensure a plan is in place for the resources to be maximized to maintain safety or order at athletic events.
• Secure facilities, equipment, students, and personnel by working in conjunction with the appropriate departments in recommending safety and security equipment purchase and upgrades; maintaining records of fire and other emergency drills; and conducting drills when appropriate.
• Build processes that use data to evaluate safety effectiveness and drive results aligned to safety and security priorities.
• Assist in the development and implementation of safety plans for special events (large- and small-scale drills, reunification, crisis response) involving school facilities within the jurisdiction of RSS.
• Direct/coordinate the periodic assessment/audit of school facilities and grounds to determine safety and security issues.
• Coordinate with site-based administrators and Maintenance Department to address and correct safety/security issues on school campuses.
• Participate in the development and maintenance of a district-level Crisis Response Plan.
• Assist/advise in the development of crisis management/emergency response plans as part of each school’s safety plan.
• Attend key committees and advisories across partnering city agencies, community groups, coalitions, etc. relevant to school safety to promote the program, coordinate efforts, and achieve goals.
• Serve as liaison with other agencies such as NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Department of Public Safety, NC Center for Prevention of School Violence, Mass Casualty Active Violence Task Force, Emergency Preparedness Committee, and others to provide resources and information related to school safety.
• Provide guidance and support to RSS during school crisis and emergency situations and work closely with crisis units and operations across RSS.
• Receive all reports of school crime from site-based administrators and maintains statistics regarding this information.
• Direct the district’s effort to collect and compile the required annual school crime report to the NC Department of Public Instruction in an accurate and timely manner.
• Communicate with other districts on matters related to school safety.
• Participate in annual trainings to stay current on laws, policies, and procedures regarding school safety.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Public or Business Administration, or Education with a minimum of 10 years mid-to senior-level experience working in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Always have a professional demeanor
• High degree of diplomacy, flexibility, and adaptability.
• Strong strategic thinking, projects management skills, attention to detail, ability to proactivity identify key issues and risks.
• Ability to communicate effectively and confidently, both orally and in writing.
• Capacity to elicit and understand underlying staff issues across all programs to best inform decisions.
• Ability to develop, plan, and implement short and long-range goals, establish strong relationships management skills, including proactive partnering and consulting, with proven ability to collaborate with and achieve results through others.
• Ability to troubleshoot, critical thinking problem-solving, and anticipate issues needing resolution.
• Ability to exercise strict confidence in handling sensitive information.
• Ability to manage critical incidents successfully. 

Physical Requirements: 

• This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force.
• Work regularly requires speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel and repetitive motions, frequently requires sitting and occasionally requires standing, walking, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling, reaching with hands and arms, pushing, or pulling and lifting.
• Work has standard vision requirements.
• Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities.
• Work occasionally requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions.

TERM OF EMPLOYMENT: 12 months 

PROPOSED SALARY: Central Office Leadership Scale – Director II