Director of Campus Safety & Security

Covenant College Job Description

Covenant College is the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, a Christian liberal arts college of about 1,000 students located atop Lookout Mountain, Georgia, overlooking Chattanooga,Tennessee. Under the motto "In all things Christ preeminent," Covenant seeks to educate and equip students to serve Christ in every area of life.

Opportunity:

We are currently seeking candidates for the full time role of Director of Campus Safety & Security. Reporting to the Vice President for Operations and Finance, the Director of Campus Safety and Security leads the College's safety, security, and emergency management programs and serves as the College's primary partner to local law enforcement and emergency services. The director leads the Campus Safety and Security staff and is also responsible for emergency preparedness and response, building access and key control, surveillance and mass notification systems, and campus parking. The director serves as the College's Clery Act Compliance Officer and ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Covenant's mountaintop campus sits near the Georgia-Tennessee line and is served by agencies in both states. The director builds and sustains strong working partnerships with the Lookout Mountain, Georgia Police Department, the Dade County Sheriff's Office, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Police Department, and area fire, EMS, and emergency management agencies. At Covenant, campus safety is an expression of care for students, faculty, and staff. The director leads a team that serves the community with professionalism and warmth, works closely with Student Development and Residence Life, and treats every interaction, from an emergency response to a parking citation, as service to the campus. The role requires excellent written and verbal communication, sound judgment under pressure, and the ability to respond to campus at any hour.

Essential Duties:

Leadership and Operations

• Lead, schedule, train, and evaluate Campus Safety and Security staff, ensuring around-the-clockcoverage of campus.
• Direct daily, vigilant patrol of campus buildings, grounds, residence halls, and events, with a focus on the well-being of students and employees.
• Develop and maintain written departmental policies and procedures.
• Oversee licensing, firearms qualification, and use-of-force training for armed officers in compliance with Georgia law.
• Set departmental goals, short- and long-range plans, and performance measures. Prepare the departmental budget and manage funds with careful stewardship.

Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships

• Maintain and deepen the College's working partnerships with the Lookout Mountain, Georgia Police Department, the Dade County Sheriff's Office, the UTC Police Department, and area fire, EMS, and emergency management agencies.
• Hold regular meetings with partner agencies; lead joint training and tabletop exercises; and keep mutual-aid agreements and memoranda of understanding current and in writing.
• Serve as the College's primary point of contact with outside agencies during incidents, investigations, and planned events.

Emergency Management

• Respond in person to campus emergencies and serve as on-call lead for after-hours incidents.
• Own and maintain the College's Emergency Operations Plan using the Incident Command System; lead an annual schedule of drills and tabletop exercises and conduct after-action reviews.
• Plan for conditions particular to a mountaintop campus, including severe weather and ice, wildfire, power and communications outages, limited road access, and outdoor and bluff-area incidents.
• Administer and regularly test the siren and mass notification systems; issue timely warnings andemergency notifications.
• Educate Residence Life staff and the campus community on emergency preparedness, active-threat response, and personal safety.

Compliance and Student Care

• Serve as the Clery Act Compliance Officer, including the daily crime log, timely warnings, emergency notifications, Campus Security Authority training, and the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
• Maintain the fire log and coordinate residence hall fire drills and fire-safety inspections with Facilities.
• Serve as a member of the CARE team and support behavioral threat assessment.
• Coordinate with the Title IX Coordinator on reports involving sexual misconduct, dating and domestic violence, and stalking.
• Enforce the College's weapons policy and other campus safety policies. Access Control, Technology, and Parking
• Oversee the College's key systems, card access, ScotsCards, surveillance cameras, siren, and mass texting systems, and train appropriate personnel in their use.
• Partner with Information Technology on security technology planning, systems integration, and data protection.
• Manage campus parking, including permits, enforcement, citations, and collections; work with the Parking Appeals Committee to hear and resolve appeals; and plan for growing demand as enrollment grows.

Access Control, Technology, and Parking

• Oversee the College's key systems, card access, ScotsCards, surveillance cameras, siren, and mass texting systems, and train appropriate personnel in their use.
• Partner with Information Technology on security technology planning, systems integration, and data protection.
• Manage campus parking, including permits, enforcement, citations, and collections; work with the Parking Appeals Committee to hear and resolve appeals; and plan for growing demand as enrollment grows.

Service and Accountability

• Seek regular feedback from the Vice President for Operations and Finance and the campus community on the department's performance and service.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Competencies:

• In-depth understanding of the laws, security procedures, policies, and protocols needed to make an immediate and correct response to emergencies.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with law enforcement, emergency services, and community partners.
• Passion for the college environment and an ability to build strong rapport with students, faculty,and staff.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clear reports, policies, and emergency notices, and to present to groups.
• Ability to respond quickly to emergencies anywhere on campus at any time.
• Ability to meet firearms qualification standards.
• Proficiency in Google Docs and Sheets and in security software platforms.
• Sound judgment, calm under pressure, and discretion with confidential matters; a proactive problem-solver who can prioritize and manage multiple projects.
• A high level of professional ethics and personal integrity, with the ability to relate to others in a cooperative and mature Christian manner and a healthy understanding of self..

Qualifications

• Required Education/Experience
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in security, public safety, or law enforcement, including time supervising personnel.

Preferred Education/Experience:

• Experience in higher education security or public safety.
• Experience with the Clery Act, including preparation of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
• Hold, or obtain within 90 days of hire, the Georgia armed security credentials required by state law, and maintain firearms qualification.
• Established working relationships with law enforcement and emergency services in Northwest Georgia or the Chattanooga area.
• Georgia POST certification or prior sworn law enforcement experience.
• Training in emergency management, behavioral threat assessment, or Title IX.
• FEMA ICS-100, ICS-200, and IS-700 certification, plus CPR, AED, and first aid certification, or willingness to obtain them within the first six months.
• Experience managing access control, camera, and mass notification systems.

Additional Eligibility Requirements:

• An acceptance of and commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
• An understanding of the mission and purpose of Covenant College.
• Must be able to assent to Covenant College's Staff Commitments.

Physical Work Environment:

• Frequent standing, walking, sitting, bending, reaching, kneeling, pushing, and pulling, including foot patrol of a hilly campus.
• Work performed both outdoors, in all weather and at night, and in an office environment.
• Occasionally lift or lower objects up to 30 pounds.
• Ability to respond quickly to emergencies anywhere on campus at any time.
• Ability to meet firearms qualification standards.
• Regular office hours are generally Monday through Friday, 8:00
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