Director of Campus Safety

Categories: Student Affairs:
Security and Campus Safety

Bates is looking for a Director who can combine strong operational leadership with genuine community engagement. The successful candidate will be prepared to lead a complex 24/7 operation, develop and support employees, strengthen policies and systems, manage resources responsibly, and make sound decisions during emergencies and sensitive situations. Just as importantly, the next Director must be comfortable being a visible member of the campus community.

Bates Campus Safety operates as a non-sworn department whose officers do not possess arrest authority. The successful candidate will understand how to lead effectively within this model while ensuring strong operational practices, appropriate accountability, effective emergency response, and productive relationships with external public safety partners.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President & Dean of Students, the Director provides strategic and operational leadership for a multidisciplinary department responsible for:

• leading a multidisciplinary department of approximately 30 employees across patrol, communications, access control, transportation, and operations.
• serving as a trusted adviser to College leadership and work closely with partners throughout Student Affairs and across Bates, including Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance, Community Standards, Residence Life, Human Resources, Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety, Communications, and Athletics.
• 24/7 campus safety operations and incident response
• Communications and dispatch
• Emergency management and crisis preparedness
• Access control and campus security systems
• Parking, transportation, and shuttle services
• Crime prevention and safety education
• Clery Act compliance and related reporting responsibilities
• Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) responsibilities
• CALEA accreditation and continuous improvement
• Administrative and campus-policy investigations
• Coordination with law enforcement, fire, EMS, and other public agencies

• Bachelor's degree in criminal justice, public administration, emergency management, higher education, student affairs, or a related field rquired.
• Masters's degree in similar fields preferred.

• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in campus safety, law enforcement, emergency management, public safety, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated supervisory and leadership experience, including responsibility for personnel, performance management, training, policy implementation, and complex operations.
• Experience supporting or leading operations that require 24/7 staffing, on-call response, or crisis decision-making.
• Working knowledge of the Clery Act and current higher education safety and emergency management practices, with the ability to apply other relevant federal and state requirements.
• Demonstrated experience with budgets, operational planning, public safety technology, policy and procedure development, performance measures, and continuous improvement.
• Progressively responsible leadership experience in a college or university setting, particularly within a non-sworn or community-centered campus safety model preferred.
• Experience with CALEA or another recognized professional accreditation program preferred.
• Training or substantial experience with NIMS/ICS, emergency operations centers, exercises, continuity planning, and after-action improvement preferred.

• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.
• Ability to lead a community-focused, non-sworn safety program and coordinate effectively with law enforcement, fire, emergency medical…