Company Description

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of tuition-free public schools educating 120,000 students in grades Prek-12 across 21 states and Washington, DC. We have a network of 16,500 educators and 175,000 students and alumni across the country.

KIPP Columbus is the only KIPP school in Ohio and educates more than 2,000 students K-12 on a 150+ acre campus in Northeast Columbus.

In addition to academic excellence, KIPP Columbus also partners with nearly 100 community organizations to provide extracurricular activities, programming, health and wellness services, meals, and more to KIPP students, families, and the broader community. KIPP is also a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, offering more than 10 varsity sports.

The KIPP Columbus learning campus will continue to advance student learning, expand partnerships, enable superior programming, and serve as a teaching and leadership lab for schools nationwide, reimagining education through a deeper lens of antiracism, excellence, and joy as we expand to educate nearly 4,000 students on our learning campus in the coming years.

Interested in learning more about our school? Please check out our website: https://www.kippcolumbus.org/

Why Teach with KIPP Columbus?

Respect: We respect and value the unique gifts our teachers bring. KIPP Columbus pays one of the highest salaries of charters in the region, and our comprehensive benefits package includes family leave, access to on-site daycare, fresh meals, and more. We provide resources to curriculum and materials to support your work in the classroom, and foster a collaborative and supportive working environment for our teams!

Support: We prioritize the growth of every team member. Professional development and one-on-one coaching happen throughout the year to help you deliver your best. As part of the national KIPP Public Schools network, KIPP Columbus staff have access to curriculum, resources, and support from teams across the country. Teachers receive year-round professional development rooted in antiracist practices and aligned to curriculum or role competencies. Frequent feedback and support from school leaders, network content coaches, grade-level chairs, and other teammates improve teachers' craft.

Teachers have dedicated time for planning and collaboration through structures including grade-level and content meetings, and professional development sessions. In our schools, teachers are able to grow their leadership through opportunities like being a grade-level chair, applying for fellowships, running an extra-curricular activity or leading school-wide initiatives as a teacher leader.

Purpose: KIPP Columbus continues to rank as one of the top schools for academic growth of any school in the state of Ohio, and is a top performing urban school in the state for academic growth. In our first three graduating classes (in spring 2020, 2021, and 2022) 100% of students were accepted to college and/or military service with nearly $40 million in merit scholarships from colleges and universities awarded.

The Opportunity:

KIPP Columbus is looking for a highly dedicated educator who has a track record of instructional excellence and who is willing to continuously go above and beyond for students. Our KIPP team is committed to leading and teaching through an anti-racist lens and are responsible for delivering effective, rigorous instruction in their content areas that produce high-quality results and student understanding.

Job Description

The Opportunity

KIPP Columbus’ Senior Director of Safety and Security plays an integral role on the Operations Leadership team and Regional team by overseeing safety and security efforts across all schools on campus.

The Senior Director of Safety and Security leads the Safety and Security team by directing, planning, implementing, and coordinating all safety initiatives and safety and security operations on campus. Among these responsibilities are coordinating with law enforcement and outside agencies regarding threat assessments, safety, security, and emergency operations, as well as the development of policies and procedures for the safe and secure operations of schools and the campus.

The Senior Director will enhance staff, student, and community interactions, lead cross-functional teams, and manage the security vendor partnership to support campus safety. In addition, this position will support the school leadership team in building strong relationships within the school community that promote safety beyond the immediate school environment to help ensure the safety of students and staff.

Responsibilities of KIPP Columbus Senior Director of Safety and Security include, but are not limited to, the following:

Building and maintaining a culture of safety at KIPP Columbus and individual schools

• Understanding and internalizing the climate and culture of safety at KIPP Columbus and the community

• Building school safety and security goals, objectives, and priorities

  • Working directly with the regional School Support Team, School Leader Team and Operations Team on building a safety and culture plan conducive for the Primary, Elementary, Middle and High schools on campus

• Overseeing emergency preparedness efforts for KIPP Columbus schools

  • Establishing and maintaining important but non-emergency procedures, training, and support for KIPP Columbus schools and campus

  • Ensuring that on-site staff have built appropriate (safe and efficient) procedures, including daily arrival and dismissal procedures (including staff and contractor posts, coordination and communication across academic and operations teams), routine standard response protocol drills, and event support

• Overseeing and managing certain essential safety and security functions, including but not limited to:

  • Staff and Student ID distribution

  • Weapons Abatement

  • Building Infrastructure

  • Visitor Safety Systems

  • Vendor Management

  • Camera Systems

  • Alarm Systems

  • Policies & Protocols

• Planning and facilitating annual and compliance required safety trainings for all staff as well as leading safety and security initiatives, such as town halls

Sharing and Coordinating Responsibilities with the Operations Team and School Leadership Team at each school and across campus

• Providing guidance and support to the Operations Team and contracted staff on day to day security operations and protocols, including staffing needs (quantity and quality), weapons abatement, etc.

• Supporting and advising on the acquisition and maintenance of safety and security equipment (e.g., weapons abatement, cameras)

• Participating in the development and administration of the safety and security budget (with school leaders and ops teams)

• Other initiatives will be based on interviews and roundtable discussions with various stakeholders

Managing and Supporting Crisis Situations for KIPP Columbus and Individual Schools

• Being the centralized KIPP Columbus lead on any escalated security issues or emergencies on or near campuses (e.g., gunshots nearby, contraband, student altercation, etc.); on-the-ground support will be led by campus leads

• Engaging with outside leaders and groups to ensure that there is coordination between KIPP Columbus and the community on each safety and culture plan

• Supporting the Safety and Security team, Ops Leads, and school staff, improving and maintaining effective relationships with students, staff, and stakeholders

• Ensuring after-the-fact staff reports and other necessary correspondence, coordinating with the school team and regional team

• Planning and managing all auditing on external compliance protocols with support from Operations and security teams across campuses.

Acting as the Lead for Safety and Security Discussions outside KIPP Columbus

• Serving as the representative to committees, other schools’ networks, and community stakeholders concerned with improvements in Local Law Enforcement and fire services, public education, and departmental public relations

• Maintaining positive working relationships and awareness with local agencies of new trends and developments in the field of law enforcement, crime prevention, fire suppression, fire prevention, and related support services; incorporate new developments as appropriate

Assessing Security Operational Protocols

• Periodically observing arrival and dismissal to support and identify opportunities for protocol improvements and implementation

• Ensuring all required reporting and contract compliance requirements are met, in coordination with the Operations team

• Ensuring that KIPP Columbus is provided with high quality security services to protect people and property, identifying opportunities for improvement

• Recommending and administering policies and procedures; recommend, within policy, appropriate service and staffing levels

Vendor Management

• Managing all safety and security partnerships to ensure cross collaboration and coordination across all safety and security efforts for schools

• Providing guidelines and expectations

• Managing recurring meetings with all vendors

• Providing monthly progress updates to internal stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required with a minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in a related field OR 7+ years of directly relevant professional experience in lieu of a degree

• Demonstrated experience in school safety, security operations, facilities management, contract security, military, law enforcement, or K–12 safety and security environments

• Proven ability to engage students, apply policies and procedures consistently, and exercise sound judgment in high-stakes or sensitive situations

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility across students, families, staff, vendors, and external partners

• Ability to thrive in a team-oriented management environment while also operating independently and taking ownership of work streams as needed

• Demonstrated capacity to manage multiple priorities, navigate complex situations, and support a diverse team of employees while meeting evolving client and organizational needs

• Knowledge of or familiarity with the Columbus community and local context strongly preferred

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits

KIPP Columbus offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurances as well various voluntary benefits (such as short term disability, long term disability, life insurance, and participation in the Ohio SERS/STRS retirement plan.) We also offer seasons of life support with 10 weeks paid maternity leave and 4 weeks paid spousal leave/adoption leave.

Statement of Non-Disclosure

KIPP Columbus is committed to a policy of equal treatment for all individuals applying to the school for consideration of any position (admission, employment, etc.). KIPP Columbus does not discriminate on the basis of disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 4112.02 of the Ohio Revised Code