Vice President, Corporate Security & Safety
Vice President, Corporate Security & Safety
Summary / Overview
This executive-level corporate security and safety leadership role will lead an integrated program focused on protecting employees, executives, facilities, operations, and the organization’s reputation. As a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a collaborative partner to key enterprise functions, you will turn emerging risks into practical policies, protective measures, crisis-response capabilities, and meaningful security outcomes. The position blends strategic leadership with hands-on operational accountability across a distributed, multi-site organization.
You will be a strong fit if you are a credible security and resilience leader with experience overseeing a broad range of corporate security and safety functions in a large, complex environment. You bring sound judgment in high-pressure situations, build alignment across teams even without direct authority, and balance strategic thinking with a practical, service-oriented approach. An approachable but accountable leadership style, grounded in employee well-being, discretion, and strong business partnership, will be central to success in this role.
Responsibilities
- Lead and continuously improve an enterprise-wide corporate security, safety, and resilience strategy that protects employees, executives, facilities, operations, and organizational reputation while aligning with business priorities, culture, and risk tolerance.
- Direct workplace violence prevention, threat assessment, protective services, executive protection, travel security, and security planning for high-profile events or elevated-risk circumstances; ensure timely, proportionate escalation and response to threats across office, field, and remote-work environments.
- Oversee physical security operations, systems, and service providers across a multi-site enterprise.
- Leverage intelligence, technology, analytics, and cross-functional partnerships to identify emerging risks, improve situational awareness, strengthen incident-management and investigative capabilities, and address converged physical, insider, and technology-enabled threats.
- Lead life-safety, emergency-management, crisis-preparedness, and business-resilience programs, including integration of security risks into continuity and recovery planning.
- Build and lead a high-performing security and safety organization; manage budgets, capital investments, external-provider performance, and key stakeholder relationships.
- Provide senior leadership with concise, decision-ready reporting on risk, incidents, program performance, strategic priorities, and resource needs.
Requirements
- University degree in a relevant discipline, together with a sustained commitment to professional growth through continuing education, industry engagement, leadership development, and ongoing awareness of evolving security, safety, resilience, technology, and regulatory trends.
- Experience leading security, safety, or resilience programs within complex, multi-site organizations, ideally in financial services, healthcare, insurance, professional services, retail, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, technology, or other regulated and people-intensive environments.
- Calm, confident judgment and a steady presence in sensitive, ambiguous, or fast-moving situations; able to make timely, well-reasoned decisions while balancing employee welfare, business continuity, and organizational risk.
- The ability to build trust quickly across diverse constituencies and lead effectively through influence, earning credibility with senior executives, operational leaders, internal partners, external providers, and public-sector stakeholders.
- Communicate with clarity, discretion, and executive presence; able to distill complex or sensitive issues into concise, practical recommendations that enable informed leadership decisions.
- Combine strategic perspective with a practical, hands-on orientation, moving comfortably between enterprise-level discussions and the operational realities affecting employees, facilities, and business teams.
- Lead with integrity, accountability, empathy, and a service mindset; develop strong teams, establish high standards, create an environment of ownership, continuous learning, and mutual respect.
Midwest Region, United States
Onsite with domestic and international travel
Relocation within the United States
SMR does not list all of our recruitment projects on our website. Sign up for job announcements specific to the region of the world you are interested in.

