Assistant Director, Public Safety Operations

St. John’s, established in 1870, has two New York City campuses; international locations in Rome, Italy; Limerick, Ireland; and Paris, France; and study abroad locations around the world. The Princeton Review and other top rankings consistently recognize the University’s outstanding academics, diverse student body, dynamic internship, and volunteer opportunities, focus on student life, and diverse study abroad offerings. St. John’s University offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs in its six colleges and schools, with a growing number of programs offered online. The University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and 12 other major academic and professional associations.

A dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of our mission. As a Catholic and Vincentian university, St. John’s is committed to institutionalizing practices of inclusive excellence to ensure that we welcome and celebrate the intrinsic worth of all members of our community. We will become an even stronger university as we enhance equity at every level of our institution.Our graduates will excel in the competencies and values needed for leadership and service in a rapidly evolving world.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director, Public Safety Operations serves as the Queens campus
operational owner and the event security authority, ensuring consistent staffing standards,
inspections, performance management, and risk-tiered event planning.
This role oversees daily operational deployment and redeployments, supervises operational
standards and coaching, and approves event security plans and staffing models within delegated
authority

Job Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

• Queens Daily Operations, Staffing Coverage, and Redeployment (25%)
• Manage day-to-day Queens campus operations, including post coverage, minimum staffing
• compliance, deployment adjustments, and operational issue resolution.
• Redeploy resources in response to changing conditions, incident activity, staffing shortages,
• or emergent safety needs while maintaining core coverage standards.
• Coordinate execution expectations with dispatch and field supervisors to support consistent
• service delivery.
• Manage and approve time and attendance for Public Safety personnel, including Sergeants and, at times, Officers.
• Manage and oversee the Public Safety fleet, radios, and other operational resources, including but not limited to signage and traffic materials.

• Leadership, Supervision, and Performance Management (25%)
• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and performance expectations for assigned
• supervisors/officers and event-related supervisory staff.
• Align coaching, evaluations, and accountability practices to operational standards,
• professionalism, and community engagement expectations.
• Address performance issues, recurring deficiencies, and training needs through documented
• follow-up and coordination with leadership/HR as appropriate.

• Inspections, Quality of Execution, and Corrective Follow-Through (20%)
• Conduct frequent and random post inspections to verify staffing, readiness, professionalism,
• and adherence to post expectations.
• Document inspection results, identify recurring gaps, and implement corrective actions or
• coaching to reduce repeat deficiencies.
• Track inspection outcomes and use trends to improve operational reliability.

• Emergency Response Coordination and Command-Level Updates (20%)
• Support emergency response coordination on the Queens campus and provide commandlevel updates to leadership as required.
• Serve in an operational leadership role during major incidents and higher-risk events,
• coordinating internal and external partners as needed.
• Support after-action review inputs and operational refinement following significant incidents
• or events.

• Stakeholder Coordination, Event Pipeline Review, and Reporting (10%)
• Coordinate with Student Affairs, Athletics, Conference Services, Residence Life, Facilities,
• and Technology partners on event planning inputs and execution readiness.
• Lead recurring event pipeline reviews and operations status discussions with stakeholders.
• Provide concise updates on staffing, inspections, event readiness, and operational trends to
• leadership.

Competencies, Education, Experience

Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree required; equivalent combination of education and progressively
responsible experience may be considered per University practice.
• Significant experience in public safety/security operations, law enforcement, campus safety,
or a comparable operational leadership environment.
• Supervisory experience with responsibility for staffing, deployment, coaching, and
performance management.
• Experience planning or overseeing events, special operations, or risk-based operational
deployments.
• Demonstrated ability to make sound operational decisions under pressure and coordinate
across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to document plans, inspections,
and follow-up actions.

• Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in higher education public safety and campus event security planning.
• Experience with incident command principles, emergency operations coordination, and afteraction processes.
• Familiarity with dispatch coordination, staffing models, and post inspection/quality assurance
• practices.
• Experience using scheduling, incident reporting, and event planning tools/systems.

Supplemental Information

Work Environment and Requirements
• Work is performed in both office and field environments, including extensive campus
movement and outdoor activity during events.
• Role requires evening, weekend, and holiday availability based on operational and event
needs.
• This position may be designated essential personnel and may require response during
emergencies, severe weather, or campus disruptions.

• How This Role Will Be Measured (Example Performance Indicators)
• Daily minimum staffing/coverage compliance rate and response to redeployment needs.
• Event plan on-time submission and approval rate.
• Post inspection compliance rate and repeat-deficiency trend.
• Operational overtime trend versus baseline/approved plan (if tracked).
• Event/operations after-action completion and corrective follow-through for major events.

*Important Note- St. John’s is NOT an E-Verify Employer

St. John’s offers a competitive compensation program which is commensurate with your qualifications, experience, and contingent upon the departmental budget. St. John’s University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

We also offer an extremely comprehensive benefits program to meet the diverse needs of our workforce. Along with exceptional benefits such as medical, dental, life insurance, long term disability insurance, tuition remission, generous 403(b) employer contribution, employee assistance program, and liberal paid time off policies, faculty and staff can also enjoy St. John’s performing arts, libraries, bookstores, dining facilities, campus recreation and sporting events

Any offer of employment is subject to receipt by St. John’s University of satisfactory references, verification of employment and education.

St. John’s University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.