Example Job Description

School Safety and Security Coordinator

A school safety and security coordinator who advances coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.

Download and interview resourcesUse the editable Word exemplar or review structured interview questions for local adaptation.

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How to use this resource: Select questions that measure competencies established through the district’s current job analysis. Ask candidates the same predetermined questions under comparable conditions and evaluate responses against the same job-related criteria.

The indicators below describe evidence a strong response may contain; they are not required scripts or the only acceptable answers.

In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you create consistency across school safety plans without erasing site differences?
Strong response indicators: Defines the purpose, scope, governing requirement, timeline, responsible owners, dependencies, controls, communication, contingencies, and evidence of completion. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, a school reports a corrective action complete, but evidence is unclear. What would you do?
Strong response indicators: Verifies authoritative information, protects the affected person and data, follows approved procedures, involves responsible owners, documents facts, and confirms resolution. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you coordinate an annual school safety calendar?
Strong response indicators: Uses systematic diagnosis, representative evidence, root-cause analysis, controlled correction, reconciliation, documentation, and monitoring for recurrence. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, what data would you use to identify recurring campus hazards?
Strong response indicators: Applies least privilege, minimum necessary access, secure channels, appropriate approval, auditability, retention, and prompt escalation of uncertainty or risk. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you protect sensitive maps and emergency information?
Strong response indicators: Communicates the evidence, affected population, operational consequence, uncertainty, available choices, recommended action, accountable owners, and follow-up without unnecessary jargon. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, a safety system outage remains unresolved near a major event. How would you respond?
Strong response indicators: Builds sustainable ownership through clear definitions, role-specific training, useful quality reports, feedback loops, documentation, support, and verification that improvement persists. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you support a principal who is behind on preparedness requirements?
Strong response indicators: Defines the purpose, scope, governing requirement, timeline, responsible owners, dependencies, controls, communication, contingencies, and evidence of completion. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, what should a site-readiness dashboard show?
Strong response indicators: Verifies authoritative information, protects the affected person and data, follows approved procedures, involves responsible owners, documents facts, and confirms resolution. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you coordinate first-responder walkthroughs and follow-up?
Strong response indicators: Uses systematic diagnosis, representative evidence, root-cause analysis, controlled correction, reconciliation, documentation, and monitoring for recurrence. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you ensure accessibility and language access in safety procedures?
Strong response indicators: Applies least privilege, minimum necessary access, secure channels, appropriate approval, auditability, retention, and prompt escalation of uncertainty or risk. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, how would you improve reporting quality without discouraging reporting?
Strong response indicators: Communicates the evidence, affected population, operational consequence, uncertainty, available choices, recommended action, accountable owners, and follow-up without unnecessary jargon. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
In the School Safety and Security Coordinator role, what would you prioritize during your first 90 days?
Strong response indicators: Builds sustainable ownership through clear definitions, role-specific training, useful quality reports, feedback loops, documentation, support, and verification that improvement persists. Connects the response to the position’s specific responsibility for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.

Local HR review required: These examples are educational starting points, not a complete selection instrument or legal advice. The district should validate every question and scoring criterion against its current job analysis, collective bargaining obligations, nondiscrimination requirements, reasonable-accommodation procedures, and applicable law. Avoid inquiries about protected personal characteristics or information unrelated to job performance.

Structured-interview references: U.S. Office of Personnel Management · U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Position Description

Under the direction of the appropriate district administrator, the School Safety and Security Coordinator coordinates and leads work supporting coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.

The position applies school safety program coordination, site-plan consistency, risk assessment, incident readiness, corrective action, technical assistance, and operational reporting across school safety plan repositories, emergency operations plans, assessment and inspection tools, incident and case-management platforms, training records, work orders, asset inventories, visitor and access-control systems, mass notification, maps, dashboards, and collaboration tools. It establishes or follows clear ownership, validation, security, documentation, review, and escalation practices appropriate to the role’s assigned authority.

The School Safety and Security Coordinator collaborates with school administrators, campus safety staff, emergency management, facilities, transportation, technology, student services, special education, communications, human resources, vendors, families, and first responders. The role is accountable for cross-functional planning, ownership, calendars, training, quality control, escalation, and continuous improvement while protecting confidential information and keeping local decisions traceable.

Reports To

Insert your school district’s specific reporting relationship here.

Required Education and Credentials

Required

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in emergency management, education, public administration, security management, occupational safety, information systems, or a closely related field. Additional qualifying experience may be substituted where permitted by district policy.
Successful completion of all district-required employment clearances.
Completion of role-required emergency management, incident command, privacy, records, accessibility, system, and school safety training within established timelines.

Preferred

Graduate coursework in emergency management, educational leadership, public administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.
Professional learning or certification in school safety, emergency management, physical security, continuity, project management, or risk assessment.
Training in data quality, analytics, accessible communication, behavioral threat assessment, exercise evaluation, and corrective-action management.

Required / Desired Experience

Required Experience

Three or more years of progressively responsible experience in K-12 education, student information, data, technology, compliance, research, records, or a closely related function.
Experience with coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support.
Experience interpreting requirements, procedures, definitions, reports, system information, or technical documentation relevant to assigned work.
Experience coordinating or completing deadline-driven work with careful documentation and quality control.
Experience handling confidential information and communicating with users or stakeholders.

Desired Experience

Experience with school safety plan repositories, emergency operations plans, assessment and inspection tools, incident and case-management platforms, training records, work orders, asset inventories, visitor and access-control systems, mass notification, maps, dashboards, and collaboration tools.
Experience partnering with school administrators, campus safety staff, emergency management, facilities, transportation, technology, student services, special education, communications, human resources, vendors, families, and first responders.
Experience in cross-functional planning, ownership, calendars, training, quality control, escalation, and continuous improvement.
Experience using SQL, advanced spreadsheets, scripting, workflow tools, APIs, secure file transfer, or visualization tools when relevant to assigned duties.
Experience developing accessible training, technical documentation, process maps, data dictionaries, or continuity materials.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Planning, Operations, and Service Delivery

Maintain annual calendars, templates, responsibilities, review cycles, approvals, training, exercises, inspections, corrective actions, and evidence for district and site safety programs.
Coordinate site risk and vulnerability assessments, safety-plan updates, emergency contacts, maps, responder information, inventories, drills, inspections, and improvement follow-through.
Provide schools with role-specific technical assistance, accessible resources, implementation support, issue triage, escalation, and continuity documentation.
Monitor incidents, hazards, work orders, system outages, training completion, drill findings, corrective actions, and recurring patterns and prepare actionable status reports.
Coordinate safety meetings, school and community communication, responder walkthroughs, vendor activity, records, and cross-department dependencies.

Data Quality, Controls, and Documentation

Use standard definitions and controlled templates while allowing site-specific hazards, populations, facilities, programs, schedules, accessibility needs, and local partner conditions.
Reconcile school submissions, system records, inspection evidence, work orders, incident information, training records, and closure documentation before reporting completion.
Protect restricted plans, floor maps, camera or access details, personal information, medical or disability information, and active incident records.
Track each finding to an accountable owner, priority, due date, interim safeguard, evidence of correction, validation, and closure.
Use trend and exception analysis to identify systemwide issues without treating incomplete reporting as proof that risk is absent.

School Safety and Security Coordinator-Specific Leadership and Support

Own or support the assigned portfolio for coordinated school safety plans, risk assessments, readiness activities, incident trends, technical assistance, corrective action, documentation, and site support, with responsibilities clearly matched to the position’s authority and classification.
Develop role-specific calendars, service expectations, status reporting, support channels, and escalation paths.
Coordinate decisions with responsible data owners, program leaders, technical custodians, reviewers, and approving officials.
Provide accessible training, guidance, communications, and technical assistance tailored to user responsibilities.
Analyze recurring errors, incidents, requests, and process delays and recommend sustainable improvements.

Security, Improvement, and Continuity

Protect personally identifiable and confidential information in systems, files, reports, email, tickets, meetings, training, and support activity.
Test consequential changes using representative cases, documented expectations, peer or owner review, and post-change validation.
Use automation only with appropriate access, versioning, logging, exception handling, review, and recovery procedures.
Maintain current standard operating procedures, cross-training, critical contacts, dependencies, backup coverage, and recovery steps.
Perform other related duties consistent with the position’s purpose and classification.

Required Skills and Abilities

Knowledge of

School safety program coordination, site-plan consistency, risk assessment, incident readiness, corrective action, technical assistance, and operational reporting.
School safety plan repositories, emergency operations plans, assessment and inspection tools, incident and case-management platforms, training records, work orders, asset inventories, visitor and access-control systems, mass notification, maps, dashboards, and collaboration tools.
Data governance, source ownership, data quality, internal controls, change management, documentation, and continuous improvement.
Student privacy, confidentiality, role-based access, secure transmission, records management, incident escalation, and responsible use.
Project coordination, customer service, adult learning, accessible communication, and support practices appropriate to assigned work.

Ability to

Interpret detailed requirements and translate them into accurate procedures, system actions, reports, guidance, or decisions.
Trace discrepancies through source records, processes, configurations, mappings, transformations, and outputs.
Manage competing priorities and fixed deadlines with transparent status, documentation, review, and escalation.
Communicate clearly with technical, program, school, leadership, family, vendor, or agency audiences as appropriate.
Exercise discretion, preserve confidentiality, recognize limits of authority, and escalate material risk promptly.
Learn evolving requirements and technologies and improve processes without weakening controls or continuity.

Work Environment

Work is performed primarily in district offices, schools, service locations, meetings, training environments, and other computer-based professional settings.
The position requires sustained computer use and detailed review of records, systems, files, reports, requests, and technical or procedural documentation.
Work involves frequent interaction with school administrators, campus safety staff, emergency management, facilities, transportation, technology, student services, special education, communications, human resources, vendors, families, and first responders.
Workload may increase substantially during annual cycles, reporting windows, implementations, releases, audits, incidents, school transitions, or other critical deadlines.
The employee may encounter frequent interruptions, confidential matters, ambiguous records, failed processes, competing priorities, and urgent requests.
The position requires secure handling of personally identifiable student, family, or staff information.

Other Requirements

Successfully complete required criminal-record, fingerprint, and employment clearances.
Complete a tuberculosis risk assessment and any examination required by applicable law or district policy.
Complete annual mandated-reporter training and fulfill all legally applicable reporting responsibilities.
Complete district-required cybersecurity, student-privacy, safety, nondiscrimination, records, and workplace training.
Maintain professional confidentiality and comply with district policies governing records, information security, acceptable technology use, and data access.
Travel between district offices, schools, service locations, meetings, and professional-development activities as assigned.
Possess a valid California driver’s license and maintain insurability when driving is an essential function of the position.
Occasionally work early-morning, evening, weekend, or extended hours during critical operational, reporting, testing, implementation, or incident periods.
Regularly sit, stand, walk, speak, hear, read, and operate computers and standard office equipment.
Use hands and fingers for keyboarding and handling documents; maintain visual attention while reviewing detailed records and computer displays.
Occasionally lift, carry, or move records, devices, equipment, or supplies weighing up to 25 pounds.
Perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.