Director, Security Operations

Description

• Partner with General Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership, oversight and coaching for SLSM’s regionally.
• Provides strategic direction and cultural leadership for national security programs, driving performance, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including tenants, government agencies, and public safety partners, to align interests and improve safety outcomes.
• Champions a service mindset among security leaders that prioritizes tenant experience, employee well-being, and public safety.
• Direct the national emergency preparedness and response framework, ensuring enterprise-wide readiness for a range of incidents (e.g., violence, crime, military/civil/political unrest, terrorist activity, protests, pandemics, extreme weather) to safeguard colleagues, visitors, guests, assets, information, and reputation while minimizing business disruption.
• Lead CF’s national compliance efforts for physical security, life safety, and emergency management, ensuring all sites exceed regulatory and corporate requirements.
• Acts as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a credible liaison to public safety agencies and external partners.
• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of National Security & Life Safety programs, ensuring a risk-based, intelligence-led approach aligned with CF’s diverse asset portfolio.
• Develop and lead a roadmap for security technology modernization, ensuring CF’s physical security systems remain state-of-the-art, resilient, and adaptive.
• Build & utilize metrics and risk intelligence to identify operational inefficiencies, compliance issues or workforce readiness gaps, find significant cost savings, and lead structural improvement efforts to enhance performance and service delivery.
• Brief CF’s leadership team and other national governance bodies/committees on high-risk emerging issues, escalating concerns through risk-memos, briefings, and dashboards aligned to enterprise risk appetite.
• Builds and maintains strategic relationships with intelligence agencies, police services, emergency management agencies, and other security leaders.
• Leads national coordination of incident response and crisis management, integrating intelligence inputs, law enforcement liaison, and situational analysis.
• Oversee the design and national/regional implementation of security models, programs, initiatives, standard operating procedures, physical security architecture, infrastructure technology deployment, and emergency response.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in Security Operations, supporting Security & Life Safety Manager’s / Senior Manager’s (SLSM’s) and property leadership with risk assessments, internal security audits, and external evaluations to elevate baseline security, resilience, and compliance.
• Continuously seeks emerging technologies and methodologies that improve the safety, security, and resilience of CF’s national portfolio.
• Oversee the national security technology architecture and deployment of surveillance systems, access controls, alarm systems, and command centres.
• Evaluates new and next-generation solutions, oversees national pilots and implementation strategies, and leads operational transformation initiatives.
• Responsible for procurement activities of major service contracts for security and life safety vendors, including compliance monitoring, KRI and KPI reporting, and corrective action implementation.
• Serve as a regional escalation point and provide direct support to property teams during emergency incidents.
• Prepare financial projections for operating and long-range capital expenditures (e.g. 10-year plans) for physical security, life safety, and security technologies at the regional/national level. Lead the development of accurate financial projections based on regionally specific risk profiles, service level expectations, compliance obligations, and direction from the Vice President, Security Operations, while identifying opportunities for cost savings and value optimization.

Requirements

• Proven track record of developing and implementing high-impact, risk-based, intelligence-led programs that scale nationally and improve portfolio resilience.
• Strong understanding of applicable legislative and regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions (e.g., OHSA, Criminal Code, provincial fire codes).
• Expertise in conducting threat risk assessments and scenario-based planning to anticipate and mitigate security and operational disruptions.
• Operates with integrity, discretion, and accountability in all dealings — internal and external.
• Experience working in a real estate, property management, public-facing, or high-footfall environment is highly preferred.
• Certified Emergency Manager (CEM)
• A minimum of 10 years of security management experience, ideally at a property or properties of complex scope (i.e., large, mixed-use facility), with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity overseeing security and/or life safety.
• NFPA Life Safety Certification or Fire Security Director certification
• Post-secondary education or equivalent business management qualification in Security Management, Criminology, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Risk Management, or a related field is required.
• Certified Protection Professional (CPP)
• Excellent communicator with the ability to tailor messages for executive audiences, regional leadership, public safety partners, and front-line teams.
• Physical Security Professional (PSP)
• Skilled in project governance, business case development, and ROI evaluation for major national initiatives.
• Graduate-level or specialized studies in Security, Emergency, or Risk-Based discipline or equivalent business discipline is a definite asset, as is completion of recognized security, emergency management, or safety certification, as examples:
• Advanced knowledge of physical security systems, access control, video surveillance, alarm systems, and integrated command platforms.
• A university degree in a relevant business discipline (ex. Public Safety, Business Administration, Political Science, Occupational Health & Safety, or a criminology-related discipline) required.
• Must qualify for and achieve a Level II Government of Canada security clearance.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary, geographically dispersed teams and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Incident Command System (ICS 100, 200, 300)
• First Aid / CEP / AED Certification

Benefits

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance