Associate Director, Safety + Security

Job Title: Associate Director, Safety + Security

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Department: Safety + Security

Supervises: Supervises 2-3 staff members

Work Schedule: 40 hours per week, 5 days per week, hybrid work eligible. This role requires evening and weekends to support onsite events.

Salary: $100,000 - $120,000

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Safety + Security provides strategic leadership for MOPOP's organization-wide approach to safety, security, risk management, and emergency preparedness, serving as a key advisor to the COO and
executive
leadership.
T
his role
establishes
division strategy and priorities, owns the organizational risk management program, and ensures effective standards, systems, and procedures are in place to protect people, collections, facilities, operations, and
guest
experience.

Serving as a key
decision-maker
during critical incidents and major events, the Associate Director leads crisis management and 24/7 incident response, oversees regulatory compliance and emergency preparedness, and provides leadership with clear reporting on emerging risks, trends, and mitigation strategies. The role balances strategic leadership with operational readiness, financial stewardship, and strong partnerships across
MOPOP
, Seattle Center, public safety agencies, contractors, and community partners.

The Associate Director builds the leadership capability of the Safety + Security team through coaching, mentorship, accountability, and staff development. This position supports a 24/7 operation and requires flexibility to respond to incidents, events, and operational needs outside of standard business hours.

Essential Job Duties (other duties as assigned)

Emergency Preparedness + Incident Leadership:

• Lead MOPOP's emergency management and preparedness program, including emergency action planning, crisis management, business continuity, fire-life safety, active threat preparedness, drills, exercises, and after-action reviews.

• Serve as thesenior incident****lead
  for
  significant safety, security, and emergency events, providing decisive leadership, coordinating resources, escalating issues, and supporting organizational recovery.

• Maintain 24/7 incident-response readiness and ensure
  appropriate leadership
  coverage, communication, escalation, and decision-making protocols.

• Lead risk-based safety and security planning for exhibitions, programs, high-attendance periods,
  special events
  , VIP visits, and other complex museum activities.

• Build and
  maintain
  strategic relationships with Seattle Center, law enforcement, fire and emergency services, public agencies, external security providers, and community partners.

People, Operations + Resource Leadership:

• Lead, coach, and develop Safety + Security leaders;
  establish
  clear expectations, strengthen decision-making capability, build succession readiness, and foster accountability and continuous improvement.

• Own the department's annual business plan and budget, including labor planning, forecasting, vendor and contract oversight, expense management, and resource allocation.

• Develop and manage the department’s operating and capital budgets, ensuring resources are aligned with organizational priorities
  .

• Evaluate staffing models, technology, equipment, contracted services, and other resources to ensure capabilities
  remain
  aligned with organizational risk and operational needs.

• Lead change within the division by translating strategy into
  operating
  practices, communicating expectations, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring effective adoption of new systems and procedures.

Organizational Partnership + Safety Culture:

• Partner
  with People + Culture and organizational leaders on workplace safety, training, employee matters involving safety or security, and organizational change.

• Champion
  a proactive, service-oriented safety and security culture grounded in preparedness, sound judgment, accountability, equity, and respect.

• Serve as a strategic advisor to leaders across MOPOP, providing guidance on safety, security, risk, emergency preparedness, and resource decisions.

• Build organizational understanding and accountability for safety and security by ensuring leaders and teams understand their roles in prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

MOPOP Community: Contribute to an inclusive, collaborative, and guest-centered culture that supports MOPOP’s mission and creates welcoming experiences for colleagues, partners, and guests.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications

• Progressive leadership experience in security, safety management, risk/resource management, emergency management, or a closely related field; experience leading complex, multi-shift or 24/7 operations strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically,
  establish
  priorities, translate risk into actionable plans, and make sound decisions in high-pressure or rapidly changing situations.

• Strong knowledge of crisis management, emergency preparedness, threat and risk assessment, incident command/response, business continuity, and fire-life safety practices.

• Experience developing and implementing safety and security strategies, standards, policies, SOPs, training programs, reporting systems, and compliance practices.

• Demonstrated knowledge of applicable regulatory requirements and experience
  maintaining
  organizational compliance with local, state, and federal safety and security standards.

• Strong financial acumen with experience developing and managing departmental budgets, labor plans, contracts, vendors, and resource allocation decisions.

• Proven
  people
  leadership skills, including staff development, performance management, coaching, mentorship, succession planning, and leading through change.

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to build effective partnerships across organizational functions and with public agencies, law enforcement, emergency responders, contractors, and community partners.

• Excellent judgment, composure, and communication skills, including the ability to brief senior leaders on complex risks, incidents, recommendations, and decisions.

• Experience with event security, crowd management, physical security systems, access control, CCTV, alarm systems, and other security technologies.

• Ability to balance a visible service orientation with effective risk management, compliance, and enforcement of organizational standards.

• Strong organizational and analytical skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities,
  maintain
  confidentiality, and operate effectively in a high-volume environment.

• Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive,
  equitable
  , and respectful workplace and guest experience.

Benefits

This full-time position includes Medical/Vision insurance, Dental insurance, 3.08 hours of accrued Vacation per bi-weekly pay period, Seattle Sick/Safe, up to 8 Company Holidays paid throughout the year, EAP, 401k plan with vested match schedule once eligible, and subsidized transportation benefits for Orca Pass or parking.

Why MOPOP?

We’re really glad you’re thinking about joining the team at MOPOP! We believe pop culture is a universal language capable of building connections across a range of people, no matter our differences in race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability, education, socio-economic status, ethnicity, country of origin, or any other characteristic that makes us who we are. For more than twenty years, we have been showcasing how music, film, fashion, video games, sports, and more spark those connections and create a lasting cultural impact.

MOPOP provides both a physical space and an emotional and intellectual opportunity for people from any background to explore, find and build community, and recognize their own creative potential. This applies not only to our guests, but also to our staff — be it in designing an educational program to engage the next generation of creators, trying to reach a new audience with a marketing initiative, preserving an artifact in our collection, or providing excellent customer service to a visitor. If this sounds like something you’d be into, we’d love to hear from you!

MOPOP’s Mission and Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Our mission is to activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play. We believe pop culture connects us, and that it is powerful, complex, alive and who we are. MOPOP is actively committed to ongoing learning in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). In partnership with our community, we hope to also develop safe spaces for their application. This includes taking steps to continue increasing our awareness of institutional “-isms,” as well as uncovering and undoing the ways they show up in museum culture. We recognize this is a process that requires intentionality, energy, and resources, and we are developing a DEIA framework that can cultivate a work environment and museum experience that is truly welcoming for all.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe that having staff, interns, and volunteers with diverse backgrounds enables us to better meet our mission and encourage BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals to apply. We acknowledge that our work to build safe spaces and better systems for traditionally marginalized groups is ongoing and will require constant vigilance and expect all MOPOP employees to be part of our DEIA journey.

________________________________________

Please email [email protected] if you need reasonable accommodations during the application or hiring process.

Don't meet every single requirement?

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At MOPOP, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you are excited about a role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the candidate we are looking for!