Position: School Resource Officer/Safety and Security Director                       Location: Dooly County High School

Accountable to: Chief Operations Officer                            Classification: Exempt

Mission: The mission of Dooly County School System is to empower every student to reach their highest aspiration and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Vision: The vision for the Dooly County School System is to serve as a beacon of teaching and learning, illuminating the path to success for all students.

Position Summary  

The School Resource Officer (SRO)/Safety and Security Director (SSD) supports and facilitates the educational process within the Dooly County School System by providing a safe and secure environment through building and establishing meaningful relationships with students and staff and proactively interacting with the school community to ensure the enforcement of locally adopted and state laws, preservation of public order, protection of life and the prevention, detection, or investigation of crime. The SRO/SSD works effectively with students, parents, school personnel and community agencies to support teaching and learning in the schools and patrol district property to protect students, staff and visitors from physical harm and prevent loss to district property resulting from criminal activity. The SRO/SSD may spend extended periods of time patrolling and investigating crimes on District property, both in automobiles and on foot. The SRO/SDD may be required to physically restrain parties involved in conflict. In extreme cases, the SRO/SDD may be exposed to violent and/or armed confrontations.

Terms of Employment

Salary and work year will be based on the Dooly County Board of Education approved salary schedule and years of verified relevant experience. 

Minimum Qualifications 

Education: 

• High school diploma or state-approved high school equivalency is the minimum required. 

• Associate's or Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Public Safety, Emergency Management, Educational Leadership, or related field, preferred.

 Certification/License: 

• Valid Georgia driver’s license is required. 
• Georgia PSC clearance certificate is required. 
• Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification required. 
• Demonstrated leadership and crisis management skills
• Knowledge of school safety laws, emergency operations, and threat assessment processes.
• Excellent communication, organization, and decision-making abilities
• Ability to respond to emergencies after hours, on weekends, or during holidays.
• Commitment to support organization's goals and values
• Ability to deal with multiple tasks, computer competence, organization, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to apply critical thinking skills in rendering solutions to various issues

• Personal Skills: Pleasant personality, cooperative attitude, physical skills, and stamina to perform essential duties.

  Proficiency Skills: Written and oral communication skills, administrative, supervisory and leadership skills.

  Work Experience 

• 5 years of work experience in law enforcement with a traditional law enforcement agency or school environment is preferred. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Ability to work with youth and adults in the school setting. 
• Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, with students, staff and internal/external stakeholders. 
• Ability to apply critical thinking skills, using sound judgement, in rendering solutions to various issues that arise in the schools. 
• Ability to investigate suspicious circumstances, persons, vehicles, etc. 
• Knowledge of Georgia Criminal and Traffic Code, City and County Ordinances, Criminal Procedures, Juvenile Law and court proceedings. 
• Proficient with Microsoft Suite and other office equipment such as incident reporting software, fax, copiers, and scanners. 

Essential Duties 

1. Collaboratively work with school principals and other parties with the school system in determining needs and implementing proactive and responsive programs as related to school campus safety and security.  
2. Make routine patrols of assigned facilities to include building, parking lots, and equipment, check for security, vandalism or casualty losses, and prepare reports as required.  
3. Provides in-service training to administrators to deal with security-related matters, develop and maintain safety protocol and procedures, and serves as a wrap-around services team member to support student success. 
4. Works closely with the principal(s) and staff of the school(s) to foster a better understanding of law enforcement’s function to maintain a safe and secure learning environment. 
5. Serves as a visible and active law enforcement officer on campus dealing with law-related areas such as drugs, traffic, trespassing, fighting, and thefts and enforces campus rules and regulations.  
6. Periodically conduct safety and security surveys for system stakeholders with the assistance of school administrators. 
7. Provide leadership within the school system by mentoring and projecting a positive role model for students and others.  
8. Monitor visitors and other persons within assigned facilities to ensure proper identity and business purpose for safety of students and facility. 
9. Make arrest as necessary using only the amount of force necessary to affect said arrest after consultation with the building level principal.   
10. May act as a first responder in an emergency situation involving an injured person on school grounds. 
11. Coordinates security for crowd and vehicle control at extra-curricular activities, gatherings, and special events including but not limited to: Board of Education meetings, athletic events, pep rallies, graduation ceremonies, and incident scenes. 
12. Conduct initial and follow-up investigations of criminal and administrative incidents within the school(s) including incidents involving transportation.   
13. Assist local law enforcement agencies in matters related to criminal and administrative matters involving students or other personnel. 
14. Operates District equipment to include alarm systems, surveillance equipment, and patrol unit vehicles when necessary. 
15. Conducts security building assessments for schools; guard, check and secure doors, rooms, buildings and equipment. 
16. Conducts courses and workshops for students, staff and parents to promote social awareness, relationship skills, self-management, self-awareness and responsible decision making. 
17. Assists other law enforcement agencies with incidents involving local criminal activity that may impact the safety of the environment for students and staff. 
18. Maintain P.O.S.T Certification and specialized training in accordance with the job.  
19. Participate in training programs to increase skills and proficiency related to assignments.  
20. Reviews current trends, developments, literature and technical sources for information related to job responsibilities.   
21. Follow Federal and State laws, as well as school board policies.  
22. Serves as the school system’s safety coordinator.  
23. Works flexible hours, evenings and staggered shifts, holidays and weekends and/or in emergency situations and to direct traffic/pedestrians crossing busy streets around schools or on school grounds when necessary. 
24.  
25. Required to have prompt, regular attendance in-person and be available to work on-site, in-person during regular business hours and as needed. 
26. Performs other duties as assigned.  

Note: The above description is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task or responsibility.

Travel Requirements: Travels to school district buildings and professional meetings as required.

Equipment: Uses standard office equipment such as personal computers, printer, copy and fax machines, and telephone.

Terms of Employment: Salary and work year to be in accordance with the current schedule.

Evaluation: Performance of this job will be evaluated annually in accordance with the provisions of the Board’s policy on Evaluation of Professional Personnel.

Physical Demands: Performing the functions of this job may require the following physical demands: some lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling; and some fine finger dexterity. The job may require occasional lifting of up to 50lbs. Generally, the job requires sitting, walking, and standing. Reasonable accommodations may be made for persons with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Physical Abilities and Working Conditions:

The physical abilities, working conditions and other conditions of employment listed in this document are representative of, but are not intended to provide an exhaustive list of the requirements for positions in this classification. In the event of an emergency or situation requiring guidance from Federal, State, or local or school district authorities, the requirements of this position may change temporarily or for the school year to best serve the needs of our students.  

Additional Work Conditions & Physical Abilities:

• Work in inclement weather.
• Overtime work including evenings, weekends and athletic events as assigned by the Superintendent of Schools to provide maximum security coverage is required.
•  Ability to walk, run, climb or sit for extended periods of time. 

Job descriptions are designed and intended only to summarize the essential duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and requirements for the purpose of clarifying the general nature and scope of the position’s role as part of the overall organization.  Job descriptions do not list all tasks an employee might be expected to perform and they do not limit the right of the employer/supervisor to assign additional tasks or otherwise to modify duties to be performed – even if seemingly unrelated to the basic job.  Every employee has a duty to perform all assigned tasks.  It should be noted the order of performance responsibilities as listed in the job description is not designated or intended to rank the duties in any order of importance relative to each other. 

It is the policy of the Dooly County School System not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability in any employment practice, educational program, or any other program, activity, or service.

Note: Consideration/interviews will begin as soon as a list of applicants is established. Applications/resumes will be evaluated, and only those meeting the qualifications will be forwarded to the hiring manager for consideration. Candidates chosen for interviews will be contacted directly.  No notification will be sent to applicants except those who are selected for interviews.