What does a chief of security do?
A chief of security manages the security team's performance, monitors their company's security systems, and makes sure that the target level of security is met. Now and then, this officer may be expected to be a part of special projects that can fall outside their department but are still related to their job. Having the technical skills, leadership skills, and security knowledge are necessary to perform this job well. He/She or she is responsible for how the equipment provided by the company will be used to help improve the security of the staff, premises, and company data.
Chief of security responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief of security resumes:
- Lead SSO inputs for 5 SCIF facility remodels totaling $4.5M, ensure DOD and DIA requirements are met.
- Manage institution-wide information security governance processes including the creation and deployment of the initial security policy using the ISO framework.
- Create inventory of all HIPAA, PCI and other PII data types.
- Enforce DoD security regulations, NISPOM, and DCID requirements with other DoD counterparts and product centers.
- Monitor the travel of employees and visitors through the use of CCTV cameras and the use of identity access cards.
- Conduct investigations and maintain CCTV camera system.
- Complete many temporary assignments to harsh or high risk environments to provide security expertise and oversight of intelligence collection operations.
- Provide senior management oversight of law enforcement, patrol, anti-terrorism standards and requirements, investigations, and training functions.
- Create a risk advisory level architecture focuse on identifiable triggers relevant to specific company assets, facilities, and personnel.
- Participate in ASIS local and national groups to assist in promoting the program.
Chief of security skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Chiefs Of Security are proficient in Security Procedures, Emergency Situations, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Organizational skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Chiefs Of Security that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Security Procedures, 12%
Represent security in program and corporate meetings providing guidance on implementation of personnel, and information security procedures and requirements.
- Emergency Situations, 11%
Ensured continuity of operations during emergencies or non-emergency situations such as power/communication outages and natural occurrences.
- Oversight, 7%
Completed many temporary assignments to harsh or high risk environments to provide security expertise and oversight of intelligence collection operations.
- Security Policies, 6%
Researched security policies and procedures, created SOP, instituted command structure and developed a fully operational Security Department.
- Security Program, 5%
Performed a maturity assessment of the Information Security organization to identify gaps and priorities for future development of the security program.
- Criminal Justice, 5%
Planned and developed material for regular instruction in areas of general studies, emergency management, criminal justice and security.
Most chiefs of security use their skills in "security procedures," "emergency situations," and "oversight" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chief of security responsibilities here:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a chief of security to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what chiefs of security do because "it managers must develop and implement strategic plans to reach the goals of their organizations." Additionally, a chief of security resume shows how chiefs of security use business skills: "designed policies and procedures regarding business continuity planning, loss prevention, fraud prevention, and privacy for multiple clients. "
Organizational skills. Many chief of security duties rely on organizational skills. "some it managers must coordinate the work of several different it departments to make the organization run efficiently.," so a chief of security will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways chief of security responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "implemented corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of chiefs of security is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday chief of security duties, as "it managers must explain their work to top executives and give clear instructions to their subordinates." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "served as the primary communications advisor to senior leadership on all communications and security operations, threats, and security measures. "
Leadership skills. A big part of what chiefs of security do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to chief of security responsibilities because "it managers must lead and motivate it teams or departments so that workers are efficient and effective." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical chief of security tasks: "provided leadership to department heads, lieutenants, supervisors, officers, and other line staff. "
Analytical skills. A commonly-found skill in chief of security job descriptions, "analytical skills" is essential to what chiefs of security do. Chief of security responsibilities rely on this skill because "it managers must analyze problems and consider and select the best ways to solve them." You can also see how chief of security duties rely on analytical skills in this resume example: "designed and brought into compliance data loss prevention systems for india business unit. "
The three companies that hire the most chief of securitys are:
- Allied Universal
4 chiefs of security jobs
- Peraton3 chiefs of security jobs
- CACI International2 chiefs of security jobs
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Compare different chiefs of security
Chief of security vs. Manager, security infrastructure and enterprise services
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, chief of security responsibilities require skills like "security procedures," "emergency situations," "oversight," and "criminal justice." Meanwhile a typical manager, security infrastructure and enterprise services has skills in areas such as "architecture," "pci," "business objectives," and "nist." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that managers, security infrastructure and enterprise services earn slightly differ from chiefs of security. In particular, managers, security infrastructure and enterprise services are 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a chief of security. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief of security vs. Surveillance director
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that chief of security responsibilities requires skills like "security procedures," "emergency situations," "security policies," and "security program." But a surveillance director might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "regulatory agencies," "surveillance operations," "securities," and "aml."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Surveillance directors tend to reach similar levels of education than chiefs of security. In fact, they're 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief of security vs. Corporate physical security supervisor
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from chief of security resumes include skills like "security procedures," "emergency situations," "oversight," and "security policies," whereas a corporate physical security supervisor is more likely to list skills in "cpr," "aed," "corporate facilities," and "control systems. "
When it comes to education, corporate physical security supervisors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to chiefs of security. In fact, they're 11.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chief of security vs. Assistant security manager
Types of chief of security
Updated January 8, 2025
