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Director of Public Safety Programs

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SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, is seeking an experienced applicant to join its staff as Director of Public Safety Programs.

Job Overview
Under the direction of the Deputy Executive Director of Programs, the Director of Public Safety Programs leads the Public Safety Programs team. This includes supervising program staff, managing the program budget, coordinating with funding agencies, and overseeing the preparation of program deliverables. Funding agencies currently include the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office through cooperative agreements and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications through contracts.

The Director of Public Safety Programs will be responsible for day-to-day operational management of all activities and functions in the Public Safety Programs, which focus on providing expert technical assistance and training to local, state and federal justice agencies in the areas of public safety IT strategic planning; law enforcement automation; public safety system integration; interoperable communications systems; systems assessments; functional, data, and technical standards development and implementation; and related areas.

This position requires moderate to frequent travel (approximately 40%).

NOTE: This is a highly specialized position that requires substantial experience in four overarching categories, as detailed below. Interested applicants must submit two documents: 1) A cover letter detailing and demonstrating how your experience, knowledge, training and/or skills fulfill the requirements of each of the categories below, and 2) a detailed resume. Submissions that do not possess both of these documents will be rejected.

Requirements for the successful Director of Public Safety Programs:

  1. Subject-matter expertise in public safety information and communications systems. Successful candidates will have operational experience in public safety at the local and/or state levels.
  2. Proven leadership and management skills. The successful candidate will have experience with project management and public procurement processes for both large and small agencies, from needs assessment to development of the request for information, request for proposal, evaluation of proposals, selection of the vendor, contract negotiation, implementation management, and acceptance testing.
  3. Program development and operations. Candidates who will excel in this category have skills, experience, knowledge and/or expertise in program development, funding identification, daily management and operation, budget management and program performance measurement.
  4. Incident management system knowledge and/or experience. The successful candidate will have knowledge of and experience in incident management systems.

Required Education and Experience
  • Bachelor's or graduate degree in criminal justice, computer science, and/or related field with considerable and recent experience in communications and information technology planning, implementation, management and support.
  • In-depth knowledge of public safety information technologies used by public safety agencies such as wireless voice dispatch, status messaging, automatic vehicle location (AVL), computer-aided dispatch (CAD), records management systems (RMS), enterprise and service-oriented architectures, and mobile data systems.
  • An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the use of radio and other forms of communications by public safety agencies during day-to-day, task force and disaster operations is necessary.
  • Knowledge of wireless standards, regulations and licensing is required along with a detailed operational knowledge of conventional and trunked radio systems, radio gateway devices, mobile data technologies, WLAN and AVL.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
A candidate's experience will include in-depth knowledge and skill to fulfill the following responsibilities:
  • Directs and manages staff and project activities for the Public Safety Programs arm of SEARCH.
  • Coordinates with SEARCH executive staff in setting program goals and objectives and for ensuring that program goals and objectives are met.
  • Keeps the Deputy Executive Director and Executive Director informed of Public Safety Programs projects, progress and activities.
  • Provides technology consulting services to justice and public safety organizations throughout the country.
  • Serves as a resource to SEARCH staff, committees, public safety-related organizations, and funding agencies in the identification, analysis, and resolution of technology issues.
  • Provides research, technical assistance, and training services in the areas of: public safety IT strategic planning; law enforcement automation; public safety system integration; interoperable communications systems; systems assessments; functional, data, and technical standards development and implementation; and related areas.
  • Prepares and produces reports, articles, and publications and represents SEARCH as a speaker and resource person in preparing and presenting programs before various audiences.
  • Manages the program budget and ensures that high-quality program deliverables are completed on time and within available resources.
  • Manages contracts with outside organizations and consultants, prepares grant applications and progress reports.
  • Coordinates all program activities with funding agencies and organizations.
  • Conducts research, training, and technical assistance to justice and public safety agencies nationally, in-house and on-site.
  • Leads technical assistance and training engagements to assist justice and public safety agencies in the development and implementation of automated systems and integrated information technology solutions.
  • Provides staff support to public safety IT-related programs and committees.
  • Prepares corporate methodologies and products to advance the field of public safety system integration, new technologies, and standards.
  • Serves on various national task forces advisory groups. Coordinates and cooperates with other national associations and industry working groups to develop tools and resources.
  • Researches and develops methodologies for public safety communications interoperability.
  • Identifies integration, communication and technology trends for ongoing national standards projects.
  • Reviews procurement and acquisition documents, and assists agencies and jurisdictions in the employment of effective procurement and vendor management strategies.
  • Serves as liaison between public safety entities, for example between federal and state-level agencies, to facilitate the implementation of policy initiatives.
  • Makes presentations at SEARCH-sponsored conferences, training seminars and workshops, as well as at other industry-related events.
  • Coordinates with other directors and managers to ensure proper communication and coordination.

Supervisory Responsibilities
This position is responsible for supervising a staff of 6.

Required Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
A current driver's license and proof of auto insurance are required.

Compensation
Annual salary range starts at $99,212, commensurate with experience. SEARCH offers an excellent benefits package including retirement, health, dental, disability, vacation and sick leave. Successful completion of a criminal background check is required.

This is a full-time exempt position.

Interested applicants must submit a resume and cover letter to: jobs@hrtogo.com. These can also be faxed to: 916-405-3637. Please note mandatory application requirements noted in box.

This position will be open until filled.

SEARCH is an Equal Opportunity Employer.