Director, Enterprise Physical Security
Flexential Corp. · CO, Denver Corp · onsite
The Director, Enterprise Physical Security is responsible for defining and executing the enterprise-wide physical security strategy that protects Flexential's people, critical infrastructure, customers, and operations. This role serves as the senior leader accountable for the organization's physical security operating model, risk posture, technology roadmap, governance framework, and long-term program maturity. As the enterprise owner of physical security, the Director ensures security capabilities not only safeguard facilities and assets, but also enable operational reliability, customer trust, business continuity, and overall data center resiliency. The role partners closely with executive leadership, Operations, Real Estate, Design & Construction, Information Security, and Facilities teams to ensure security programs scale with the company's growth and support strategic business objectives. The Director serves as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on matters related to physical security, critical infrastructure protection, operational risk, resilience, business continuity, and enterprise preparedness. This position requires a highly strategic leader capable of balancing risk management, operational excellence, technology innovation, and long-term investment planning across a rapidly growing data center portfolio.
Key Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions
Enterprise Security Strategy & Leadership
- Own and continuously evolve the enterprise physical security strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, growth plans, customer requirements, and risk tolerance.
- Establish and maintain the enterprise physical security operating model, governance framework, policies, and standards.
- Ensure physical security capabilities support operational reliability, customer confidence, regulatory compliance, business continuity, and data center resiliency.
- Provide strategic leadership and direction for the future state of the physical security program, ensuring scalability as the organization's footprint and complexity continue to grow.
- Serve as the executive sponsor for major security initiatives, modernization efforts, and enterprise-wide security transformation programs.
- Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on physical security, resilience, operational risk, and critical infrastructure protection.
Enterprise Risk Management
- Own the enterprise physical security risk posture across all facilities and operations.
- Establish processes for risk identification, assessment, prioritization, mitigation, and ongoing monitoring.
- Evaluate emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and operational risks that could impact personnel, facilities, customers, or business operations.
- Develop and maintain executive reporting frameworks that communicate security risk, mitigation progress, and program effectiveness.
- Partner with business leaders to ensure physical security risks are understood, managed appropriately, and incorporated into enterprise decision-making processes.
Security Technology Strategy & Architecture
- Own the enterprise physical security technology roadmap, standards, architecture, and long-range investment strategy.
- Define the future-state architecture for access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, monitoring platforms, visitor management systems, and other security technologies.
- Establish technology standards and governance to ensure consistency across the portfolio.
- Lead lifecycle management, refresh planning, modernization efforts, and technology investment decisions.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and innovations to enhance security effectiveness, automation, operational efficiency, and resiliency.
- Ensure security technologies support business growth, operational scalability, and customer requirements.
Operational Resilience & Business Continuity
- Ensure physical security programs contribute directly to operational resilience and business continuity objectives.
- Partner with operational leaders to integrate security considerations into resiliency planning and incident preparedness programs.
- Develop strategies that minimize operational disruption and support rapid recovery during critical events.
- Ensure security controls and response capabilities support the availability and protection of critical infrastructure.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance organizational readiness and resilience.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner closely with Real Estate, Design & Construction, Data Center Operations, Facilities, Information Security, Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Leadership teams.
- Support site acquisition efforts by ensuring security requirements and risks are evaluated early in the due diligence process.
- Provide strategic guidance on new data center development, capacity expansion projects, modernization initiatives, commissioning activities, and operational readiness reviews.
- Ensure security requirements are incorporated into facility design standards, construction programs, and operational handoff processes. Influence long-term infrastructure planning and investment strategies through a security and resilience lens.
Incident Management & Crisis Leadership
- Serve as the senior security leader during major incidents, security events, crises, and business continuity situations.
- Provide executive leadership and direction during incident response activities.
- Coordinate cross-functional response efforts to minimize operational impact and business disruption.
- Lead post-incident reviews and ensure corrective actions are implemented and tracked to completion.
- Maintain executive awareness of significant security events, risks, and emerging threats.
Governance, Compliance & Program Performance
- Establish enterprise physical security policies, standards, procedures, and governance practices.
- Ensure compliance with customer obligations, industry requirements, regulatory expectations, and internal controls.
- Define and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that measure:
- Security effectiveness
- Compliance performance
- Operational outcomes
- Program maturity
- Risk reduction
- Customer protection
- Business resiliency
- Deliver regular executive reporting on security program performance, strategic initiatives, risk trends, and investment priorities.
- Benchmark program capabilities against industry standards and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Team & Program Leadership
- Provide leadership, coaching, and development for physical security team members and security partners.
- Build organizational capabilities that support future growth and operational complexity.
- Ensure resources, processes, technologies, and governance structures scale appropriately with business needs.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Drive strategic prioritization and resource allocation to maximize program effectiveness and enterprise value.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in physical security, critical infrastructure protection, enterprise risk management, or a related field.
- 5+ years leading enterprise-wide security programs across multiple locations.
- Proven experience developing security strategy, governance frameworks, operating models, and risk management programs.
- Experience owning physical security technology platforms, roadmaps, standards, and lifecycle planning.
- Demonstrated ability to lead executive-level incident response, crisis management, and business continuity efforts.
- Strong experience partnering across Operations, Real Estate, Design & Construction, Facilities, and Information Security teams.
- Ability to influence senior leaders, communicate risk effectively, and drive enterprise-wide initiatives.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master