Location: Arlington, VA
Work Days in Office: 5 days onsite each week
Travel: Up to 30%
Position Type: Full-time
FLSA Status: Exempt
About Spirit of America:
Spirit of America is a privately funded 501c3 nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Our mission is to engage citizens in preserving the promise of a free and better life. We do this by working alongside US troops and diplomats and providing private assistance to defend freedom, and strengthen America’s national security, and save and improve lives.
Spirit of America leverages an unprecedented partnership with the US military based on a groundbreaking agreement with the Department of Defense. Our agreement with the Department of Defense allows the military to collaborate with us, identify needs, receive and distribute our assistance, and provide us with logistical support. No other nonprofit has such an agreement. Thus, every dollar invested in Spirit of America builds on and leverages investments made by the US government and military. That leverage — combined with our entrepreneurial, venture capital capability — provides philanthropic investments in Spirit of America with asymmetric impact and return on investment.
Our work saves and improves lives, prevents conflict, and strengthens America’s security. In the world’s toughest places, people experience the best of who Americans are and what we stand for.
About the Role:
The Global Security Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing Spirit of America's enterprise-wide security program, ensuring the safety, security, and resilience of our people, facilities, operations, and global field activities.
Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), this role provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for corporate security, international field security, travel risk management, duty of care, crisis management, business continuity, and emergency preparedness across the organization.
As Spirit of America expands its global footprint, the Global Security Manager will build and mature a comprehensive security program that protects our headquarters, international offices, traveling staff, and partners while enabling mission execution in complex and high-risk environments. The Global Security Manager serves as the organization's principal security advisor, working closely with senior leadership to assess risk, develop mitigation strategies, strengthen organizational resilience, and ensure security considerations are integrated into operational planning and decision-making.
The Global Security Manager serves as Spirit of America's primary liaison with International SOS, coordinating traveler support, medical and security intelligence, emergency response, evacuations, and duty-of-care services while maintaining strong relationships with government, military, and private-sector security partners.
Reports To: Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
Direct Reports: None
Key Responsibilities:
The Program Operations Manager will:
Enterprise Security Leadership
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Develop and lead Spirit of America's enterprise security strategy supporting both headquarters and international operations.
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Establish organizational security standards, policies, procedures, and governance.
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Serve as the organization's senior security advisor to the CAO, CEO, VP, Program Operations, Leadership Team, and Crisis Management Team.
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Develop annual security objectives, budgets, priorities, and long-term security initiatives.
Corporate & Physical Security
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Oversee physical security for headquarters and all Spirit of America field offices.
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Develop and maintain physical security standards for offices, facilities, access control, visitor management, emergency procedures, and workplace violence prevention.
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Conduct facility security assessments and recommend improvements.
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Partner with IT to ensure alignment between physical and cybersecurity incident response.
Global Field Security & Duty of Care
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Lead Spirit of America's global duty-of-care program.
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Develop security protocols for international offices and remote personnel.
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Ensure security planning is incorporated into all international operations.
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Advise leadership regarding emerging geopolitical and security risks affecting operations.
Travel Security
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Serve as primary organizational liaison with International SOS.
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Manage relationship with International SOS and other duty-of-care providers.
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Coordinate traveler tracking, alerts, medical evacuations, emergency assistance, and security intelligence.
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Ensure travelers receive country-specific security briefings.
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Monitor international events affecting staff.
Crisis Management & Business Continuity
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Lead Spirit of America's Crisis Management Team from an operational security perspective.
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Maintain enterprise Crisis Management Plans.
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Develop Business Continuity and Emergency Response Plans.
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Coordinate tabletop exercises.
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Lead after-action reviews.
Security Intelligence & Risk Analysis
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Monitor geopolitical developments.
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Produce security advisories.
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Conduct country risk assessments.
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Advise executives before entering new countries.
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Maintain security dashboards.
What Success Looks Like in This Role:
Within the first year, the Global Security Manager will have:
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Established a comprehensive enterprise security program supporting headquarters and all international operations.
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Built a culture in which security is viewed as an operational enabler rather than an administrative requirement.
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Fully integrated International SOS into organizational travel, duty-of-care, and emergency response processes.
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Implemented consistent physical security standards across headquarters and field offices.
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Developed and strengthened enterprise crisis management, emergency preparedness, and business continuity capabilities.
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Improved executive visibility into organizational security risks through regular reporting, assessments, and actionable recommendations.
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Become a trusted advisor to the Leadership Team on enterprise risk and security.
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Built strong relationships with field teams and established the security function as a responsive, practical, solutions-oriented partner to the mission.
Key Qualifications:
Required:
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Bachelor's degree in Security Management, Criminal Justice, International Relations, Political Science, Homeland Security, Emergency Management, Intelligence Studies, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field.
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12–15+ years of progressively responsible experience leading enterprise security, international security, military operations, intelligence, diplomatic security, global risk management, or related fields.
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Experience developing enterprise security programs for geographically dispersed organizations.
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Experience managing corporate and international security operations.
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Demonstrated experience leading crisis management and emergency response.
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Ability to assess geopolitical risk.
Preferred:
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Experience supporting NGOs, humanitarian organizations, defense organizations, international nonprofits, or multinational organizations.
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Military officer, Diplomatic Security Service, Intelligence Community, Federal Law Enforcement, or equivalent private-sector leadership experience.
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Experience working with International SOS or comparable global security providers
Compensation:
Salary ranges from $150,000 to $170,000 based on experience. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, and 403(b) contribution match to 4%.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Spirit of America is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, or other protected characteristics in accordance with applicable laws.
