Security Officer
Seattle Pacific University | Office of Safety & Security | Seattle, Washington
Position Details
- Status: Full-time, part-time, temporary, or third-party assignment depending on staffing need.
- Location: On-campus in Seattle, Washington; 3307 3rd Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119.
- Schedule: 24/7/365 operation. May include days, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, emergency call-in, holdover, and modified schedules. Shifts (day, swing, grave) may be 5/8s or 4/10s for full time positions with flexibility for part time positions.
- Pay range: Starting pay is $26.00 per hour, with step increases to $27.00 and $28.00 per hour upon successful completion of required training milestones and a 90-day probationary period.
- Benefits: Benefits, paid time off, and other employment-related programs are provided in accordance with the policies of the approved third-party staffing partner.
Who We Are
Seattle Pacific University is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington, shaped by its Christian heritage and mission and fully committed to engaging the culture and changing the world by graduating people of competence and character, becoming people of wisdom, and modeling grace-filled community. SPU serves an open-enrollment campus community made up of students, employees, families, guests, neighbors, and community members from a wide range of backgrounds, beliefs, and life experiences.
The Office of Safety & Security supports this mission through 24/7/365 campus safety operations, dispatch and central monitoring, emergency response, fire and life safety support, access control, security technology, parking enforcement, incident documentation, and community assistance. OSS is a service-oriented safety operation, not a static guard-post operation. Security Officers serve in a highly visible role that requires professionalism, judgment, care for people, de-escalation, clear communication, accurate documentation, emergency readiness, and alignment with SPU’s mission-centered environment.
Officers assigned to SPU through a third-party staffing partner are expected to follow OSS post orders, training requirements, uniform and equipment standards, operational procedures, work expectations, daily direction, performance standards, and campus safety practices while assigned to SPU. Candidates must be comfortable serving in a faith-rooted university environment where professionalism, restraint, compassion, accountability, and respect for all people are essential.
Why This Role Can Be a Strong Career Move
This role is a strong entry point into campus safety, public safety, dispatch, emergency management, fire and life safety, security technology, investigations, access control, and security leadership. Security Officers at SPU gain practical experience in a 24/7 university safety operation that includes field patrol, emergency communications, fire monitoring, medical response, incident documentation, de-escalation, access control, special events, and coordination with police, fire, EMS, Residence Life, Facilities, Student Life, and other campus partners.
OSS experience can also build a practical foundation for future career growth. Former employees have gone on to serve in law enforcement, sheriff’s departments, federal service, security leadership, investigations, Title IX administration, legal careers, intelligence-related work, emergency management, fire service, EMT/medical response, and other public safety, life safety, or compliance roles. While no specific career path is guaranteed, this role helps develop transferable skills in judgment, communication, documentation, situational awareness, service, operational discipline, and decision-making under pressure.
This role is a good fit for someone who wants more than a stationary security post. It is for someone who wants to learn, serve, respond, communicate clearly, write professionally, use good judgment, and build meaningful experience in a mission-centered campus safety environment.
What We Need
We need dependable, observant, service-minded Security Officers who can support the safety, security, and emergency readiness of Seattle Pacific University. This position blends patrol, dispatch, central monitoring, emergency response, fire and life safety support, access control, policy enforcement, customer service, and accurate documentation.
The right candidate can move between field response, central monitoring, radio communication, written reporting, customer service, and emergency support. Security Officers must be able to work respectfully with students, employees, visitors, parents, vendors, emergency responders, and campus partners while maintaining professionalism, confidentiality, good judgment, and calm decision-making.
Security Officers may be employed directly by Seattle Pacific University or payrolled through an approved third-party staffing partner while assigned to SPU. In either model, officers assigned to SPU are expected to follow OSS post orders, training requirements, uniform and equipment standards, operational procedures, work expectations, daily direction, performance standards, confidentiality standards, technology-use expectations, and campus safety practices while assigned to SPU.
Because OSS provides 24/7/365 coverage and proprietary fire monitoring, dispatch and central monitoring are core security responsibilities. Dispatch must be staffed as directed by OSS leadership, including when staffing decisions require prioritizing dispatch and central monitoring coverage over field patrol coverage.
What You'll Do
Security Officers support SPU’s 24/7 campus safety operation through visible patrol, dispatch and central monitoring, emergency response, fire and life safety support, access control, parking and policy response, special event support, community assistance, and accurate documentation.
Officers respond to calls for service, monitor security and life safety systems, assist with emergencies and building access needs, support campus events, communicate by phone and radio, coordinate with campus partners and emergency responders, and document incidents and activity in department-approved systems.
This role requires professionalism, sound judgment, de-escalation, confidentiality, clear communication, service to a diverse campus community, and readiness to complete required OSS training, follow post orders, use approved technology responsibly, and perform both patrol and dispatch duties as assigned.
Perform other related duties, special assignments, administrative tasks, inspections, projects, or support functions assigned by OSS leadership, consistent with the general nature and operational requirements of the Security Officer role.
What You Bring
Required Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Valid Washington State driver’s license, or ability to obtain one within a timeframe approved by OSS, if driving is an assigned duty.
- Ability to pass all required background checks, employment screening, driving record checks, and any third-party staffing or University clearance requirements.
- Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, by radio, and in writing; interact professionally and respectfully with students, employees, visitors, parents, emergency responders, and members of the public; and exercise sound judgment, restraint, compassion, accountability, and respect for all people while serving in SPU’s private Christian, mission-centered, open-enrollment campus environment.
- Ability to work independently, follow written and verbal instructions, prioritize competing calls, remain calm under pressure, and use sound judgment in routine, urgent, and emergency situations.
- Ability to learn and use assigned security, dispatch, CAD or incident reporting, camera, access control, fire alarm monitoring, parking, Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365, and other department-approved technology systems.
- Ability to complete required OSS training and meet expectations during the initial training and evaluation period, generally the first 90 days of employment or assignment, including training in first aid/CPR/AED, de-escalation, fire and life safety, report writing, emergency response, dispatch procedures, and other department-required competencies.
- Ability to perform the essential physical requirements of the position with or without reasonable accommodation..
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in campus security, public safety, dispatch, emergency response, security operations, residential life safety, customer service, military service, law enforcement support, fire and life safety, parking enforcement, or related fields.
- Bilingual or multilingual ability.
- Prior first aid/CPR/AED certification.
- Demonstrated ability to write clear, factual, objective incident reports.
- Interest in developing a career in campus safety, public safety, dispatch, emergency management, law enforcement, fire and life safety, security technology, investigations, or security leadership.
Work Environment and Cultural Expectations
This is an in-person, campus-based role in a 24/7/365 safety and security operation. Officers work inside and outside, in changing weather, during day and night shifts, and in routine and emergency conditions. Work may include days, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, emergency call-ins, holdovers, and modified schedules as required by operational need.
Security Officers are essential personnel. They may be required to report to work as assigned during emergencies, inclement weather, staffing shortages, special events, campus closures, power outages, critical incidents, or other operational needs. Because OSS provides proprietary fire monitoring, dispatch and central monitoring coverage must be maintained as directed by OSS leadership.
Officers may encounter medical emergencies, distressed individuals, conflict situations, fire alarms, safety hazards, criminal activity, policy violations, and sensitive personal information. The position requires the ability to stand, walk, sit, talk, hear, see, reach, grasp, use hand and finger dexterity, operate radios, phones, computers, keys, vehicles, and assigned security equipment, patrol interior and exterior campus areas, climb stairs, work in changing temperatures and weather, and respond to incidents across campus with or without reasonable accommodation.
SPU is a Christian university with open enrollment and a diverse campus community. Officers do not need to come from the same background or belief system as every person they serve. They do need to understand that SPU’s heritage and mission shape expectations for service, conduct, care for people, stewardship, and community life. Officers must be able to serve all community members respectfully while supporting the values, policies, and mission-centered expectations of the University.
New officers complete an initial training and evaluation period, generally the first 90 days of employment or assignment. During this period, officers receive orientation, field training, dispatch training, fire and life safety training, report-writing expectations, radio and communication protocols, customer service standards, technology training, and department policy instruction. The purpose of this period is to confirm the officer’s ability to meet OSS expectations for safety, service, judgment, attendance, documentation, confidentiality, dispatch readiness, patrol readiness, technology use, teamwork, and professional conduct.
How to Apply
- Please complete the online application by emailing [email protected] and be prepared to submit the following materials:
- Resume
- Cover Letter
- Three references (include contact information)
We look forward to hearing how your unique talents and giftings make you a great fit for this role and how you can contribute to the mission of SPU!
Pay: $26.00 - $28.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
