Security Programs Specialist

About Seattle Center

Seattle Center is where community comes together—an iconic, inclusive destination that delights and inspires the human spirit. Seattle Center is the region's premier civic, arts and family gathering place in the core of our city and region, home to more than 30 arts, cultural, and entertainment organizations, family attractions, and tourist amenities. Seattle Center expanded its role recently beyond our well‑known 74‑acre campus to serve as the City’s lead for operating Seattle’s new Waterfront Park, a series of new public spaces on Seattle’s downtown waterfront between Pioneer Square and the Seattle Aquarium.

As a department of the City of Seattle, Seattle Center contributes to the quality of life for Seattle residents—and the region's economy and image as its top visitor destination.

In 2023, Seattle Center expanded its role to provide operations, maintenance and public safety services for Seattle’s new Waterfront Park, a series of new public spaces on Seattle’s downtown waterfront between Pioneer Square and Pier 62. Seattle Center has brought its deep experience successfully managing public space to the Waterfront in partnership with the non‑profit Friends of Waterfront Seattle, which already offers a range of recreational and cultural programming to the community.

Our goal has been to grow Seattle Center’s team by 20% over the last two years to meet this new opportunity, and to build a unified team to support both Seattle Center and the new Waterfront Park.

We are seeking a Security Program Specialist to lead and supervise the Waterfront Park Emergency Services Unit. This position will implement the established Performance Standards for Waterfront Park and help ensure the safety and enjoyment of park visitors. The Security Program Specialist will report to the Seattle Center Emergency Services Manager and align the Waterfront Emergency Services team with the existing Seattle Center Department and its strong and positive culture.

This will include partnering with peer personnel based on the Seattle Center campus and being part of the Seattle Center Leadership Team. The unit places a very strong emphasis on providing excellent customer service to guests, clients and staff as well as helping to ensure their safety and enjoyment while they are at Seattle Center and the Waterfront Park. The unit has officers on duty around the clock 365 days a year.

The position exercises discretion and judgment in handling security matters, using security and de‑escalation methods and prioritizing the handling of multiple incidents, but does not have the formal arrest authority of a sworn officer.

• Assist with planning, developing, and implementing department‑wide security policies and procedures; inspect security operations, review procedures and recommend corrective measures as appropriate.
• Contribute to the administration of the security program and staff by modeling Seattle Center organizational values, overseeing activities, ensuring effective communication, supporting a positive workplace culture, and supervising security officers and security activities.
• Coordinate and monitor staff training and provide expertise and support throughout the annual training cycle to ensure staff are meeting requirements.
• Act as lead point of contact with external law enforcement and other government agencies regarding special event needs or risk considerations.
• Attend meetings with clients and partner organizations to assess security requirements and plan programs to improve security.
• May be needed for after‑hours communications regarding emergent events or incident troubleshooting.
• Prepare, review, and maintain security incident reports, procedures and filing systems.
• Schedule staff to shifts with regular adjustments for vacations, call‑offs, or special needs.
• Review and approve timesheets for subordinate staff.
• Conduct performance management for direct reports as needed, including annual appraisals.
• Monitor vehicles assigned to the Emergency Services unit and report damage to the proper departments. Schedule routine maintenance and ensure vehicles…