Security Managers
11-3013.01
Updated 2025

Direct an organization's security functions, including physical security and safety of employees and facilities.

Sample of reported job titles: Corporate Physical Security Supervisor, Corporate Security Manager, Judicial Office Security Director, Physical Security Manager, Physical Security Systems Manager, Regional Security Manager, Security and Surveillance Manager, Security Director, Security Manager, Special Security Operations Program Manager

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Develop budgets for security operations.
  • Identify, investigate, or resolve security breaches.
  • Plan, direct, or coordinate security activities to safeguard company employees, guests, or others on company property.
  • Direct or participate in emergency management and contingency planning.
  • Respond to medical emergencies, bomb threats, fire alarms, or intrusion alarms, following emergency response procedures.
  • Analyze and evaluate security operations to identify risks or opportunities for improvement through auditing, review, or assessment.
  • Create or implement security standards, policies, and procedures.
  • Assess risks to mitigate potential consequences of incidents and develop a plan to respond to incidents.
  • Supervise or provide leadership to subordinate security professionals, performing activities such as hiring, investigating applicants' backgrounds, training, assigning work, evaluating performance, or disciplining.
  • Develop, implement, manage, or evaluate policies and methods to protect personnel against harassment, threats, or violence.
  • Develop, recommend, or manage security procedures for operations or processes, such as security call centers, access control, and reporting tools.
  • Plan security for special and high-risk events.
  • Conduct threat or vulnerability analyses to determine probable frequency, criticality, consequence, or severity of natural or man-made disasters or criminal activity on the organization's profitability or delivery of products or services.
  • Conduct physical examinations of property to ensure compliance with security policies and regulations.
  • Monitor security policies, programs or procedures to ensure compliance with internal security policies, or applicable government security requirements, policies, and directives.
  • Coordinate security operations or activities with public law enforcement, fire and other agencies.
  • Monitor and ensure a sound, ethical environment.
  • Write or review security-related documents, such as incident reports, proposals, and tactical or strategic initiatives.
  • Communicate security status, updates, and actual or potential problems, using established protocols.
  • Train subordinate security professionals or other organization members in security rules and procedures.
  • Develop or manage investigation programs, including collection and preservation of video and notes of surveillance processes or investigative interviews.
  • Prepare reports or make presentations on internal investigations, losses, or violations of regulations, policies and procedures.
  • Attend meetings, professional seminars, or conferences to keep abreast of changes in executive legislative directives or new technologies impacting security operations.
  • Purchase security-related supplies, equipment, or technology.
  • Develop, arrange for, perform, or assess executive protection activities to reduce security risks.
  • Review financial reports to ensure efficiency and quality of security operations.
  • Develop, conduct, support, or assist in governmental reviews, internal corporate evaluations, or assessments of the overall effectiveness of facility and personnel security processes.
  • Support efforts to reduce substance abuse or other illegal activities in the workplace.
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Technology Skills

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Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Communicating with People Outside the Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Providing Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
  • Staffing Organizational Units — Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • E-Mail — 100% responded “Every day.”
  • Telephone Conversations — 89% responded “Every day.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 68% responded “Every day.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 67% responded “Every day.”
  • Contact With Others — 60% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 75% responded “More than 40 hours.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 56% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 50% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 45% responded “Important results.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 40% responded “Very high responsibility.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 65% responded “Very important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 45% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — 56% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — 47% responded “Very important.”
  • Written Letters and Memos — 47% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Time Pressure — 45% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 33% responded “Every day.”
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General — 45% responded “Very important.”
  • Level of Competition — 47% responded “Highly competitive.”
  • Conflict Situations — 47% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People — 37% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Spend Time Sitting — 50% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Physical Proximity — 47% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • Consequence of Error — 26% responded “Serious.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 32% responded “Important.”
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 35% responded “Once a year or more but not every month.”
  • Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions — 37% responded “Once a year or more but not every month.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Job Zone Examples
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, conservation scientists, art directors, and cost estimators.
SVP Range
(7.0 to < 8.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Management of Financial Resources — Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
  • Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
  • Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Management of Material Resources — Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
  • Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Knowledge

  • Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
  • Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Telecommunications — Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  • Communications and Media — Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 70%
     
    Bachelor’s degree required
  • 15%
     
    Master’s degree required
  • 10%
     
    Associate’s degree required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Speed of Closure — The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Time Sharing — The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).

Interests

Interest code: EC
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  • Enterprising — Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Styles

  • Leadership Orientation — A tendency to lead, take charge, offer opinions, and provide direction at work.
  • Perseverance — A tendency to exhibit determination and resolve to perform or complete tasks in the face of difficult circumstances or obstacles at work.
  • Stress Tolerance — A tendency to cope and function effectively in stressful situations at work.
  • Self-Control — A tendency to remain calm and composed and to manage emotions effectively in response to criticism or difficult situations at work.
  • Achievement Orientation — A tendency to establish and maintain personally challenging work-related goals, set high work-related standards, and exert high effort toward meeting those goals and standards.
  • Cautiousness — A tendency to be careful, deliberate, and risk-avoidant when making work-related decisions or doing work.
  • Integrity — A tendency to be honest and ethical at work.
  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wage data for Facilities Managers.
Employment data for Facilities Managers.
Industry data for Facilities Managers.
Median wages (2024)
$50.33 hourly, $104,690 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
151,400 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Average (3% to 4%)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
13,200
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
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Accreditation, Certification, & Unions