Security Leadership Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Security Managers, Facilities Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-SM-045

Before you join: Participants should have at least one to three years of experience in security, facilities, HSE, operations, business continuity, risk, compliance or a related management role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Security leaders must protect people, facilities, information, assets and operational continuity while working within legal, ethical and commercial constraints. They are expected to assess threats, direct protective resources, manage incidents, oversee suppliers and explain residual risk to senior decision-makers. Poorly defined responsibilities, weak threat intelligence, inconsistent incident records and poorly tested crisis arrangements can expose an organisation to injury, loss, disruption, regulatory action and reputational damage.

This course develops the practical security management capability expected of managers responsible for corporate, site, facilities, operational or protective security. Participants apply ISO 31000 risk principles, threat assessment methods, physical security design concepts, personnel security controls, incident command structures and investigation processes. The course also addresses business continuity, crisis management, security budgeting, supplier oversight, assurance reporting and leadership communication. Participants learn to turn security concerns into defined risks, proportionate controls, accountable actions and executive-ready recommendations.

Teaching combines instructor briefings, sector-based cases, facilitated group analysis, incident simulations and structured application planning. Cases may include site intrusion, insider misconduct, civil unrest, contractor failure, theft, workplace violence and disruption to critical operations. Participants leave with a reusable security management pack containing a risk register, incident command framework, investigation plan, assurance dashboard and 90-day action plan. The course is delivered over five instructor-led days, either in a classroom or live online, and includes a certificate of completion.

It is suited to professionals who already work near security, safety, facilities, operations, resilience or risk functions and now need to lead security activity with greater authority and discipline.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess security risks using ISO 31000 principles, threat scenarios and calibrated risk criteria
  • Design proportionate physical, personnel and procedural security controls for priority assets
  • Direct incident response using command structures, decision logs and escalation thresholds
  • Plan ethical security investigations using PEACE interviewing and chain-of-custody controls
  • Develop crisis and business continuity arrangements using business impact analysis and scenario planning
  • Prepare security strategies, budgets and investment cases linked to risk reduction objectives
  • Manage security suppliers through due diligence, service-level agreements and assurance reviews
  • Produce a 90-day security leadership action plan with accountable priorities and measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater credibility when briefing executives on security risks and investment decisions
  • Practical structure for leading incident response under time pressure
  • Stronger capability to assess guards, technology providers and security contractors
  • Defensible methods for documenting investigations and sensitive personnel concerns
  • A prioritised 90-day plan for improving security arrangements in a current role

For your organisation

  • More consistent security risk decisions across sites, functions and business units
  • Clearer incident escalation, command authority and post-incident accountability
  • Better targeted spending on guards, access control, surveillance and resilience measures
  • Stronger oversight of security suppliers, contract performance and corrective actions
  • Improved readiness for disruptive events affecting people, assets and operations

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a security mandate, governance structure and accountable decision rights.

  • Security leadership mandate aligned with corporate governance, risk appetite and dutyholders
  • Roles and accountabilities mapped through RACI matrices and escalation thresholds
  • Three-lines model applied to ownership, oversight and independent assurance
  • Security policy hierarchy linking standards, procedures, post orders and records
  • Legal compliance registers covering licensing, privacy, employment and use-of-force
  • Decision rights for routine incidents, major events and executive notification
  • Ethical conduct controls addressing conflicts, gifts, surveillance and confidentiality

Participants can assess security risks and select proportionate treatment actions.

  • ISO 31000 principles translated into a security risk management process
  • Asset-threat-vulnerability-consequence analysis using credible threat scenarios
  • Risk matrices calibrated for likelihood, impact, velocity and control effectiveness
  • Bow-tie analysis connecting preventive barriers, recovery controls and escalation
  • Site risk registers with owners, treatments, due dates and residual ratings
  • Risk appetite statements used to distinguish acceptance, treatment and transfer
  • Emerging threat monitoring through indicators, intelligence requirements and review cycles

Participants can produce decision-focused threat assessments from reliable intelligence inputs.

  • Intelligence cycle: direction, collection, processing, analysis, dissemination and feedback
  • Information requirements framed around decisions, warning thresholds and priority threats
  • Source evaluation using reliability and credibility ratings before distribution
  • Structured analytical techniques separating facts, assumptions, inferences and gaps
  • Threat assessments covering hostile reconnaissance, insider risk, protest and terrorism
  • Protective intelligence reports written with confidence levels and recommended actions
  • Privacy, proportionality and retention controls for security intelligence records

Participants can specify layered physical security controls and supervise guard-force delivery.

  • CPTED principles applied to perimeter, access, surveillance and territorial reinforcement
  • Defence-in-depth designs combining people, procedures, technology and structural measures
  • Access-control zoning based on asset criticality, visitor flow and authorisation
  • Security surveys documenting vulnerabilities, observations, photographs and corrective actions
  • Guard-force deployment planned through post orders, patrol routes and supervision
  • CCTV coverage assessed for detection, recognition, identification and evidential quality
  • Security technology specifications balancing performance, maintenance, privacy and lifecycle cost

Participants can manage personnel security controls while protecting fairness, privacy and due process.

  • Personnel security lifecycle from pre-employment screening through exit controls
  • Insider-threat indicators assessed without discrimination, profiling or unsupported conclusions
  • Contractor security requirements embedded in tender documents, service levels and audits
  • Training matrices defining induction, refresher, specialist and incident-response competencies
  • Speak-up channels, welfare referrals and disciplinary boundaries for concerning behaviour
  • Security culture measured through reporting quality, rule adherence and survey findings
  • Union, HR and legal stakeholders engaged before sensitive personnel interventions

Participants can coordinate security incidents through clear command, communications and decision records.

  • Incident command structures matched to site complexity, authority and resource needs
  • Initial actions prioritising life safety, scene control, notifications and evidence
  • Decision logs recording rationale, approvals, intelligence and changing conditions
  • Incident classification thresholds distinguishing routine events, emergencies, crises and business disruption
  • Command-centre communications using common operating pictures and briefing rhythms
  • Media, regulator and family liaison coordinated through approved communication protocols
  • After-action reviews producing corrective actions, owners, deadlines and verification

Participants can plan, conduct and report workplace security investigations with evidential discipline.

  • Investigation plans defining allegation, scope, authorities, evidence and reporting lines
  • PEACE interviewing principles for ethical, structured witness and subject interviews
  • Chain-of-custody records protecting physical, digital and documentary evidence
  • Evidence matrices testing relevance, reliability, corroboration and evidential gaps
  • Case files managed with access restrictions, retention schedules and disclosure controls
  • Root-cause analysis using five whys, fishbone diagrams and causal factors
  • Investigation reports separating findings, substantiation, recommendations and management decisions

Participants can connect security response plans with crisis leadership and continuity recovery priorities.

  • ISO 22301 concepts linking security incidents, business impact and continuity priorities
  • Business impact analysis identifying maximum tolerable downtime and recovery objectives
  • Crisis-management plans defining activation criteria, roles, facilities and communications
  • Scenario planning for kidnapping, civil unrest, cyber disruption and natural hazards
  • Evacuation, lockdown and shelter procedures aligned with threat-specific decision criteria
  • Tabletop validation testing plans, assumptions, handoffs and executive decision-making
  • Recovery coordination tracking security restoration, staff welfare and stakeholder updates

Participants can build a security strategy and justify resources through risk-based business cases.

  • Security strategies translated into objectives, initiatives, measures, owners and milestones
  • Cost-benefit analysis compares risk reduction, operating cost and capital expenditure
  • Security budgets distinguish fixed costs, variable demand and contingency reserves
  • Key performance indicators balance prevention, response, compliance and stakeholder confidence
  • Vendor due diligence assesses competence, insurance, financial stability and data controls
  • Service-level agreements specify response times, reporting, audit rights and remedies
  • Executive papers present options, residual risk, investment rationale and recommendations

Participants can influence stakeholders and prioritise an actionable security improvement programme.

  • Stakeholder maps identify operational, executive, regulator, community and emergency-service interests
  • Influence plans match messages, evidence and channels to decision-maker priorities
  • Security leadership behaviours build trust, challenge complacency and support reporting
  • Cross-functional governance resolves tensions between protection, privacy, operations and cost
  • Security assurance dashboards communicate trends, control gaps and treatment progress
  • Personal 90-day action plans prioritise mandate, risks, relationships and quick wins
  • Peer review refines action plans against organisational constraints and accountabilities

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Security risk register template
  2. Threat assessment report model
  3. Incident command and escalation framework
  4. Security investigation plan and evidence log
  5. Security assurance dashboard template
  6. 90-day security leadership action plan

Who should attend

  • Security Managers — need structured methods for directing people, controls, incidents and suppliers
  • Facilities Managers — oversee access, guarding, surveillance and site protection responsibilities
  • HSE Managers — need to coordinate security risks with safety, emergency and continuity arrangements
  • Business Continuity Managers — require stronger security incident and crisis management integration
  • Operations Managers — hold accountability for vulnerable sites, staff and critical processes
  • Risk and Compliance Managers — need assurance methods for security governance and control effectiveness

Skills and tools covered

Security risk assessmentThreat intelligence analysisIncident commandPhysical security designSecurity investigationsCrisis management

Tools and standards

ISO 31000, ISO 22301, ISO 18788, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods and terminology, followed by case analysis, facilitated group work and decision-based simulations. Participants assess realistic security scenarios, review control failures, interpret incident information and prepare management responses. Discussion draws on workplace examples from corporate sites, public facilities, industrial operations and critical services. Structured templates are used throughout so participants can adapt the methods to their own responsibilities. The final sessions focus on application priorities, stakeholder engagement and a practical 90-day action plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one to three years of experience in security, facilities, HSE, operations, business continuity, risk, compliance or a related management role. They should understand their organisation's basic reporting lines, operational activities and main workplace risks. Familiarity with incident reporting, site procedures or supplier management is useful. The course does not require prior security certification, law-enforcement experience, military service, technical cyber security knowledge or formal qualifications in risk management. It is not an entry-level guard training programme.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have practical exposure to security, facilities, HSE, operations, resilience, risk or compliance work. Prior security certification is not required, but the course assumes familiarity with organisational processes and workplace responsibilities.

Participants should bring a laptop if possible and may bring non-sensitive examples of their current security arrangements, risk registers or incident processes. Confidential documents, personal data and restricted site information should not be shared.

The course is designed for managers and aspiring managers with responsibility for security decisions, sites, teams, suppliers or incident coordination. It also suits HSE, facilities, continuity and operations professionals whose roles include protective security.

This is a management and leadership course rather than guard licensing, tactical response or system-administration training. It addresses governance, risk, physical protection, people, incidents, investigations, continuity and executive decision-making.

Participants can use the templates and methods to review a site risk register, clarify escalation arrangements, assess a supplier, improve an incident process or prepare an investment case. The 90-day action plan identifies practical priorities for their own role.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days cover ten teaching modules, with short briefings, case work, group analysis, simulations and application planning distributed throughout.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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