Director, Global Travel Health and Safety

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Be You.

Duke University is seeking an experienced and strategic Director, Global Travel Health and Safety to lead the enterprise-wide approach to global travel risk management, traveler readiness, and coordinated incident response. This highly visible leadership role oversees the Global Travel, Health and Safety office and serves as the university's senior subject matter expert for international travel health, safety, security, emergency preparedness, travel operations, and risk governance.  

In this role, you will shape the strategy, policies, systems, and services that support thousands of Duke-sponsored travelers worldwide, including undergraduate, graduate and professional students, faculty, staff, researchers, and program leaders. You will provide executive leadership for complex travel risk decisions, emergency response coordination, traveler location and registry management, health and safety consultation, and the technologies and vendor partnerships that enable Duke's global programs and activities.  

You will partner closely with senior university leaders, academic units, Duke Health, Athletics, Legal, Risk Management, Human Resources, Student Affairs, Campus Emergency Management, Research Administration, Information Technology, Duke Police, and external service providers to ensure Duke maintains a comprehensive and consistent duty of care framework. Your work will directly influence institutional preparedness, traveler safety, policy development, risk mitigation, and operational excellence across the university's global footprint.  

This position is ideal for a leader who thrives in complex environments, can navigate high-stakes situations with confidence, and enjoys building enterprise-wide partnerships that strengthen institutional resilience and global engagement.  

Minimum Requirements

• Master's degree in international education, risk management, security studies, emergency management, public health, higher education administration, public administration, law, or a related field.
• Significant directly related experience may be considered as an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Six years of progressively responsible experience in global travel health and safety, emergency or crisis management, travel risk management, international operations, international education, international research, or a closely related field.
• Experience establishing strategy and leading complex operational functions within a university, nonprofit, government, nongovernmental organization, or similarly decentralized environment.
• At least three years of formal staff supervision or equivalent leadership responsibility managing a multi-person team or function.
• Demonstrated experience leading crisis preparation and response efforts, managing complex incidents or emergencies, and advising senior leaders during time-sensitive situations.
• Experience developing and implementing policies, standards, operational protocols, programs, or systems that impact multiple populations, departments, or organizational units.
• Experience working with higher education compliance frameworks, including areas such as Clery, FERPA, Title IX, high-risk travel governance, or related institutional requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced expertise in global travel risk management, traveler health and safety, security operations, emergency preparedness, and incident response.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide travel risk programs that serve varied traveler populations, including students, faculty, staff, researchers, and international programs.
• Demonstrated success leading through influence within complex and decentralized organizations.
• Experience managing international assistance providers, risk management vendors, travel technologies, insurance programs, or global mobility services.
• Strong understanding of risk assessment methodologies, emergency communications, contingency planning, and after-action improvement processes.
• Ability to synthesize complex information quickly and provide concise recommendations to senior executive leaders.
• Exceptional written, oral, presentation, and intercultural communication skills.
• Experience developing executive reports, policy documents, training programs, and institutional communications.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive personal, health, security, student, and employment-related information with discretion and sound judgment.

Other Requirements

• Participation in a rotating 24/7 emergency response and on-call coverage program.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, including on short notice when operational needs require.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and nontraditional hours during emergencies or critical incidents.
• Periodic domestic and international travel for program assessments, professional engagement, training, or emergency response activities.
• Crisis response situations may involve fast-paced decision-making and emotionally demanding circumstances.

This position is hybrid eligible and the employee must reside in a Duke University-approved state.  

Be Bold.

As the Director of Global Travel Health and Safety, you will provide enterprise leadership for Duke University's integrated global travel risk, health, safety, and emergency response portfolio.

Enterprise Strategy, Governance, Policy and Compliance (25%)

• Develop and lead Duke's enterprise strategy, operating model, standards, policies, procedures, and service expectations for Duke-sponsored and Duke-supported international travel.
• Establish operational goals, service standards, compliance measures, and performance monitoring systems that ensure program effectiveness and continuous improvement.
• Advise Duke Global and university leadership regarding global travel risks, emerging threats, institutional exposure, and matters requiring senior-level decision making.
• Serve as Travel Policy Administrator and provide oversight for policy interpretation, administration, maintenance, review, and revision.
• Lead administration and support of the Global Travel Advisory Committee (GTAC) and other governance bodies responsible for elevated-risk travel review and major incident response.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with schools, departments, and university stakeholders to ensure coordinated implementation of travel health and safety responsibilities.
• Collaborate with Legal, Risk Management, Human Resources, Student Affairs, Campus Emergency Management, Research Administration, Duke Health, Duke Police, Information Technology, and other partners to align policies, procedures, and operational practices.
• Ensure compliance with applicable university policies, legal requirements, privacy standards, student support frameworks, and professional best practices.

Crisis Management, Emergency Preparedness and 24/7 Response (25%)

• Provide executive leadership for preparedness and response efforts involving Duke travelers and programs operating domestically and internationally.
• Establish incident management protocols, escalation standards, emergency notification processes, documentation requirements, and after-hours response expectations.
• Oversee and participate in a sustainable 24/7 on-call response structure with defined escalation and coverage responsibilities.
• Serve as senior incident coordinator for high-consequence events, including serious injury, illness, death, detention, disappearance, evacuations, natural disasters, political unrest, misconduct investigations, and other complex emergencies.
• Lead cross-functional response teams during critical incidents and coordinate timely decision making among university leadership and key stakeholders.
• Direct after-action reviews, identify systemic improvements, and implement enhancements to policies, training, staffing models, technology solutions, and operational procedures.

Risk Intelligence, Assessment and Traveler Consultation (15%)

• Direct Duke's approach to evaluating and mitigating travel-related risks across global programs and traveler populations.
• Monitor geopolitical, public health, environmental, security, legal, and operational developments that may impact travelers and university-sponsored activities.
• Oversee risk assessments for destinations, programs, independent travel, field research, and activities occurring in elevated-risk environments.
• Provide strategic consultation to academic units, researchers, program leaders, and travelers regarding mitigation strategies, emergency planning, transportation, insurance, communications, data security, export controls, and contingency planning.
• Coordinate risk consultation and emergency support efforts for Athletics-sponsored international travel.
• Guide development of differentiated support models that address the unique needs of undergraduates, faculty, researchers, graduate students, staff, and program leaders.
• Conduct or direct program, site, and partner assessments and provide recommendations to strengthen traveler safety and operational resilience.

Integrated Travel Operations, Technology, Vendors and Data (15%)

• Provide executive oversight for travel systems, technologies, service providers, operational processes, and enterprise travel data.
• Manage International SOS and other critical vendor relationships involving assistance services, insurance programs, travel documentation support, and technology solutions.
• Oversee Duke's travel registry and traveler location systems, ensuring operational effectiveness, data accuracy, system integration, compliance monitoring, and incident readiness.
• Direct traveler documentation and outbound visa support services.
• Lead development and utilization of dashboards, analytical tools, and reporting frameworks to monitor travel activity, risk trends, incident metrics, service demands, and vendor performance.
• Utilize operational data and analytics to support strategic decision making and continuous improvement initiatives.

Readiness, Education, Partnerships and Communications (10%)

• Establish enterprise standards for traveler preparation, leader training, emergency readiness, tabletop exercises, and stakeholder education.
• Oversee development and delivery of population-specific training and preparedness resources.
• Strengthen partnerships across academic and administrative units to support proactive planning and coordinated response capabilities.
• Develop guidance materials, executive communications, policy documentation, web content, reports, and presentations.
• Represent Duke on institutional committees and with peer institutions, government agencies, professional organizations, service providers, and other external stakeholders.

People, Budget and Organizational Leadership (10%)

• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing team dedicated to supporting Duke's global travel health and safety mission.
• Establish performance expectations, allocate resources, manage workloads, and foster professional growth opportunities.
• Translate strategic priorities into operational plans and measurable service commitments.
• Manage departmental budgets, contracts, vendor relationships, and financial resources.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, thoughtful risk management, responsiveness, and exceptional service.

Choose Duke.

Duke University is one of the world's leading research institutions, recognized for excellence in education, innovation, global engagement, and discovery. The Global Travel Health and Safety team plays a critical role in supporting Duke's expanding international presence by protecting travelers, strengthening institutional resilience, and enabling transformative global learning, research, and service opportunities.

This is a unique opportunity to shape and lead an enterprise-wide function that influences the safety, preparedness, and success of Duke travelers around the world. You will collaborate with senior leaders across the university, drive strategic initiatives with institution-wide impact, and help create the framework that supports Duke's global mission for years to come.