Imperial’s Head of Security is awarded AUSCO Security Manager of the Year while team also win Security Initiative of the Year.

Imperial's Head of Security, Terry Branch, has won the Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO) Security Manager of the Year Award for 2022, whilst the team as a whole have also won Security Initiative of the Year. 

Terry Branch joined Imperial in 2001 and has been the Head of Security since 2008.  

The College Security team recently piloted several industry-first health and wellbeing initiatives, including supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of the College security officers.  

His recognition comes not only in light of these recent initiatives but also in show of his continued dedication to the safety of the College campuses, and his support of optimal training and development for the College’s security officers.  

A forward thinker, his foresight around risk management led to the College contract with an external security intelligence company whereby the College now receives weekly and real-time intelligence reports documenting any potential risk based on both individual and College activities. 

Over the past couple of years, Terry has also shone a spotlight on the mental rigours of the job that affects the security officers, pointing out the higher-than-average levels of duress they can encounter when dealing with emergencies or by simply being alert and on-call for extended periods of time.   

“All our officers have been on campus and dedicated, even during both lockdowns, so it was important that we sought to ensure their health and best practices,” explained Terry, who helped lead the creation of the Health MOT package with the College security team. From this initiative, the ‘Secure Your Wellbeing’ programme was then developed in partnership with the College’s Health & Wellbeing team at Move Imperial to further support the wellness of the College security.  

A project developed for them by them, the security team’s involvement and individual efforts have made this programme a great initial success. They are now the blueprint for other departments across the college as well as other colleges across the country.  

The College is a leading hub for health research; the security team’s success this year adds evidence to this affirmation and earns their award for Security Initiative of the Year.