Regional Safety & Security Director at International Rescue Committee

Position Summary

• The Regional Safety and Security Director (RSSD) guides the development, implementation and monitoring of an effective strategy to identify, analyze and mitigate safety and security risks, enable humanitarian access, maintain continuity of programs, responds to incidents and provide for the protection of all IRC employees and assets. The RSSD advises the Regional Vice President (RVP). They provide comprehensive gender inclusive security risk analysis and recommendations related to strategic, operational, programmatic, partnership, and cross-cutting risks. The RSSD is the subject matter expert on humanitarian access and community engagement strategies for the region. The RSSD ensures adequate protocols and mechanisms are in place to address country programs’ unique risks and challenges. They provide direction and technical support in developing and maintaining country programs’ security management in line with IRC Safety and Security policy, framework, processes and protocols.
• Reporting to the RVP and the Senior Director Security and Safety (SDSS) the RSSD is a permanent member of IRC's regional senior management team and of the global safety and security team. Key relationships include the RVP; Senior Director Security and Safety, Chief Safety and Security Officer, Deputy Regional Director; Regional Gender Advisor, Regional HR Directors, Country Directors; Deputy Directors; Country Security Leads.
• Under the broad guidance of the RVP, the RSSD has a substantial level of autonomy in execution of responsibilities. They will work with country teams to ensure that organizational security policies and procedures are responsive to the context, relevant to the security environment, and known to staff; and that security plans and measures are developed and maintained current and appropriate to changing security environments.
• The RSSD will maintain contextual knowledge of all regional programs, including awareness of early warning indicators affecting safety and security, and will travel regularly to all countries in the region, including at short notice when vital. They will mentor and build IRC staff counterpart capacities to operate optimally and contribute actively to enable durable programming and to reduce IRC's operational vulnerabilities.
• The RSSD will develop the S&S culture and will actively work on the S&S strategies to develop this crucial pillar. EA has decided to prioritize the pillars of Culture and Partnership in its regional S&S strategy 2022-2025. The RSSD will support each country in the implementation and follow-up of their country S&S Strategies.
• The RSSD is the overall responsible for S&S management in East Africa and is supported by the Regional Humanitarian Access Security and Safety Coordinator (RHASSC). They share their tasks according to a plan reviewed on a yearly basis. Daily support of Kenya program and the Nairobi Regional Office (IHUB), Uganda, and Ethiopia is delegated to the RHASSC.
• The RSSD coordinates the response management of severe incidents and is part of the Regional Incident Management Team (RIMT).

Responsibilities

Security Risk Management

• Lead departmental security risk identification and mitigation measures that align with organizational and regional risk-management standards and requirements;
• Assist regional leaders in developing and maintaining IRC Humanitarian security risk management ensuring security risks are identified, mitigated and handled;
• Provide input, including comprehensive security risk analyses and recommendations, to the RVP and the Regional colleagues;
• Actively contribute to the creation and roll-out of duty of care and safeguarding global and regional initiatives;
• Counsel the RVP, Deputy Regional Director and Country Directors of any areas of concern and non-adherence to IRC policy and procedures;
• Guide the development Safety and Security (S&S) procedures and practices which integrate with gender, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERs), support associated roll out and adherence;
• Ensure that IRC partners receive security management support benefiting from internal systems and standard processes relevant to their operations and operating contexts;
• Prepare the Regional Daily Security Report;

Humanitarian Access Management

• Support the RHASSC on the establishment of secure humanitarian access across country programs
• Assist the RHASSC in the continued development of humanitarian access teams and activities across the region
• Contribute to the evolution and implementation of guidelines for humanitarian access and engagement with non-state actors articulating standard IRC policy and guidance
• Maintain a high level of programmatic and operational preparedness vis-a-vis predicted contextual fluctuations
• Support the development of operational and programmatic contingency plans that responds to different emergency scenarios that look at sudden changes in context
• Enhance IRC image and acceptance within the community and amongst collaborators by providing guidance on inclusive visibility strategies
• Work with appropriate IRC units to ensure timely and appropriate follow-up to violations of IRC’s Code of Conduct, in addition to operational breaches to humanitarian principles

Security Management Planning and Compliance

• Remotely and through a minimum of one visit per country program per year (if budget allows it), supervise and support adherence to Policy, principles, standards, and requirements. Provide a follow-up report with clear findings and actionable recommendations after each visit. Track progress and report concerns to country, regional and global Security leadership when required.
• Ensure Country Security lead are preparing and sharing accurate S&S reporting, ensure data consistency and report into global dashboards
• Prepare each quarter and at the end of the year, a regional snapshot of S&S management
• Review and follow up all the S&S strategies for each country, support the HASC in their implementation and challenges. Organize a quarterly meeting with the HASC to ensure a proper follow up of their S&S Strategy and invite the relevant interlocutors (which might include Country Directors, Deputy Directors for Operations and Programs, HR and others)
• Review, follow up and support the countries in the implementation of their Security Minimum Standards tool and plan quarterly meetings with the HASC to discuss their challenges.
• Support country program with S&S country score card objective settings and progress follow-up, attends the quarterly meeting organized by DDOs.

Staff Performance Management and Development

• Actively participate in the recruitment of key positions with S&S risk management responsibilities (Country Directors, dedicated country security leads and others)
• Co-Manage with country Directors direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and leading documented regular performance reviews
• Provide constructive feedback, professional development and capacity-building plans for all supervised staff
• Promote staff care and well-being. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff
• The RSSD is the direct supervisor of the RHASSC and as such respects their obligations according to HR regulations.

Learning & Development

• Support the RHASSC in the capacity building plan follow up and facilitate the delivery of IRC S&S L&D framework towards IRC staff and where appropriate, IRC partners.
• Champion staff capacity building plans through the RHASSC who keeps records on staff training and report data to regional and global security level as required.
• Ensure capacity development and learning initiatives account for gender-specific risks and requirements.
• Assist country program offices in arranging security training and workshops appropriate to their security environments.
• Delivers the Critical Incident Management training for country SMT once a year.
• Organize and lead Regional S&S weeks with all country HASC and relevant guests (according to budget available)

Incident management

• Support Country program with timely and qualitative incident notification, reporting, analysis and lessons learned
• Scan communications from country programs related to security incidents and planning, and provide timely feedback
• As a permanent member of the Regional Incident management Team, actively support the RVP during management and resolution of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Incidents
• Lead After Action Review and supervise implementation of corrective measures as par existing incident protocols
• Manage the IRC online (SHIELD) incident database for the region and produce an analysis of the trends on a quarterly basis.
• Report the main trends and vulnerabilities through the ‘’Food For Thoughts’’ news letter

Liaison & Networking

• Maintain a network of IRC security focal points in the country programs as well as external professional contacts and counterparts, monitor the security environment in the region, identify new threats, assess IRC vulnerabilities and recommend possible responses
• Respond to questions and technical assistance requests from country programs
• Supervise and provide support and reporting on NGO field security initiatives as required
• Actively participate as a member of the East Africa Regional Security Forum.
• Plan and chair the regional monthly S&S meeting with all the country HASC

Emergency Response and Critical Incident Management

• As required, support the RVP, Country Director(s) and NY-based senior managers during humanitarian or security/safety emergencies, serving on the regional critical incident management team
• Assist with the security component (situation analysis and background information, security assessments) of the Emergency Response Team deployments in the region
• During critical incident, Act as technical supervisor for all country security leads
• Train the Regional and country SMT on critical incident management and compile all the lists available in a dedicated file.
• Follow on a quarterly basis the S&S contingency plans status documents (including sat phones list updated) for each country.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Minimum 8 years of non-profit or NGO work experience in international humanitarian assistance programs, with demonstrated capabilities in planning, organizing and implementing security management operations.
• Demonstrated understanding of humanitarian principles, codes of conduct, and NGO organizational practices.
• Thorough familiarity with principles and current approaches to permissive/acceptance models of security management.
• Demonstrated understanding and successes in gender security management and gender equality
• Skilled in influencing and obtaining collaboration of individuals not under supervisory control; able to work as member of multinational team and lead a variety of external and internal relationships to achieve results.
• Consistent track record to transfer knowledge through mentoring and other non-formal methods.
• Ability to quickly gain a comprehensive understanding of various local, regional, country and international factors that impact security environments and risk levels.
• Ability to prepare and present, on short notice, clear analyses of contextual dynamics, events, security incidents, and their ramifications for IRC operations.
• Self-motivated and able to work effectively without close supervision.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Readiness and ability to travel approximately 40% of the time.
• Prior experience working in the region and demonstrated knowledge of regional and country dynamics are strongly preferred. We especially welcome candidates from the East Africa region.