Regional Security Analyst at McKinsey & Company

Qualifications

• Degree in international relations, foreign policy, geopolitics, security or similar, with a focus on Africa preferred
• Desire and inclination to work in a safety and security field; experience and exposure to safety and security field including vendor is a big plus
• Strong analytical skills; professional experience in research and analysis
• Basic interview skills and experience
• Good service attitude and high level of professionalism
• Good problem-solving skills
• Strong team player; ability to work independently with remote team leaders and colleagues
• Ability to drive own research projects forward; ability to think outside of the box to obtain information needed
• Good PowerPoint and Excel skills; basic web editing knowledge preferred
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills; strong drafting and self-editing skills
• Good command of English, written and spoken; fluency in other widely-spoken languages in Africa such as French, Portuguese or Swahili
• Willingness to work flexible hours when incidents are in progress

What You'll Do

You will support the safety and security of studies (i.e., McKinsey’s projects) and those traveling on firm business.

In this role, you will perform security risk analysis, travel tracking, compilation of travel advice and guidance, research and risk assessment of remote or higher risk locations in Africa as well as day-to-day support of the regional security director. You will also provide written travel advice to McKinsey colleagues and will be responsible for capturing and presenting that advice in reusable formats. You will promote adherence to travel safety protocols for higher risk locations and compliance with safety elements of the travel policy.

You will perform web-based research from subscription and open sources, identify risk issues on travel destinations and develop guidance in appropriate formats including web-guides, pre-trip advisories, emails and data entry into backend databases for inclusion in mobile apps. You will compile safety plans for studies in remote or higher risk settings and locations where McKinsey has no offices and compile weekly updates on these studies. You will implement travel safety protocols in higher risk locations and track compliance of these protocols, monitor international, regional and local security incidents that can have an impact on the firm, studies or travelers. You will report issues and run commentary to key leadership and firm security.

You will also monitor daily travel tracker reports and reach out to travelers going to higher risk and remote locations. You will maintain approval tracking mechanisms for travelers to these locations, maintain extensive peer networks externally including regional analyst forums and the security/analysis vendor communities. You will interview colleagues with experience of locations to glean insights on how best to keep colleagues safe in that location. You will also interview travelers to get feedback and insights on safety measures as well as interview trial vendors to confirm their suitability to support the firm.

When needed, you will use surveys to establish the suitability of hotels, serviced apartments and transport providers and support the onboarding of new colleagues via introductory briefings bespoke to local conditions, ensuring visibility and awareness about the firm security function with new and existing colleagues. Furthermore, you will support the firm’s response to security and safety incidents.

Who You'll Work With

You will be based in our Nairobi or Johannesburg office in Africa. You will report to firm security’s director of security intelligence.

You will deeply collaborate with other members of the regional security analyst team (team leader and core members in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America) as well as the regional security director responsible for Africa and other key stakeholders.