Global Safety and Security Advisor

To be considered for this role: Due to operational requirements and business needs, the preferred candidate will need to work from a location within the time zones of UTC-9 and UTC+4.

Oversees all aspects of safety and security across Field Operations countries. Leads the design and implementation of Field Operations safety and security policy and procedure. Leads on security setup for new responses and provides support to existing country programs. Designs and facilitates safety and security training. Leads HQ-level incident management and is responsible for maintaining crisis management and is the primary security officer in a CMT. Gathers and analyses security information to inform Medical Teams planning and preparedness. Deploys regularly to field operations locations.

Medical Teams International Calling: Daring to love like Jesus, we boldly break barriers to health and restore wholeness in a hurting world.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy and Procedure:

• Designs and manages Field Operations Safety and Security Policy, ensuring relevant updates are made as necessary. Ensures standards set in the policy are streamlined through all Safety and Security documentation and procedure.
• Designs and managers the writing and updating Safety and Security SOPs and supporting their implementation.
• Designs, creates, and implements Safety and Security relevant tools and templates.
• Reviews and advises on changes to Global Programs Safety and Security Instructions. Reviews Security Risk Assessments for new locations.
• Works with the Board of Directors, CEO, and VP Field Operations to ensure application of the Board of Directors Safety and Security Risk Policy.
• Collaborates with HR, Compliance, Logistics, and other relevant departments on a regular basis to develop cross-functional policy and procedures, and to resolve issues that require a cross-functional solution. Reviews key documents to ensure inclusion/alignment of security policy, e.g., Fleet policies.
• Advises senior management on improvements to overall security management framework and implements agreed changes.
• Remains informed on humanitarian security best practice, current research, and sector developments, ensuring Medical Teams security risk management is evolving with the contexts it operates in.

Security Training:

• Maintain and deliver the Global Safety and Security Brief to all Field Operations HQ and country leadership staff. Write and deliver country security briefs as needed.
• Assess Field Operations-wide training needs annually and plan on how best to meet these needs. Assess whether needs are best met in-house or via an external provider.
• Develop and maintain the Safety and Security Training Manual, ensuring modules meet country needs.
• Facilitate security training for HQ and field staff, in-person and online.
• Train trainers in each country to be able to deliver Safety and Security Training Manual modules. Support in-country trainers to ensure appropriate field-level training is completed.
• Oversee the technical security content of Medical Teams HEAT course. Facilitate sessions, evaluate participants, and provide other general support for HEAT courses.
• Identify and liaise with external providers needed for HQ training, advise country offices on selection of external providers as needed.
• Provide capacity building and one-to-one training to Security Focal Points on a continuous basis.
• Ensure evaluation of security training courses, ensuring improvements are made as needed.

Incident Management:

• Manages HQ-level response to safety and security incidents related to Field Operations. This includes communication with the country office, communication to Directors/VP Field Operations/CEO, coordination with other HQ departments, advice to country leadership on how best to resolve the issue, and after-action review process following conclusion of incident.
• Ensures incident reports are received from the country office and relevant follow-up is completed. Ensures accurate filing, logging, and mapping of incidents.
• Analyses incident trends quarterly, identifying trends and vulnerabilities within Medical Teams. Advises on necessary changes as a result of these trends leading implementation of changes at HQ and supporting implementation at country offices.
• Collaborate with the organizational lead on Report Line to insure incidents are tracked and captured on the database as well as contribute to process improvements.

Crisis Management:

• Develops and maintains the Crisis Management Plan. Leads on development of associated protocols in coordination with relevant departments.
• Organizes regular training/simulations for the Crisis Management Team (CMT).
• In coordination with the CMT Chair, maintains the CMT roster and briefs new members as needed.
• Advises the CMT Chair on need for CMT activation.
• Sits on CMT as Security Officer.
• Following conclusion of a crisis, ensures thorough lessons learned is completed and makes resulting changes to Crisis Management Plan.

New Humanitarian Responses:

• Security lead for new responses, likely to deploy with first-in team. Lead visits to field locations as requested by Team Lead.
• Responsible for completing Security Risk Assessments and making go/no-go recommendations to Team Lead.
• Based on Security Risk Assessment, define Medical Teams Security Level and adjust according to contextual developments.
• Creates Safety and Security Instruction, laying out Safety and Security SOPs for the location.
• Assesses new properties, advising on which properties are appropriate from a security perspective, and providing technical security specifications needed for the property.
• Assess security equipment needs and work with budget holders/Logistics to fulfill.
• Provide pre-departure security brief to first-in team, and regular security briefs once on ground.
• Once security systems are established and setup phase is completed, handover to Country Director and Security Focal Point, ensuring training on all security processes.
• Train newly recruited staff per the above training options.
• Responsible for all access issues related to access strategy, approach to access negotiation where needed, access permissions and changes to access routes. Works alongside Programs to build and maintain community acceptance in the location.
• Leads on security coordination, building a network with of local contacts, INGO/UN security staff, and attending coordination meetings.
• Leads on recruitment of security/access staff.

Security Monitoring, Analysis and Coordination:

• Regularly monitors global security in the media, academia, and humanitarian sources. Provides information related to Medical Teams countries/emerging crisis to relevant leadership. Documents key information that may be relevant to future responses.
• Manages selection and ongoing subscriptions with security providers, e.g. Control Risks.
• Produces a Global Security Forecast annually, providing analysis on upcoming security issues to aid Medical Teams planning.
• Produces quarterly security reports.
• Meet with Security Focal Points on a monthly basis to provide technical support and advice for in-country activities.
• Coordinates the completion of the Field Operations Security Monitor quarterly. Uses this information to assess Field Operations accumulated security risk and alert Director/VP Field Operations if accumulated risk is beyond Medical Teams risk management capacity.
• Produces ad-hoc security analysis, scenario planning and reports when needed.
• Represents Medical Teams in external security coordination, attending roundtables, conferences and monitoring online information sharing platforms.
• Responsible for maintaining Medical Teams memberships with the Global Interagency Security Forum and the Saving Lives Together partnership.

Safety and Security Staffing:

• Advises Country Directors and HQ on necessary security staff related to size, location and level of risk in the program.
• Leads on Field Operations Safety and Security staff recruited at HQ. May be technical panelist for in-country recruitment. Provides test and interview questions for security recruitment.
• Works with HR to ensure security consultants are on the roster and prepared for emergency responses.

Other Duties:

• Occasionally provide security support and advice to US Programs.
• Occasionally advises on security elements for other roles, e.g., HQ Fleet staff, and sits on interview panels.
• Ensure the Safeguarding of program participants and employees through promoting an environment of awareness and upholding the code of conduct provisions of Medical Teams Protection from Sexual Exploitation & Abuse, Child & Vulnerable Adult protection, and harassment-free workplace policies.
• Utilize volunteers when appropriate.
• Additional duties as assigned.

EDUCATION, LICENSES, & CERTIFICATIONS

Required:

• Bachelors Degree in Security Management, Political/Social Science, Military Studies, Management, Law Enforcement or a relevant field.
• Completed Personal Security, HEAT or other similar security training (preferably in the last three years)
• Completed First Aid Training in the last three years
• Completed First Aid Train the Trainer
• Completed security/risk management training or similar
• Completed Crisis Management Training

Preferred:

• Masters level degree in Security Management, Political/Social Science, Military Studies, Management, Law Enforcement or a relevant field.
• Previous HEAT course facilitation experience.
• Train the Trainer course completion.
• Completed Humanitarian Access Negotiation Training (desirable)

EXPERIENCE

Required:

• Minimum 6-8 years experience as a humanitarian security advisor or similar role at field implementation level
• Minimum three years experience in insecure environments in the humanitarian space
• Experience of setting up and managing security in humanitarian emergency settings
• Experience in conducting security risk assessments in person and security planning
• Experience in gathering and analyzing security information, and recommending appropriate actions
• Experience in delivering security training
• Experience of managing security incidents
• Experience with government / CIV-MIL liaison
• Experience of coordinating and collaborating across different departments and levels of the organization
• Demonstrated application of acceptance principles in delivery of humanitarian assistance. Coordination with NGO Forums and informal security networks to support aid access into higher risk environments.

Preferred:

• Understanding of counter-terrorism risk mitigation in areas where barred parties are present.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Commitment to Medical teams International Calling Statement and Core Values.
• High level of knowledge of humanitarian systems and coordination.
• High level of knowledge and experience using humanitarian context best practices in safety and security management.
• Knowledge of global international aid security networks and resources.
• Knowledge of Medical Teams country contexts and wider global security dynamics.
• Very skilled at managing projects to satisfactory completion.
• Moderately skilled with Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, and Excel software as well as Google Drive and ability to manage document versions. Must have familiarity with Google Drive and other cloud-based document services.
• Ability to work cooperatively and build rapport with colleagues in a remote team environment.
• Ability to relate to and motivate national staff effectively.
• Ability to prioritize tasks.
• Ability to think creatively to acquire information about disaster zones.
• Ability to uphold and exemplify the organizations core values.
• Ability to represent the organization in a professional manner to donors, volunteers, and the public.
• Ability to work collaboratively with others.
• Ability to travel to field locations up to 50% of the year.
• Able to work well under pressure in cross-cultural environments.
• Able to operate a variety of radio and satellite communication devices.
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment.
• Analytical and problem solving.
• Able to identify threats and assess risk.
• Negotiation and representation skills.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Extremely flexible with the ability to cope with stressful situations and frustrations.
• Excellent decision-making skills.
• Ability to communicate clearly in diverse multi-cultural settings.
• Ability to remain resilient while work in hostile environments under austere conditions.
• Skilled in using mapping tools like Google Maps or ArcGIS for mapping of incident trends and hot spots preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & WORKING CONDITIONS

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job the employee must be able to:

• Frequent use of a personal computer, database and digital platforms, and other office productivity machinery, such as a copy machine and computer printer.
• Frequently uses hands, fingers, and arms to reach, handle, touch or feel equipment, medical instruments, materials, computer.
• Frequent communication and exchange of information among colleagues and persons of concern which requires the ability to speak, hear, convey and express oneself.
• Frequent close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Occasionally ascends/descends stairs, steps, or ladder
• Occasionally move about inside an office to access file cabinets, office machinery, meet with colleagues, etc.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Seldom to occasionally positions self to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• If in travel status, occasional to frequent traversing over rough or steep terrain in either a motor vehicle or on foot.
• Fit to travel up to 50% of the year.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet.
• The employee may be required to travel to remote areas of the world where there are potential health hazards and risks, limited hygiene facilities, extreme hot or cold weather, and very basic living conditions. Access to healthcare is extremely limited in many field locations, this position is not recommended for anyone who needs regular access to medical