Safety Access & Liaison Director

The Opportunity – Safety Access & Liaison Director 

Post location:  Initially oPt – Gaza; Alternately West Bank/ Gaza thereafter

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 18 months with possible extension. 

***Due to the urgency to fill this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Kindly note that the position might be filled before the vacancy announcement is closed; therefore, early applications are encouraged.***

***This role will be contingent upon securing available funds, and we might use this vacancy to fill more than one post.***

ROLE PURPOSE: 

The Safety and Security Director has the responsibility of maintaining a secure environment for all staff members and programs including providing guidance to partners and stakeholders. S/he will achieve this by developing, establishing and enforcing safety and security policies as well as access procedures referencing global safety and security trends and issues and ensure compliance to the SCI global policies and procedures. 

Additionally, the Director will support risk management efforts, assessing threats, advising on security risk management; ensuring complete documentation of policies, procedures, lessons learned and actions taken and ensuring that field working practices are robust and that all staff are aware of, trained in, and adhere to these policies and procedures including but not limited to fire safety, emergency management and asset protection. 

The post holder is also primary responsible for negotiating and securing the movement and access of staff, goods, and in certain circumstances partners and beneficiaries, to all areas of operations in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. The post holder serves also as the primary interface with relevant UN and government authorities – Israeli and Palestinian, including de-facto authorities. These include police, militaries, civil defense or civilian/military infrastructure to secure the space for the organization to deliver humanitarian and development programmes to children in need.

The Safety and Security Director plays a key role in crisis management team and has to ensure the safety and security (S&S) related incidents are reported and managed through the SCI Datix system. They act as direct liaison with the Regional Security Director MEEE.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly. 

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Country Director

Dotted Line: Regional Security Director MEEE and Gaza Humanitarian Director

Staff directly reporting to this post: Safety and Security Managers in the field offices and will work closely with Security Focal Points (SFP) in the Gaza and West Bank Field Offices. 

Country Dimensions: oPt CO is a high complexity country, multi-member interest, with an annual budget of around $35+m, and approximately 120+ staff. Currently the program is experiencing a growth in funding and complexity due to the war in Gaza. 

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

As a member of the Senior Management Team, your key areas of accountability include the following: 

• Lead the Staff Safety and Security as well as Access Coordination
• Ensure that the Country Office complies with all Save the Children Staff Safety and Security Management Operating Standards and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Ensure that all required safety support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, while working closely with the Regional Office 

In your role as Access Liaison Officer with local and national authorities, you will: 

• Play a key role in facilitating principled engagement and strengthen partnerships with the government. 
• Support engagement and collaborative relationship-building between SCI and the relevant authorities, government ministries and administrations.
• Be responsible for maintaining, further developing, and growing SCI’s existing network and communication channels. 

Regarding Staff Safety & Access Policies and Procedures, your responsibilities include: 

• Ensure timely review and updates of all Staff Safety, Security and Risk Management compliance documentation, including but not limited to; SSMP, IMP/ CMP, SOPs, GSS ES, HERP, KPI-13, and PDI. This review should include staff training. 
• Collaborating with other functions, maintaining a country-wide Staff Safety and Access Management Plan that is consistent with the Humanitarian Security Strategies and Save the Children standards. 
• Ensuring that all staff understand the country-wide Safety plan and agree to abide by its policies and procedures. 
• Monitoring the environment and revising policies and procedures accordingly 
• Ensuring the quality and relevance of the area of Safety plans to the prevailing context 
• Undertaking reviews of policies and procedures and identifying opportunities to enhance staff safety.
  • Advise on safe movement and fleet management policies, conduct safety assessments, provide support to managers, ensure proper incident reporting, monitor events and report regularly to the senior management team.

Program Implementation:

Assessment and Analysis:

• Assess and recommend changes to enhance staff safety assessments, threat analysis reviews, and safety policies for SC facilities. Report to the Country Director if inappropriate decisions create risks for the team or the organization's external perception. 

Communication and Training:

• As a safety measure, it is important to maintain regular communication with government officials, diplomats, and community leaders to gather and verify safety information. It is also essential to conduct awareness training for all staff and provide orientation for newly appointed personnel. Additionally, it is crucial to establish effective systems to disseminate staff safety information and updates.

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development:

• To effectively manage the performance of the Staff Safety & Access team, it is necessary to establish clear and measurable objectives, provide ongoing feedback, conduct periodic reviews, and carry out fair and unbiased evaluations. Additionally, it is important to offer coaching, mentoring, and other developmental opportunities to team members, identify individuals with high potential, and establish succession plans. It is also paramount to ensure accountability, transparency, and ethical conduct in all aspects of work.

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In order to be successful, you will bring/have: 

QUALIFICATIONS   

• Development Professional with a relevant Masters’ Degree and /or equivalent professional experience.
• Background in donor relationship management, strategic portfolio analysis and planning, and change management required.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• 10+ years’ experience of Safety and Security Risk Management.
• Demonstrated advanced comprehension of the philosophy and operational dynamics of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), emphasising a nuanced understanding of their unique challenges and missions.
• Hands on experience of managing crisis at field and country office levels. Well versed with humanitarian security management and “Do no Harm” principles as per UN, Interaction and European Interagency security forum (EISF) guidelines and familiarity with the integrated role of safety and security at the heart of programme operations
• Documented experience of leading the development of Security Risk Assessments, Actor Mapping, and Context Analysis along with developing various safety and security plans (Security Management, Incident Management, Contingency plans, and business continuity plans).
• Experience of Humanitarian Emergency response in security critical threat environments.
• Well versed with Acceptance approach of S&S management and have used it extensively in previous assignments.
• Excellent understanding of Palestinian conflict and humanitarian situation on ground. This includes familiarity with the various key actors impacting the political and humanitarian environment of the conflict, including the United Nations, INGOs, NGOs, governments, and donors.
• Superb interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate at all levels, establish information networks, and coordinate with country authorities, militias, donors, International Organisations and local NGOs. 
• Ability to work autonomously in a highly stressful and challenging environment with tight deadlines and limited resources 
• Proven skills in concise and succinct report writing and using Microsoft office tools. 
• Excellent time management skills to prioritise and meet deadlines.
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children.  In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin all aspects of the job. 
• Resourcefulness and creativity in developing the role of security within the overall country office programmes and ensuring the most effective support
• Willingness to work and travel in often difficult and insecure environments;
• Fluent in English, and Arabic (written and spoken).

Desirable 

• Security certifications (CSP, PSP, UN Security Management, NEBOSH)
• First Aid / HEAT Master Trainer
• Working with local NGOs/ CBOs

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. 

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Organisation

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.  

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated 

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. 

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at Search Jobs - SCI Career Site Careers (oraclecloud.com).

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.