Roving Access, Safety and Security (RASS) Manager – UK, NL, or Belgium At Mercy Corps

Location: UK, NL, or Belgium, with 50% travel
Position Status: Full-time, Regular – note that all NL contracts start with 6 months duration renewable to open terms.
Salary Level: Based on Local Benchmarking and commensurate with experience
Languages: Fluency in French is a must and Spanish an advantage

Closing date for application: March 12th

Please note that candidates must hold independant right to work for NL or UK.

ABOUT MERCY CORPS

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

PROGRAM/DEPT SUMMARY

Mercy Corps works to achieve real and lasting impact in the world’s toughest humanitarian emergencies. We save lives and help people live with dignity in crises of all kinds. At the same time, we create the conditions to pivot to innovative and transformative recovery quickly and effectively. We work wherever local capacity is overwhelmed, connecting people to the opportunities they need to strengthen their community in recovery. Whether it is a sudden shock or a slowly emerging crisis, whether the threat is natural or man-made, no matter how complex the environment, Mercy Corps is committed to bold, rapid, needs-driven assistance. Mercy Corps supports a response that is market-driven and leverages the capacities of both traditional and non-traditional aid partners—and ultimately gives people the ability to make their own decisions and secure their own lives and livelihoods.

The Humanitarian Leadership and Response (HLR) team provides the agency with timely and effective leadership to prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies, develops sharp, timely and influential Humanitarian Analyses to make informed program design and implementation decisions, and supports our agency leadership as well as our regional and country teams with security and safety expertise. Our model uses an experienced leadership team in each of these areas supported by a network of professionals spread across the agency – in field teams and headquarter departments.

Mercy Corps fields approximately 5,500 staff in over 40 countries around the world. Many, if not most of these countries exhibit extraordinary security environments with all trend analysis indicating that these security conditions will persist. At Mercy Corps, our security strategies are based on a risk management approach. We primarily strive for security strategies in which mitigation measures are primarily founded upon community acceptance. We recognize every context is different and when and where necessary, we will integrate protection and deterrent measures towards security. We will adapt to meet the specific requirements of each operating environment; and in some cases, this may require a blended approach which integrates elements of deterrence and protection to ensure we are operating safely. Our goal is to be the leading NGO responding to complex crises and to do this we must be best in class for adaptive risk management and sound security policies and practices.

THE POSITION

The Roving Access Safety and Security Manager is a high-quality security professional, contributing to overall reduction of the risk exposure of Mercy Corps’ staff and programs. This role supports that objective by training and empowering our field offices to better assess and respond to safety and security threats and planning around incident management. This includes both naturally occurring disasters and man-made hazards. In addition, this position will spearhead our work to improve our global expertise and capacity in access negotiation, through training as well as direct advisory support on access. Globally he/she advances best practices through security management training, technical advice and support for improved assessment, analysis and planning.

The Access and Safety Manager will work in close coordination with the Regional Safety and Security Advisors, and provide cover, when required, for key positions as well as be deployed in support of the Regional Safety and Security Advisors. This position will be deployable 50% of the time. When not supporting specific country programs, the Roving Access Safety and Security Manager will be available to support Mercy Corps programs globally, as directed by the Senior Director, Global Security.

It is expected that the Roving Access, Safety and Security Manager is a partner to the Regional Directors of Asia, Africa, Middle East and Americas in improving our risk management through team building and training, careful planning of growth and expansion, program design, incident management, regional analysis and other activities. This position will travel extensively with field trips in the different region to develop a deep understanding of the contexts of Mercy Corps teams

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

The overall responsibility of the Roving Access and Safety Manager is to reduce the risk exposure of Mercy Corps’ staff and programs; this role supports that objective by training and empowering our field offices to better assess and respond to safety and security threats and planning around incident management. This includes both naturally occurring disasters and man-made hazards. In addition, this position plays a lead in supporting and advising on access. Globally he/she advances best practices through security management training, technical advice and support for improved assessment, analysis and planning.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

● Support to Humanitarian Access Negotiations: The Access and Safety Manager will play a lead role across our global team on advising and training on access negotiation strategies and their operationalization. This role may be called on to support or even lead access negotiations at the regional or country level.

● Safety and Security Management: The responsibility for the implementation of all security management plans lies within each country and with the Country Director or designated Representative. When requested to support the relevant RSA, or as directed by the Senior Director Global Security, the RASS Manager will provide technical support and quality control of this process and is responsible for both operational and management-level support to identified country teams, in coordination with the Regional Safety and Security Manager. They will also conduct security audits and other checks to ensure the diligence of implementation and appropriateness in planning. S/he will advise on staffing, budgeting and other strategies. S/he will support new program initiatives with the design phase and technical documentation. S/he will ground truth local risk assessments and contingency planning – ensuring these are ready to be operationalized. The Roving Access Security and Safety Manager may be required to support incident management of critical incidents and crisis situations.

● Security Analysis: The Access and Safety Manager is expected to follow the security and political situation in countries/regions relevant to Mercy Corps in support or regional and country security advisors. The RASS Manager will work with the relevant Regional Director to ensure the Executive Team and the necessary headquarters teams are alerted to incidents requiring their attention and s/he may provide ongoing support. This may include insurance claims, press releases, advocacy statement or other areas.

● Technical Support:

• The RASSA should be readily available to the relevant Regional Director (and their Deputies as appropriate), Regional Security Advisors, Country Directors and field staff to advise on security developments. The RASS Manager will call upon additional expertise or consultants as needed, and with agreement of the Senior Director Global Security. S/he is expected to be available during times of critical incidents and may be a part of a Crisis Management team structure. S/he will engage other HLR and security team members as additional support to trainings or specific needs.
• The ASA will provide technical support to the SFPs in achieving the Global Minimum Standards in Safety & Security, as required by RSAs and/or the Senior Director for Global Security. This includes Safety and Security Orientations, Trainings, Incident Reporting & Management, Journey Management, Staff Tracking, Documentation & Filing and Communications. They will also be expected to support program design.
• The RASSA will understand and provide the direct support to achieve a culture of security and duty-of-care within Mercy Corps team members and across teams. This may be hands-on support to incidents or trainings. This includes productive engagement with the People team in recruitment, training and onboarding new team members. The ASA is expected to provide trainings in country offices to individuals, groups and the Senior Management Team, as needed and as practical. S/he will work across teams to help develop capacity goals and plans for country teams.

● Representation and Networking: The RASS Manager will support field and regional teams with HQ and field-level coordination in the NGO community; seek opportunities for formal and informal cooperation; develop a network of support with peers in the humanitarian community at global level.

● General: The RASS Manager will rely heavily on the individual’s ability to develop strong positive working relationships with the Country Directors, Security Focal Points, field staff, the RD and the global security team for a collective understanding and approach towards effective security management. The RASS Manager is expected to effectively represent, promote, and protect Mercy Corps’ commitment to humanitarian principles, including its and its mandate for independence, impartiality, and neutrality. They are expected to help promote important global and regional priorities such as GDI, localization and all policies. Also, to be aware and promote agency initiatives and practices in areas such as Remote Management, Emergency Response, Business Continuity and similar.

● Other: Any other duties which are not listed but are essential to the safety and security for Mercy Corps staff, property/material, and reputation.

ACCOUNTABILITY

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

The RASSA does not directly manage staff, but depending on assignments, may work closely with Security Focal Points, Security Officers, Managers or Security Directors, who would have accountability to him/her in terms of quality and standards. The RASS Manager may also be managing the outcomes of consultants and in specific cases, may supervise part-time security staff.

Reports Directly To: The Sr. Director Global Security.

Works directly with: The primary working partners for the RASSA are the Regional Security Advisors, the Regional Directors and Deputy Regional Directors in addition to Country Director and SFPs in countries where the RASSA is deployed. Works Directly With: Regional Security Advisors for the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with the other team members of the security and HLR teams.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARTICIPANTS AND STAKEHOLDERS:

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our

program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION & TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

● Advanced level of understanding with the philosophy and mode of operation of NGOs.

● Undergraduate degree or a Master’s degree in International Relations, Politics, or humanitarian related field

● A minimum, of 6 to 8 years experience in complex and insecure settings, preferably within a conflict environment. Preferably, in more than one country with large teams of staff.

● Alternatively, extensive experience in the security or management field that reflects 3+ years in team management and working at the senior leadership level is required.

● Experience working or managing a program that required humanitarian access negotiations and strategizing is highly desired.

● Experienced in access negotiations.

● Strong understanding of International Humanitarian Law, and how it impacts Humanitarian and Development operations in the field. Candidates should also have a good understanding of counter-terrorism legislation and how it can impact operations.

● Proven written and analytical skills (sample may be requested).

● Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and mentoring.

● Willingness to work and travel frequently in often difficult and insecure environments.

● Proven experience remotely managing staff in a matrix management environment.

● Competency in Internet and Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and other database/mapping systems.

● Fluency in French and working knowledge of Spanish is required, with English as the main working language.

● Formal training qualifications (HEAT, K&R, Personal Security, First Aid etc) is an asset.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have the ability to envisage and contribute to the goal of a stronger security culture using all the existing tools of the agency. They will be practiced at developing productive working relationships in high-pressure environments. A proactive operator, will bring a proactive, solution-oriented approach with a culture and practice of offering positive pathways of support to reach goals.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is home based from a Mercy Corps location, with the Roving Access Safety and Security Manager being dedicated to supporting the regions 50% of their time. This support may be remote at times, but will also require frequent travel to the field site.

Significant travel is expected with this position at 50% of the time to remote and insecure environments with living conditions that may be quite basic and may include accommodations in guest houses or group living. They are expected to be visible and active over Teams, Zoom, Skype and other platforms.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.