Global Security Information & Conflict Analyst (SICA) At Relief International

Title: Global Security Information & Conflict Analyst (SICA)

Department: Safety and Security

Location: Amman Jordan or Global (up to 25% travel required)

Reporting to: Vice President Security

Direct reports: Not Applicable

Budget responsibility: Not Applicable

* This role is classified as requiring standard pre-employment checks

ABOUT Relief International.

Relief International (RI) is a leading non-profit organization working in 16 countries globally to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and chronic poverty.

RI combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact and resilience. We focus on health/nutrition, education, economic opportunity, and water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) programming while integrating protection, environment/climate change, and conflict mitigation in partnership with the communities we serve. We empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

RI includes the three corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, and MRCA/RI-France. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

About our Programs

RI is active in 16 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. Often, RI is the only organization providing assistance to highly vulnerable communities.

RI employs about 5,000 staff and auxiliary workers

97% of staff are local nationals and there are about 90 international (expat) staff.

2021 programs budget is about $125M

RI receives funding from a broad range of institutional donors – US, UK, Europe, and the UN, to delivery life-saving and resilience building programming with communities and local and international partners. RI supports solutions that reinforce and improve upon existing in-country systems. Where such systems do not exist or are chronically underperforming, RI’s crisis response lays the foundation for long-term, sustainable change.

Position Summary.

Supporting the RI Global Security Risk Management function, the Global Security Information & Conflict Analyst (SICA) is primarily focused on the Middle Eastern region, focussing on development, production and capacity building of analysis designed to inform operational planning related to humanitarian access and security.

Acting as a core support to the RI Global Security team, the SICA requires a strong analytical capacity; analysing and presenting global political and security developments in order to produce a high-quality, actionable product that is relevant for RI’s operational and strategic decision-making.

The SICA will use a number of methodologies and manage specialist resources to identify and assess key threat trends that may impact RI staff, beneficiaries, or programs, and communicate this analysis in an effective and functional manner to all stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities and Duties.

Security and Conflict Analysis

Rigorous monitoring of available sources to collect, compile and report information including incidents and trends pertinent to humanitarian access and security in the Middle East region and other countries as assigned.
Disseminate regular reporting and updates to Vice President Security and Regional Directors (ME & Africa/Asia). Maintain a high level of preparedness vis-a-vis predicted contextual fluctuations operationally. Understand, monitor, and remain current on geo-political developments impacting humanitarian crises globally, with a primary focus on the Middle East region.
Develop and implement new tools for visualising threat and conflict dynamics, supporting more effective presentation of findings. Lead and facilitate multiple scenario planning events each year by country.
Conduct timely thematic and/or area-based access analysis (including actor mapping) based on operational needs of the programme teams.
Support senior leadership and staff in analysing the latest developments in the Middle East region and other locations as assigned, and conduct scenario-planning exercises to assess how these are likely to impact programme implementation operations.
Security incident mapping and reporting, ensuring security reports have a trend analysis component included in all Middle east locations; facilitation of situation specific trend-analysis and scenario planning development.
Provide technical input and advice on assessments in new geographic areas (Go-No go assessments), and regular assessment reviews for existing locations.
Assure humanitarian assistance and civil-military coordination planning and operational support during real-world crises.
Assist in planning, coordination, and execution of security training sessions; including developing training plans for capacity building in information analysis for other members of the Security team.

Assessment

Ensure that analysis of the Middle East and RI country context is kept relevant and up to date with RI programs.
Advise Country Directors, Area Team Leaders and Regional Director on any important developments.
Advocate for contingency planning where necessary and support teams in thinking about scenario planning and trend analysis. Including planning SRA’ and mitigations agreed to with separate in country SMT’.
Support the development of comprehensive risk analysis and assessments in conjunction with country counterparts, leading to the updating of effective security plans, where possible train colleagues in country on security analysis basics.
Provide relevant input on all existing and new program with pre analysis prior to go no go decisions as well as full involvement in budgeting at the time of proposal writing to ensure staff safety and security needs are met.

Capacity-building and gap-filling

Train, supervises and mentor national country security staff/focal points.
Recommend and/or provides staff training on security analysis and scenario planning in a proactive and positive manner that promotes inclusion, participation, and leadership among the entire RI team, including expatriates, and local national staff.

Coordination

Ensure RI is linked via all inter-agency and security coordination lists and fora to ensure RI security presence in the INGO community within the areas of operation.
Liaises with local and regional UN & inter-agency security personnel on security matters for country programs; advises Country Director and RD as well as VP Global Security on security issues; provides security briefings and supports in updates for RI staff and visitors’ briefings when needed.

Safeguarding

Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve
Ensure that your behaviour inside and outside of work promotes the values outlined with RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies

Culture and ways of working

Sensitivity and understanding of diversity and cultural differences, gender issues and the commitment to equal opportunities
Ability to demonstrate and uphold RI’s values and ethics

Other related tasks that may from time to time

Role requirements.

Experience and skills required for the role.

Essential

Relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Strong track record (min. 4 years) in security, political or humanitarian access analysis including social and economic landscape including conflict drivers within conflict and post-conflict environments
Demonstrated ability to establish networks of contacts for the identification of analytical topics and collection of relevant data (including geospatial data); a strong multi-source analytical capability; and a solid capacity to liaise and engage with different stakeholders across the humanitarian and security sectors
Skilled to develop and deliver written and visual products on a timely basis, often on short notice, and to shift areas of focus quickly.
Strong writing and demonstrated capability to produce high quality analysis.
Excellent written and spoken English
Experience advising and briefing senior leadership.
Regional experience in Middle East required.
Excellent computer skills with solid knowledge of MS Office
Experience in training adults using modern methods.
Experience in a multi-cultural environment required

Desirable

Fluency in Arabic highly desirable.
Field experience conducting and/or supporting humanitarian assistance and civil-military coordination in responses to international humanitarian crises.
Experience working with United Nations agencies, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), ICRC and/or IFRC, and/or donor agencies.
Experience in conducting security assessments preferred
Substantial and documented prior experience as a trainer and training skills – specifically the ability to develop, implement, facilitate and impart learning to a wide range of audiences

RI Values.

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

We value: