Reporting to the Country Director and dotted line to Regional Safety and Access Director (RSAD) Asia & Africa
Job Profile
The Humanitarian Access & Risk Manager will lead the design and implementation of Relief International’s safety, access, and risk management systems across Sudan operations, ensuring safe and principled access in a volatile and evolving context. Your role will focus on managing safety protocols, access strategies, and risk analysis to protect teams and enable programming. You’ll work closely with the Country Director and Senior Management Team to guide security decisions, build staff capacity, and ensure consistent practices across field offices.
You will lead context-specific safety and access strategies, provide technical advice across departments, and engage directly with communities, partners, and stakeholders. You’ll exercise expert judgment to anticipate threats, respond to incidents, and adapt protocols to dynamic field realities, ensuring RI’s operations are informed, secure, and compliant.
Key Responsibilities
Accountability and Complexity
- Serve as the lead technical expert on all safety, risk, and access matters for RI’s operations in Sudan, directly supporting the Country Director and SMT.
- Develop and enforce compliance with RI’s global and field-level SRM standards, policies, and SOPs.
- Provide strategic analysis and risk assessments to provide access strategies and programming decisions.
- Ensure coordination across departments and locations, maintaining consistency in risk mitigation measures.
- Represent RI in inter-agency forums and liaise with relevant stakeholders to influence and align safety practices.
Planning, Preparedness & Strategy
- Design, establish, and maintain context-relevant safety systems, conducting regular field assessments, drills, and SOP audits.
- Develop and revise evacuation and contingency plans for all operational sites in coordination with local staff and regional advisors.
- Lead the development of the safety and access components of the Sudan strategy and contribute to new project designs, including budgeting for safety.
- Work closely with programs and Area Managers to integrate access considerations into implementation and scale-up plans.
- Support the development of funding proposals by providing input on risk environments and access needs.
Analysis, Advice & Reporting
- Conduct regular political and conflict analysis; monitor emerging risks and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies.
- Produce timely incident reports, risk assessments, and weekly updates with trend analysis for CD and RSAD.
- Lead periodic reviews of RI’s safety policies to ensure contextual relevance and staff understanding.
- Provide pre-entry safety assessments and analysis for new geographic or programmatic expansions.
- Guide field offices in maintaining compliance with RI SRM standards, including regular drills and record-keeping.
Capacity Building and Compliance
- Build the capacity of RI national staff in safety and access management through training, mentorship, and drills.
- Support the identification and development of local safety focal points in field offices.
- Conduct biannual Safety Risk Assessments (SRAs) for all sites and update safety plans accordingly.
- Ensure compliance with key tools such as RIGSS, travel authorizations, headcounts, and incident tracking systems.
- Foster a safety culture across teams that is inclusive, proactive, and based on continuous learning.
Stakeholder Coordination & Representation
- Represent RI in safety/access coordination forums including INSO, UNDSS, and interagency working groups.
- Establish and maintain working relationships with UN agencies, INGOs, local authorities, and community leaders.
- Support RI’s engagement strategies with de facto authorities at the district and provincial levels.
- Ensure alignment with humanitarian principles and community acceptance approaches.
- Facilitate briefings for staff and visitors on local safety dynamics and RI protocols.
Management and Leadership
- Act as an integral member of the extended SMT, contributing to strategy, problem-solving, and operations oversight.
- Provide leadership in building RI’s safety and access systems while balancing operational needs with risk mitigation.
- Coordinate closely with RSAD and regional peers to align risk approaches across countries.
- Lead by example in demonstrating RI’s values and safeguarding responsibilities.
- Provide surge capacity in emergencies or during high-risk deployments.
Behavior and Conduct
- Will ensure the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies
- Will be a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members
- Will ensure own actions and the actions of the teams’ members they manage do not impact the safety of the RI team and the vulnerable communities we serve
- Will ensure external stakeholders are aware of RI conduct and reporting mechanisms
Person Specification
Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role.
Essential criteria
This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast-paced environment.
- Minimum master’s degree with demonstrated experience in safety and access management in the humanitarian sector.
- Proven minimum of six (6) years’ experience in a similar role with equal responsibilities within NGO, UN or IO in high-risk country settings. Sudan experience is required.
- Proven ability in safety & access management and crisis management in an unstable and insecure environment. Previous experiences managing humanitarian crisis/emergencies an added advantage.
- Effective technical/instructional skills.
- Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple complex tasks independently.
- Strong leadership and communication (interpersonal, verbal and written) skills.
- Excellent computer skills with solid knowledge of MS Office.
- Experience of delivery training.
- Experience in a multi-cultural environment is necessary.
- Experience in conducting assessments necessary.
- Fit to travel.
- Arabic Language is essential
RI Values
Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:
- Integrity
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Inclusivity
- Sustainability
More Information
- Job City Sudan
