The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
Position Summary
The Regional Safety and Security Director (RSSD) for Asia advises the development, implements, and supervises an effective strategy to identify, analyze, and mitigate safety and security risks; enables humanitarian access, leads incident response and maintains continuity of operations and programs. The Director is an advisor to the Regional Vice President (RVP) and provides input, including comprehensive gender-inclusive security risk analyses and recommendations related to strategic, operational, programmatic, partnership, and cross-cutting risks. The Director serves as the subject matter authority on humanitarian access and community engagement strategies in the region. The RSSD ensures adequate protocols and mechanisms are in place to address country programs’ specific risks and challenges.
Reporting to the RVP and the Senior Director of Safety and Security, the RSSD is a permanent member of the regional senior management team and the global safety and security team. Key relationships include the RVP; Senior Director for Safety & Security, Chief Safety and Security Officer, Deputy Regional Director; Regional People & Culture Director, Country Directors; Deputy Directors; Country Security Leads, and counterparts in other regions.
Under the broad guidance of the RVP, the RSSD has a meaningful level of autonomy to implement responsibilities. Collaborate with country teams in Asia to update security policies and procedures to match the context and staff needs. Develop and update security plans for changing security environments.
The RSSD will maintain contextual knowledge of all countries in the region, including awareness of early warning indicators affecting safety and security, and will travel regularly to all countries in the region, including on very short notice when vital. The RSSD will mentor and build IRC staff counterpart capacities and actively promote durable programming and the reduction of IRC’s operational vulnerabilities.
The RSSD bears overall responsibility for the S&S management in Asia and is supported by the Regional Humanitarian Access Security and Safety Coordinator.
Responsibilities
Security Risk Management
• Lead departmental security risk identification and mitigation measures that align with organizational and regional risk-management standards and requirements.
• Assist field leaders in developing and maintaining humanitarian security risk management across the region ensuring security risks are identified, mitigated, and managed.
• Review all safety and security strategies for each country and ensure compliance with IRC’s security minimum standards (SMS).
• Advance the design and roll-out of duty of care and safeguarding global and regional initiatives
• Advise the development of Safety and Security procedures and practices that integrate Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) and Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS) principles.
• Ensure that IRC partners receive security management support benefiting from internal systems and standard processes relevant to their operations and operating contexts.
• Maintaining a network of IRC security focal points in the country programs as well as external professional contacts and counterparts.
Humanitarian Access Management
• Support the establishment of principled and secure humanitarian access to enable durable programming across country programs.
• Assist in the continued development of humanitarian access teams and activities throughout the region.
• Guide the development and implementation of guidelines for humanitarian access and engagement with non-state actors implementing standard IRC policy and mentorship.
• Mentor the development of operational and programmatic contingency plans that respond to different emergency scenarios that look at sudden changes in context.
• Work with appropriate IRC units to ensure timely and appropriate follow-up to violations of IRC’s Code of Conduct, in addition to operational breaches of humanitarian principles.
Performance Management and Development
• Actively participate in the recruitment of key positions with S&S risk management responsibilities.
• Co-manage and mentor direct-report staff, presenting clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing timely performance feedback, and leading timely performance reviews.
• Promote staff care and well-being. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Support the Regional Humanitarian Access Security and Safety Coordinator in developing S&S plans for their work.
Learning & Development
• Support the design and subsequent implementation of a capacity-building plan to facilitate the delivery of IRC’s global training program in Asia country programs.
• Ensure capacity development and learning initiatives account for gender-specific risks and requirements.
• Deliver training on critical incident management and lead simulations in coordination with the global security incident team.
Incident management
• Support the country programs with timely and qualitative incident notification, reporting, analysis, and lessons learned.
• As part of the Regional Incident Management Team, actively support the RVP during the management and resolution of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Incidents
• Facilitate After Action Reviews and coordinate the implementation of corrective measures as per existing incident protocols.
• Supervise the SHIELD incident database and produce an analysis of the trends every quarter.
Qualifications & Requirements
• Minimum 10 years of non-profit or NGO work experience in international humanitarian assistance programs, with shown capabilities in planning, organizing, and driving security management operations.
• Prior experience working in the region and demonstrated knowledge of regional and country dynamics are strongly preferred.
• Proven understanding of humanitarian principles, codes of conduct, and NGO organizational culture.
• Proven understanding and success in gender security management and gender equality.
• Capable of influencing and gaining collaboration from individuals not directly supervised. Proficient in working within a multinational team and leading various relationships to achieve desired results.
• Consistent track record in transferring knowledge through mentoring and other non-formal methods.
• Ability to prepare and present, on short notice, clear analyses of contextual dynamics, events, security incidents, and their ramifications for IRC operations.
• Self-motivated and able to work reliably without close supervision.
• Proficiency in English is required.
• Readiness and ability to travel approximately 40% of the time.
Work Environment
The preference is for this position to be based in one of IRC’s regional or international hubs. The position has accompanied status.
**Standard of Professional Conduct:**The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.
More Information
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