The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

Job Description                                             

                                                         

Position	Security in Emergency Officer	Grade	C1
Department & Location	Disaster Risk Management	Date	April 2019
Reports to (position):	Emergency Response Manager and Security Advisor as appropriate
Purpose:	Working in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas, Plan aims to reach as many children as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalized with high quality programs that deliver long lasting benefits by increasing its income, working in partnership with others and operating effectively. Plan is committed to responding to children affected by emergencies in the countries of our operation.   Given the current humanitarian crisis in the Far-North Region of Cameroon Plan is engaged in providing life-saving humanitarian assistance, protection, education and psychosocial support. Its operations are implemented in key sectors of Protection (Child Protection and SGBV), Education, Food Assistance and Nutrition, Livelihood, WASH and NFIs in coordination with all other humanitarian institutions.   With new funding from various donors, Plan International will continue in 2018-2019 his response in the region affected, through projects implementation in the sectors above noted. Under the supervision of the Emergency Response Manager, this position is responsible for the technical leading and actions implementation for safety & security of staff, assets and programs of Plan International in the Far North region of Cameroon. He/She will ensure quality and norms in the security issues treatment.

 

Dimensions of Role:

This position is responsible for safety and security of staff, assets and programs within the Emergency context (the far north of Cameroon). The Security in Emergency Officer will provide effective capacities and technical guidance in management including the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of security treats during the implementation of related activities at the field levels.

The Security Officer will be based at the area of Maroua Programme Unit with frequent movements in Kousseri, Mora, Mokolo, Minawao and all area where Plan is operating in the far North of Cameroon.

 

Key End Results and Typical Responsibilities:

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the authority of the Emergency Response Manager, with a doted reporting to the Country Security Advisor; the Security Officer will be responsible for the development and implementation of security policies, guidelines and procedures in order to ensure the security of all Plan staff, property and operations. This will involve, but is not limited to: promoting a culture of security; security incident reporting; security guard oversight and management; monitoring and analysing the security situation in relation to the Nigerian Refugee and IDPs response in the Far North region of Cameroon, promulgating and maintaining Security related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The scope of responsibility is for both Maroua Emergency Unit and all authorized visitors and include:

• Advise Plan International  on all aspects of national security management issues and trends especially in the far north;
• Develop/maintain an appropriate framework of security measures and standard operating procedures (SSOPs), which will increase Plan International overall capacity to protect staff, programs, and property;
• Ensure that the existing  SSOPs reflect risk levels referenced in Plan’s Global Security Policy and ensure SSOPs are compliant with all Plan’s policies
• Lead the response to all security threats/incidents in a timely, professional and appropriate manner
• Work in collaboration with the UN security system and Technical Security Unit of INGO Forum in the Far North to reinforce  Plan’s SOP
• Elaborate a consistent evacuation plan both for national and expatriate
• Provide on a weekly basis a report on the security alert
• Review existing Security Risk Assessments (SRAs) and conduct same at least annually or according to the current country and PUs security phase requirements in all Plan operational locations as well as whenever the security situation changes and develop local capacity to conduct self-assessments
• Co-lead the Security Review Team (SRT) with ERM or designate and host meetings of the SRT on at least a monthly basis sharing relevant points (minutes) with the CO security advisor
• Build the capacity of all staff on security including safety aspects
• Train all staff on the usage of fire extinguishers
• Perform other Security related duties as the need arises and/or as defined.
• Dealing with Problems:

• Complexity of problems handled & the degree of investigation, analysis, & creative thinking required to solve them.
• The job requires intense interventions on the field, in areas often at risk. This requires prudence, vigilance and respect for compliance with security instructions on the part of the staff.
• Decisions may affect the security and/or the lives of staff, the materials and the profile of Plan across the humanitarian sector and across media. Decision may also affect the lives of thousands of disaster affected children, millions of dollars;
• Excellent and creative leadership skills will be utilized to correct ensure the implementation of security activities management, in accordance with the standards and with possible resistance from colleagues as is often the case in emergency response work;
• He/She should work under pressure and accept travels and stays in areas often austere.

Communications and Working Relationships:

 

Key Internal Contacts

Security Advisor, Emergency Response Manager, Operation Manager, Administrative Coordinator, , all the projects Coordinator, other members of the Emergency Response Team, Plan staff.

Key External Contacts

Other security point persons of agencies of the system of UN and of the NGO responding to the emergency in the Far North.

 

Reporting lines

Reports to the Security Advisor and to the Emergency Response Manager as appropriate.

 

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:

 

Knowledge

• Bachelor Degree in Security or any related field
• Demonstrable knowledge and practical work experience, preferably with non-profit or NGO within international humanitarian assistance programs, with proven capabilities in planning, organizing and executing security operations in the field;
• At least 3-5 years’ experience of security, and safety management or similar capacity;
• Good understanding of Cameroon security related issues and their relations to Plan’s context;
• Experience in conducting participatory risk assessments and preparing situational analyses, including the analysis of factors from both the internal and external environments, identifying crucial risks that have to be addressed, setting objectives and developing plans of action
• Good communication skills (written and verbal) both in French and English language in order to present and garner information quickly and clearly to a variety of audiences Skills
• Team player
• Background in complex emergencies situation analysis, needs assessments and response planning and management;
• Good knowledge and understanding of humanitarian principles and standard (SPHEERE…) and Red Cross Codes of Conduct;
• Proven capacity to facilitate trainings, coach staff and provide advisory to the staff and visitor;
• Ability to network with grassroots structures;Behaviours: 
• Commitment and adherence to humanitarian values and standards,
• Aware of own strengths, weaknesses and pro-active in using feedback and self-development
• Works with trustworthiness and integrity and has a clear commitment to PLAN’s core values and humanitarian principles
• Awareness and sensitivity of self and others: Demonstrates awareness and sensitivity to gender and diversity. Have experience and the ability to live and work in diverse cultural contexts in a culturally appropriate manner. Has a capacity to make accurate self-assessment particularly in high stress and high security contexts.
• Preparedness to live and work in uncertain security environments.Physical Environment and Demands:May be “typical office environment”; note if heavy lifting, climbing, excess travel, etc.
• Work intensively in the field: The Security in emergency officer will spend at least 60% of his time on the field in the context of the assessment and monitoring of security situation.
• Periods of intense work at all times of day.
• Working in multiple locations and on the move.

Location: Maroua

Closing Date: 29/04/2019