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Regional Safety Advisor

Abidjan

  • Organization: DRC - Danish Refugee Council
  • Location: Abidjan
  • Grade: Mid/Senior level - Mid/Senior - Internationally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Security and Safety
  • Closing Date: Closed

BACKGROUND: 
DRC has been operating in the West Africa region for over 15 years, running a combination of emergency, livelihood, protection and advocacy program through Country Offices (COs) Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and a Regional Office (RO) in Abidjan. DRC has 17 offices and more than 500 staff members across the WA region. Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast have been closed during the first semester 2017, Cameroon will be opening during October this year.  
 
THE JOB:  
The Regional Safety Advisor (RSA) will manage all aspects of the DRC Safety Risk Management (SRM) system for both DRC and DDG programmes within the region and develop area and country safety management policies, protocols and procedures.
 
The RSA will report to the Regional Director with a technical reporting line to the Global Safety Adviser in Copenhagen.
 
 Professional travels
Frequent travel in all the countries covered by the Regional Office, around 60% of the time per month. 
 
 
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  
 
To achieve the position objectives, the RSA will perform the following tasks and undertake the following responsibilities: 
 
1. Oversee the development and implementation of the SRM process, including: 
  • Assist and monitor the development of area-specific SRAs; supervise the assessment of Safety Levels and provide recommendations to the regional director for approval. 
  • Advise Program and Area Managers on available safety management strategies, including the transfer, avoidance, acceptance and/or control of risks. 
  • Assist in the development of area-specific safety plans, including Local Safety Rules (LSR); Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Contingency Plans (CPs); mitigation action plans; and Minimum Operating Safety Standards (MOSS). 
  • Support the implementation of safety management plans and other related functions; and assist in the implementation of staff capacity training plans, including the delivery and prioritization of training modules 
  • Monitor and evaluate the SRM process, providing regular updates on the quality and progress of SRM implementation 
 
2.  Facilitate program access and continuity through the provision of dependable advice, including: 
  • Provision of regular analysis, statistics and reporting on key developments within the country
  • Tailored analysis and assessments, including RAs, on specific areas, themes, issues or scenarios 
  • Maintain a register of negotiations and developments related to access and humanitarian space 
  • Establish and maintain a list of contacts throughout the country 
  • Maintain and update the incident tracker, and provide trend/pattern analysis 
  • Provide advice on program development and implementation, including program assessments 
  • Identify potential scenarios, indicators of change and key decision points 
 
3.  Represent the country program within inter-agency fora as related to safety issues, including: 
  • Focal point for safety co-ordination between relevant actors within the area of operations 
  • Attend NGO security coordination, UN and other relevant external fora 
  • Establish a network of contacts and represent DRC/DDG at security meetings 
 
4.  Capacity building of all staff, consultants and implementing partners, including: 
  • Provide operational safety briefings and orientation to all new and visiting staff  
  • Brief new international and non-local staff on specific cultural norms and behaviors. 
  • Train local safety staff in the delivery of establish safety training modules 
  • Organize and coordinate the delivery of Personal Safety Training (PST) on as required. 
 
5.  Incident and crisis management and response, including:             
  • Support the establishment of Area and IMTs 
  • Coordinate the Country CMT in the event of a critical incident or crisis 
  • Develop the country level Critical Incident Management Plan and support area-specific CPs to harmonize with DRC HQ CMT 
  • Brief IMT/CMT members on their responsibilities and ensure alternate members are available and briefed 
  • Assist in the management of safety incidents and provide timely and accurate incident reports 
 
6.  Quality assurance of safety-related policies, protocols, procedures and regulations, including: 
  • Quarterly MOSS audits of all program areas (monthly where applicable) 
  • Monitoring and training of guards and watchmen. 
  • Assess the implementation of physical and asset protection protocols and regulations 
  • Ensure that appropriate access controls are in place for all DRC/DDG facilities 
  • Conduct regular site assessments and advise on mitigation measures 
 
7.  Act as the focal point for the procurement and installation of safety-related equipment, facilities and other resources, including: 
  • Maintain a list of vendors and prices for safety-related equipment 
  • Assist logisticians and administrators with the procurement, delivery and control of safety equipment 
  • Act as the focal point for telecommunications systems, including radios and satellite phones 
 
 
KEY REQUIREMENTS:  
  • Postgraduate degree in relevant field 
  • Fluent spoken and written English and French  
  • Minimum 5 years of previous working experience as a safety and security manager/adviser with an INGO at a regional country/program level on an international level 
  • Experience working in multi-cultural work settings. 
  • Proven ability to develop and implement effective and contextualized protocols and systems 
  • Ability to be flexible and demonstrate an innovative approach to safety risk management 
  • Demonstrated experience with information gathering, analysis and report writing 
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct and produce high quality safety risk assessments (SRAs)  
  • Demonstrated experience with critical incident management 
  • Demonstrated experience with delivering safety-related training 
  • Willingness to travel widely throughout West Africa Region. 
  • Knowledge and previous experience of the local context in West Africa is a clear asset. 
All candidates need to be able to demonstrate DRC’ core competencies:
 
Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.    
Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.    
Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.    
Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.    
Demonstrating integrity: Acting in line with our vision and values.  
 
 
PRACTICAL DETAILS 
 
LEVEL 
A5 
 
CONTRACT LENGTH 
2 Years 
 
CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS 
30/09/2017 
 
START DATE 
As soon as possible  
 
FAMILY DUTY STATION 
Family Duty Station / Accompanied position for Abidjan and Dakar, non-accompanied for Bamako 
 
CONTACT PERSON: 
For more details on this position please contact Jean-Christophe Saint-Esteben at rd-wa@drc.dk 
 
Access to applications: 
Interested? Then apply for this position by clicking on the apply button. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in the same language as this vacancy note. CV only applications will not be considered. If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk. Applications close 30th September 2017. The interviews are expected to take place the week of 10th October.   
This vacancy is now closed.