Safety and Security Access Coordinator

Since the early 1980s, Niger has consistently ranked at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index. More than half the population suffers from chronic food insecurity, and one person in ten is extremely food insecure. Niger is also a disaster-prone country, regularly hit by food crises and vulnerable to floods, cholera, and locusts. Access to healthcare and education for women and girls is very limited. In addition to the vulnerability of a significant proportion of Nigeriens, Niger also hosts refugees from Mali and Nigeria.
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IRC’s vision for Niger is for individuals, households, and communities to be resilient, self-reliant, and able to prosper in a changing context. IRC Niger is present in the regions of Tillabéri, Agadez and Diffa with projects in the following areas: Environmental Health (EH) and Shelter and Non-Food Assets (SNFA) including with the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), Protection (SGBV and Child Protection), Education, Nutrition, Health, and Livelihoods.
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Job Overview
The position holder will identify changes and trends in humanitarian access and the security environment in Niger, develop and oversee the implementation of responsive plans, standard operating procedures and contingency plans, and facilitate training and capacity building for management and field staff.
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The position holder will ensure that expert advice on humanitarian access and security risk management is provided to all levels of IRC staff in the country office on building relationships with stakeholders, negotiating and mediating humanitarian access, understanding the context, managing critical incidents, and providing timely advice.
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Working closely with the Deputy Program Director and Program Coordinators, he or she will help maximize the effectiveness of IRC’s activities in Niger by contributing to the design and ongoing adaptation of programming to ensure it is contextually appropriate. He or she will also provide advice and support to partner organizations, and ensure capacity building for IRC staff, incentive workers and partners through active collaboration in the field.

Main responsibilities
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Humanitarian Access Management
• Ensure induction planning that considers the definition of humanitarian access in the Niger context, the use of existing tools (access matrix, access quality assessment tool), mission documents, and that all staff are made aware of the basic rules relating to humanitarian access.
• Develop and implement humanitarian access strategies and approaches adapted to local contexts and reinforce the place of humanitarian access in the SAP and in Mission Niger’s strategic documents, while ensuring that humanitarian access is not the sole responsibility of the Security and Safety Department, but of all Mission Niger staff.
• Ensure that humanitarian access teams conduct sustainable negotiations with all key actors in Niger in accordance with humanitarian principles, humanitarian needs, duty of care principles and IRC’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP).
• Provide technical input and advice in assessments to consider new IRC programs in new geographical areas, and regular assessments of existing sites.
• Ensure capacity-building of staff in relation to humanitarian access, and that aspects of training are based as much as possible on real-life situations and practical exercises.
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Safety and Security Risk Management
• Provide technical support on all policies, procedures, guidelines and planning for personnel safety, operational safety and program continuity in Niger.
• Regularly assess, revise and update safety management plans in line with global safety and security standards and requirements.
• Work with field coordinators to develop, consolidate, and implement operational procedures and contingency plans.
• Maintain a network of IRC safety focal points in each field office and program site.
• Evaluate, revise and update hibernation and evacuation plan for all IRC offices and residences in Niger and ensure that practical preparations are in place and known to all staff involved.
• Carry out risk assessments of contracted offices and residences and future leases. Follow up on measures to be taken to ensure compliance with safety and security standards.
• Undertake ongoing assessments of equipment and equipment use protocols to ensure that minimum safety conditions are met.
• Provide and implement the best possible solutions for using equipment to facilitate communication between staff.
• Ensure that the safety and security protocol, reporting mechanism and capacity-building initiative consider gender-related risks, staff profiles and backgrounds, and are sensitive to local contexts.
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Networking and Liaison
• Commit to diversifying and strengthening the existing network of contacts among the most influential leaders, while ensuring that we can discuss with all the major players in humanitarian access in Niger.
• Carry out regular field missions to assess IRC acceptance, access challenges for both IRC and communities, and identify possible solutions to maintain or improve the mission’s humanitarian access.
• Identify, create, and maintain a network with authorities, researchers, local leaders, local and international NGOs / UN agencies.
• Ensure that IRC Niger is present and proactive in existing coordination frameworks such as CMCOORD and Access Working Groups.
• Continue coordination and exchanges with IRC colleagues in the region, including Frontline, RSSA and IRC coordinators in Mali, Burkina, etc.
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Contextual understanding and reporting
• Compile and submit regular reports that track incidents and trends in humanitarian access and local security contexts in IRC’s area of operation.
• Submit the necessary daily contextual updates to the SMT and to the relevant field and program management staff.
• Work closely with IRC field management teams to ensure that all incidents and accidents are followed up with a formal written report, which is then shared with relevant stakeholders and filed appropriately. Ensure that final incident reports are provided when the IRC closes the file.
• Monitor the operating environment in the region, identify new threats, assess IRC vulnerabilities, and recommend possible responses.
• Coordinate regularly with the Regional Director of Safety and Security on safety and security issues, and fulfill reporting requirements to the region.
• Contribute to local conflict sensitivity analysis and macro-level analysis of conflict trends in Niger
• Provide credible information and contextual understanding of localized and country-wide security situations and incidents as well as appropriate advice to IRC field and program management staff.
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Training and Capacity Building
• Identify training and capacity-building needs for country program staff.
• Provide regular training for IRC staff on access, humanitarian principles and safety and security preparedness.
• Liaise with partners to assess capacity-building needs and provide advice and support where possible and necessary.
• Follow up the action plan resulting from the regional access meeting and support/reinforce the dynamics of the monthly access meetings for IRC Niger.
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Program Development
• Participate in program design in close collaboration with the Deputy Director of Programs and Deputy Director of Operations
• Ensure that safety, security, and access requirements are included in country program budgets.
• Support the program coordinator and field management staff in developing conflict-sensitive approaches adapted to the Niger context.
• Participate in program review meetings and contribute to implementation plans to ensure timely, safe, and secure delivery of IRC service to beneficiaries.
• Advise program and field management teams on context-specific risks to humanitarian access, security, and safety, and contribute to the development and implementation of mitigation measures and plans.
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Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Contribute to the development of national emergency preparedness plans.
• If necessary, support and advise the support team in the event of a humanitarian or security/safety emergency.
• Assist the Humanitarian Access and Security component (situation analysis and background information, security assessments) with ERT deployments in Niger.
• Contribute to the development of operational and programmatic contingency plans for different emergency scenarios.
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People Performance Management, Learning and Development
• Coach, train and supervise staff under direct supervision, communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance targets, providing regular and timely positive and constructive feedback (monthly progress meetings with supervised staff), and providing documented bi-annual performance appraisals.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning to build technical capacity, share knowledge within the team and advise on career paths.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified national and international staff care needs.
• Adhere to and act in accordance with IRC’s Global HR Policies and Procedures, and communicate by word and example a high level of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.
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Job requirements
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Education: University degree in management, political science, or related field preferred. Technical degree or certification in a related field with relevant experience.
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Professional experience
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working for non-profit organizations or NGOs on international humanitarian aid programs, with proven ability to plan, organize and execute humanitarian security operations in the field.
• Understand humanitarian principles, the code of conduct and the specific intricacies of providing essential services to people in need within the Niger sub-sector, work within the field and NGO operational contexts
• Understanding of local context, dynamics and access limitations related to gender, disability, religion, tradition, and local norms.
• Knowledge of communications technologies, including satellite communications, cellular telephony media, etc. is a plus.
• Solid experience as a trainer; ability to develop, implement, facilitate, and transmit learning to a wide range of audiences.
• Experience in gaining an accurate and impartial understanding of local, regional, and international politics, operational positions, and interactions, providing dynamic briefings and clear analysis of emerging and unfolding security and political situations.
• Experience in the Sahel region strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Technical Skills
• Proven experience as a professional and reliable manager (including people and project management)
• Highly skilled in organizing large-scale, rapid, and responsive field programs.
• Situational awareness and awareness of opportunities
• Strong ability to provide teamwork, coaching and development to staff and to encourage collaboration and cross-functional cooperation.
• Exceptional organizational and coordination skills
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Demonstrated managerial and leadership skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to represent IRC effectively in forums and with external stakeholders
• Strong negotiation and mediation skills with experience of conflict resolution are essential.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and convincingly with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working successfully with local stakeholders such as local and international NGOs, government, etc. with sensitivity and diplomacy.
• Proven ability to design and lead training missions with staff and partners to improve skills and adapt to changing program requirements.
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Languages required / preferred
Fluency in spoken and written English and French is required, Arabic and/or local languages are a plus.
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Computer requirements / Other: Full professional proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, in particular Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS-Cartography) is a plus. Travel capacity: 40% travel, within Niger
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Working environment: The Safety and Security Coordinator will be based in Niamey with regular visits for up to 40% of his/her time in the field. Strict adherence to safety guidelines is required of all IRC staff.

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