Risk Coordinator

Country: Kenya

Organization: Chemonics

Closing date: 5 Sep 2023

Chemonics seeks a Risk Coordinator on the Cross-Border Community Resilience (CBCR) Activity which is designed to enhance resilience and thus reduce the need for humanitarian assistance among communities in the cross-border clusters of Karamoja, Moyale and Mandera. Focusing on communities that live across the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Somalia, the activity aims to empower local entities, including communities, civil society, private sector and governments, to chart their own pathways for addressing conflict, improving livelihoods and/or reducing the risks of shocks and stresses. The Cross-Border Community Resilience Activity will work to foster local ownership of development investments by supporting local leadership in work planning, implementation and monitoring. Under CBCR, Chemonics will have 17 staff and our subcontractor, ACDI VOCA, will have three staff. 11 of the staff will be based in the Nairobi office with 9 of them based within local development organizations (LDO) based in Moyale, Mandera, and Karamoja.

A robust and effective security management platform is a key priority for CBCR. Effective security management is required to sustain project activities in light of the evolving regional dynamics. This position is responsible for the development, implementation, and monitoring of the project’s security platform, assessing the specific security measures called for by context, threats, project vulnerabilities, and identified risks and to manage and coordinate all aspects of the security platform. The security coordinator should possess superior networking and diplomacy skills, risk assessment capabilities, an expansive understanding of the regional security context, and experience operating in high-risk environments with low-profile security techniques.

Responsibilities

Relationship Management and Information Gathering

• Actively assess implementation risks complying with international, national and local government measures.


• Work with the chief of party and deputy chief of party – programs to tailor our approach to local nuances, activity needs, and operational resources.


• Establish relationships with local law enforcement and other organizations to obtain current information affecting the security of the activity and develop security risk assessments, journey- management protocols, and emergency-action procedures.


• Ensure compliance with Chemonics’ safety and security policies and create tailored processes and procedures to protect activity staff and assets.


• Develop a security handbook and establish a phone tree and an emergency contact list.


• Provide all staff with safety and security trainings on an ad-hoc/as-needed basis and coordinate with service provider to provide first aid training. Proactively share information with staff in Nairobi and in the field ensuring high security awareness levels, close situation monitoring and effective two-way communication on security-related issues.


• Establish and/or activate relationships with appropriate law enforcement, civil authorities, local development organizations (LDOs) and civil society, in coordination with the USAID mission security contacts, and Implementing partner counterparts.


• Exercise these contacts to ‘ground-truth’ and triangulate reporting, update best practices and procedures, build project acceptance, and obtain a clearer picture of the threat presented to staff.

Threat and Risk Assessment

• Conduct threat and risk assessments of current and proposed program activities and geographic areas. This will include written security assessments with verbal debriefs that analyze the country context, evaluate risk and provide specific recommendations.

Implementation and Updating of the Safety and Security Plan

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  Develop a security handbook and update the emergency action plan.

  
  


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  Provide a monthly update to the project’s compliance with Chemonics’ security policies and maintain the emergency contact sheet. This input shall include advice on incident response, evacuations, physical security, and information security protocols/procedures. Contribute to the risk mitigation plan and the risk portion of the monthly reports to USAID.

  
  


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  Contribute to Chemonics crisis and incident management response as needed in coordination with the home office response team.

  
  


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  In collaboration with the procurement/operations department, cluster managers, and other staff, ensure that field travel regulations are implemented and adhered to in a timely manner.

  
  


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  Maintain a secure communications system that allows staff to discretely and safely implement development work in all areas of project operations, organize and brief the project team, ensure staff understand the duties and responsibilities for each position, and ensure continuity.

  
  


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  Ensure timely and relevant communications with CBCR staff during and after an emergency situation.

  
  


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  Conduct security assessments of Nairobi for office premises and review LDO offices for security in Moyale, Mandera, and Karamoja, and provide advice on shortcoming in security preparedness with recommended improvements and solutions.

  
  


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  Advise on proper security measures for Chemonics premises and staff residences.

  
  


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  Maintain updated country knowledge to advise staff traveling outside of Nairobi to Moyale, Mandera, Karamoja, and other operation areas across the border. This will include assessing route, venue and location risk and security levels.

  
  


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  Im­ple­ment a robust training program to instruct CBCR staff on their respective responsibilities under the security platform and to educate them in the appropriate secu­rity concepts and skills. This training will be provided to both local and international staff and will focus on small foot-print, low-profile security and protection techniques.

  
  


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  Coordinate training on first aid, fire safety and on security awareness for all project staff including subcontractors. Develop training materials for individuals to reference.

  
  


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  Contribute to journey management planning and travel tracking to ensure adherence to Chemonics’ safety and security best practices, and increase the project’s ability to respond to security incidents involving staff undertaking travel.

  
  

Safety and Security Information Dissemination

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  Provide security assessment inputs during the projects’ routine programing activities.

  
  


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  Provide timely and accurate security information and recommendations to Chief of Party (COP), Team Leader, Chemonics Home Office Project Management Unit (PMU) and the Security Management Unit (SMU). Inform all staff, as necessary, of emerging security situations and the recommended response.

  
  


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  Brief staff on all safety and security considerations for Chemonics personnel arriving in country from overseas and when traveling to regional locations, including information on security risks, security guidelines, communication procedures, travel precautions, emergency procedures, and movement restrictions (as needed).

  
  


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  Coordinate with Operations and IT team to maintain and ensure information security.

  
  


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  Coordinate with PMU and SMU to ensure proper implementation of Chemonics security policies and standard operating procedures.

  
  


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  Any other security-related tasks assigned by the Chiefs of Party and/or home office SMU.

  
  


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  Preparation of periodic and ad hoc reports, as required by the program

  
  

Qualifications

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  6 years of experience in security, risk management, and project management, with demonstrated ability to implement security platforms for civilian operations in conflict zones and successful crisis management required

  
  


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  Three or more years’ experience working on security issues in Kenya and East Africa with international NGO or USAID.

  
  


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  Fluency in English required.

  
  


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  Demonstrated ability to generate and leverage network connections in high threat countries to promote an accurate understanding of risk, strengthen knowledge of country context, and to bolster project planning abilities.

  
  


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  Three or more years’ experience in management and oversight of security platforms that were implemented in high-threat countries and utilized low-profile techniques.

  
  


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  Proven effectiveness for implementing security protocols to maintain safety and successful crisis manage­ment experience.

  
  


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  Ability to communicate effectively in verbal and written formats.

  
  


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  Experience in training civilians on safety and security measures

  
  


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  BA required; advanced degree preferred in a relevant field.

  
  

How to apply

Please submit an application using this link by 11:59 PM EST on September 5,2023. We will review applications on a rolling basis, and only finalists will be contacted. No telephone inquiries, please.

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.