Security Consultant at COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale

Overall purpose of the consultancy

The overall objective of the deployment is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the key risks/threats to the safety and security of COOPI personnel, premises and assets in Nigeria and to implement practical mitigation measures to address these that are appropriate to the operational context.

Background

In July 2014, COOPI started operations in the northeastern part of Nigeria in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency. COOPI immediately established collaborations with other humanitarian actors (international donors, UN agencies, national and international NGOs) already active in the country and carried out a rapid evaluation of the most urgent needs of the IDP population of Bauchi State, that led to an ECHO funded project in the sectors of WASH, Shelter/NFI, and Food Security that benefited 10,000 people. COOPI has consequently expanded its program to Yobe state, where there is a higher concentration of IDPs and the humanitarian needs have been assessed to be very high by multiple sources (DTM, FEWSNET, INGO Forum, among others). COOPI is currently reaching about 20,000 individuals (IDP and host communities) with a multi- sectorial intervention, in the sectors of Food Security and WASH in three LGA of Yobe State and it also implementing a Child Protection program for the identification of Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC).

Specific Responsibilities

Specific deliverables from the deployment have to include:

• To revise and update the COOPI Nigeria Security Plan and Standard Operating Procedures, and Crisis Management Plans, ensuring that the necessary controls suitable for the Nigeria context are in place.
• To ensure that basic controls to enhance the security of all premises used by COOPI, including the field operational base, are in place. This has to include necessary improvements to improve physical security and control egress and ingress to COOPI bases;
• To include in the security SOPs improved methods of evacuation from relevant operations bases through road or air.
• To implement measures to improve COOPI Nigeria’s communication infrastructure, including embedding standard processes for routine communication checks;
• To review existing external security coordination mechanisms at all COOPI operational bases and provide recommendations to improve the flow of external security information into the programme and onward distribution to field operational bases;
• To provide guidelines on best practice for the recruitment of guards for each base;
• To design and implement basic training packages for all recruited guards and drivers;
• To update SOPs for movement of personnel and equipment, particularly by road and ensure that these are relevant to external threats associated with the Nigeria context;
• To provide training to COOPI personnel on appropriate actions to take for scenario events such as kidnapping, small arms fire, base raids, carjacking, hostile behavior at checkpoints, etc;
• To provide a general threat update for the programme management team based on the most up to date information available, including the provision of key indicators to trigger an escalation in programme security levels.

Outputs:

• COOPI security plan is reviewed and updated.
• SoPs for different scenarios are produced and attached to the Security Plan.
• COOPI staff is trained on the SoPs.