Country Security Manager at Health Systems Consult Limited (HSCL)

Project: Accelerating Control of the HIV Epidemic in Nigeria (ACE)

Project Background  

• In collaboration with the Government of Nigeria (GoN), PEPFAR/USAID investments have led to the achievement of significant progress in the fight against the HIV epidemic in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. However, the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) showed that epidemic control targets are yet to be achieved.
• Further, this progress is threatened by development challenges: limited financial resources, insufficient use of data for decision making, weak coordination mechanism across all levels of government and insecurity.
• The Accelerating Control of HIV Epidemic (ACE) project provides USAID with the opportunity to support the GoN, civil society groups, and private sector actors in the cluster 3 focus states to close gaps in reaching control targets, address critical challenges in implementing their HIV response and accelerate progress towards sustainable epidemic control.  

Roles and Responsibilities
Security Management:

• Develop and update the security guidelines, SOP’s and Contingency Plans for the program
• Supervise and train national counterpart and security officers in the state program.
• Coordinate and monitor security activities to ensure that safety and security policies and procedures are implemented.
• Ensure that all field staff are fully cognizant of prevailing security threats and fully advised on means to reduce staff vulnerability to those threats.
• Design and drill warden systems, emergency radio networks, and provisioning of emergency supplies for field personnel.
• Ensure internal incident tracking system is utilized properly and perform incident mapping and analysis.
• Collects security related information from local and regional resources.
• Monitors the security preparedness of country staff and works with COP to enforce staff compliance with internal security policies and SOPs.
• When directed by the COP, carry out investigations and capture lessons learned to be incorporated into future staff trainings.
• Act as a key member of the Field Incident Team when required during a crisis so that safety policies and procedures are implemented.
• Ensures logistics follows a servicing and maintenance schedule for vehicles
• Audits communications equipment and facilitates communications-related assistance when necessary.
• Recommends changes in country security plans to COP as needed.
• Ensure induction security briefings are conducted to all arriving staff, visitors or volunteers.

Compliance:

• Ensure weekly security reports are completed and sent to headquarters, providing timely updates of all situational and security developments including investigation of security incidents.
• Conducts and submits Security Risk Assessments of programs, as required.
• Conducts and submits full Site Security Surveys of every site visited.
• Conducts and submits Trip Reports of all field deployments.
• The above should be completed using the Security Department approved templates and be submitted to the COP.
• Keep excellent records and logs to ensure continuity of this position.
• Make frequent site visits to facilities to carry out security assessments and ensure appropriate care and training are being conducted Maintain open lines of communications with all field staff.

Training/ Capacity Building:

• Determine training needs for the security staff.
• Train senior national staff to increase their responsibilities to build capacity and ensure sustainability.
• Works with the COP to conduct any staff security training that is warranted.
• Working Relationships
• Maintain excellent working relationships as a member of the country team senior management.
• Build strong professional relationships with UN agencies, local authorities, and other NGO’s.

Representation:

• Attends security coordination meetings and updates COP on current security issues
• Contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organization, notably through the application of the organizations Code of Conduct, ethics, values and standpoint about internal and external actors.
• Other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and are not necessarily all inclusive

Qualifications and Skills

• At least five years of field security experience in hostile environments or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Ability to relate to and motivate national staff effectively
• Creativity and the ability to work with limited resources
• Extremely flexible with the ability to cope with stressful situations and frustrations
• Excellent decision-making skills
• Advance First Aid training
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently
• Ability to relate to and motivate local staff effectively
• Creativity and the ability to work with limited resources