Safety Officer at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Location: Damaturu, Yobe
Contract type: National Contract

The position

• The Safety Officer serves as the focal person for safety and security at location.
• Supports the clearance of staff to and from the field and any other locations in Nigeria.
• Works within the Safety and Security procedures of DRC, municipal policies and procedures and in compliance with all national acts and legislation.
• The Safety Officer supports the Head of Base with security reports for senior management in-country.

Key Roles
Overall purpose of the role: (1-2 sentences):

• The safety Officer under the direct guidance of the Safety Team Leader will mitigate the risks poised to Programs, personnel and assets through provision of expertise and focused Security Management support at field level for the day-to-day operations and during both security and medical emergencies. 
• The Safety Officer will be the responsible for the implementation of the safety and security functions at the state level, ensuring compliance with the DRC MOSS/MOISS and all supporting safety and security policies, procedures and protocols.

Responsibilities

• S/He will Provide daily contextual safety briefs to all staff, ensuring timely information is communicated
• S/He will Ensure all staff movements at field level are monitored at all times
• S/He Ensure pre-departure safety briefs are delivered to ALL staff, both national and internal prior to any movements taking place
• S/He Provide new arrival staff induction briefs to all staff on arrival
• S/He will Compile a Statewide weekly safety situation reports
• S/He will Coordinate the safety and security function at field level
• S/He will Ensure logistical and safety support is available to both national and international staff, at all times during deployments
• S/He will Communicate all changes in the Safety Level at field level when required
• S/He will focus on the continuous implementation of strategies and protocols to ensure a high level of security for staff, assets and programs.
• S/He will maintain a high level of contextual awareness of his/her operating area and strong coordination with program and program support teams.
• S/He will promote a strong Safety and Security culture at field offices through continuous security trainings.
• S/He will support in carrying out security risk assessments (SRA) based on contextual risk levels including the Safety and Security for all DRC staff, resources, assets, facilities, programs while ensuring compliance with DRC Safety Risk Management System.
• Submit Daily Common Emergency Evacuation Plan (CEEP) to INSO.
• Assist the field offices in the day to day conduct of office security, ensuring adequate responses to security incidents both natural and man-made.
• Supervise contracted Security guard company activities as per policy.
• Conduct Vehicular Security Inspection Check on all vehicles that are to be deployed to the field.
• Manage physical security, fire safety and office evacuation drills periodically.
• Establish network with other key security patterns for information sharing and security matters where possible.
• Attend security meetings such as INSO and provide feedback from such meetings.
• Implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and regulations for working in the North-East.
• Draft security advisories and for general situations and specific incidents during periods of heightened threat.
• Inform promptly any security incidents involving DRC staff and assets, or reputation for necessary response actions.
• Oversee the operation’s Room activities, communications and gadgets, (PTT Iridium, VHF Radio and SATphone).
• Provide safety training sessions to all staff at field level
• Attend internal and external training programs
• Remain flexible for out of area assignments when required
• Perform any other duties as assigned.
• The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.

Key Requirements

• Competent and literate in English, verbal and written, with a sound knowledge of technical expressions
• Sound judgment and the ability to work effectively with others at all levels
• Strong assessment, evaluation, analysis and strategic planning skills
• IT literate, MS - Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Interpersonal communication and proven written / presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage under stressful conditions
• Demonstrated knowledge of the historical and socio-political context of Nigeria.
• Experience in liaising with law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
• Experience in managing incidents, incident mapping, developing and producing high-quality security reports and assessments.
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
• Stable, reliable, moral and robust character and a good team-player
• Excellent communication skills, and a good sense of humour
• Proven commitment to accountability practices

Desirable:

• Bachelor’s Degree in security management, Security Management, Disaster Risk Management, Criminology & any other related field
• Professional certification in security risk management or advanced security management highly desirable.
• 5 - 7 years working in security Industry, experience working in complex insecure settings preferred.
• 2-3 years’ experience working in Security management for NGO or donor-funded organization.

Conditions:

• Availability: ASAP

Salary and Conditions

• In accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment;
• The income will be subject to statutory deductions as per applicable Nigeria laws.
• The employee is responsible for the tax returns.