Safety & Security Assistant at Albarka Healthspring Foundation

Program Objective

• The Humanitarian Cash Transfer in Rabah and Goronyo LGAs, Sokoto State, Northwest Nigeria Project is tailored to potentially enable eligible households improve the nutritional status of children affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the LGAs.
• Strengthening financial security of vulnerable households through cash transfers and associated monitoring mechanisms have the potential to improve dietary diversity, increase recovery from SAM, and improve access to integrated health and nutrition services, hygiene, and income generation.

Roles and Responsibilities

• The main role of the safety and security assistant is to act as the security focal person for the program team.

Generic Responsibilities:

• S/he will support relevant security training and safety protocols that promotes safety of staff and program property.
• Support the program staff and activities, ensuring all policies, procedures and protocols are adhered to.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Conduct daily security and safety briefings and issues communications and tracking equipment to field teams.
• Ensure that all field staff are fully cognizant of prevailing security threats.
• Monitor the security preparedness of mission staff and enforce compliance.
• Accompany program staff on field missions on a need basis in order to better develop an awareness of the challenges faced by program staff in the field.
• Suggest improvements to existing security systems.
• Support the development and implementation of, assessing and strengthening, risk assessments, safety and security management plans, and SOPs for staff safety and security.
• Prepare weekly reports for the office and update data on available incident data tools.
• Submitting when required email to immediate advisories to Sokoto Office when significant security incidents occur.
• Submit formal post-incident reports.
• Carry out security assessments of new facilities in line with Minimum Operating Infrastructure Standards;
• Ensure a proper level of preparation before movement in/to the field.

Context and Risk Analysis:

• Develop and regularly update the security profile of operational areas of intervention within Rabah and Goronyo LGAs.
• Follow-up on major events and developments whilst reporting areas of concern for all operating areas of intervention.
• Analyze and locate key local stakeholders.
• Develop security trend analysis.
• Maintain an internal incident tracking system and security incident database.
• Regularly conduct Security Risk Assessments at LGAs and area specific level.
• Conduct security assessments on new areas of intervention and new office/guest house.

Crisis management:

• Play an important role in the Crisis Management Team at field level.
• Ensure safety policies and procedures are implemented and in line with best practices, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Minimum Operating Security Standard (MOSS).

Reporting:

• Provide timely updates of all situational and security developments.
• Ensure weekly security situation reports are completed and sent to the Project Coordinator, Program Manager and Project Manager.

Training and briefing:

• Conduct security briefing for each new staff arriving in the concerned area of operation.
• Determine training needs for the program staff and communicate needs in a timely manner.
• Carry out investigations and capture lessons learned to be incorporated into future staff training.
• Developing and maintaining a security network:
• Actively participate in weekly and monthly coordination meetings.
• Create an information network in the state and country, identifying key informants.
• Build strong professional relationships with UN agencies, local authorities, other actors.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Entire AHSF staff.
• External: Security institutions and other stakeholders.

Specific Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Essentials:

• A minimum of a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Security Management or a related field.
• Other Security Management specific qualifications/certifications.
• 2-3 years of experience in the Humanitarian Sector in a Security Management/Coordinators role.
• Experience handling security issues in the North-West Nigeria;
• Experience in reporting and carrying out security assessments

Desirable:

• Experience in working with national development of NGO agencies.

Skill Abilities:

• Fluency in spoken written English and Hausa language.
• Highly numerate.
• Multi-tasking skills.
• Excellent planning and prioritization skills.
• Excellent (proven) interpersonal and both oral and written communication skills.
• Negotiation skills.
• Experience of designing and coordinating training/meetings.
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills.

Personal Qualities:

• Creative and takes initiative.
• Able to work effectively in a diverse team environment.
• Good motivator of others.
• Willing to work additional hours at crucial times.
• Team player.
• Self-motivated person able to work with minimal supervision.
• Effectively promote AHSF’s mission values, and objectives.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the historical and socio-political context of Sokoto and Nigeria.
• Flexibility and ability to work long hours and to be deployed on short notice.