The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organization working on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than 30 countries throughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the problems of forced migration, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been operational in West Africa since 1998. The overall strategic objective of the program is to support conflict affected populations in Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Cameroon on the basis of humanitarian principles and fundamental human rights.
Nigeria’s northeast is currently experiencing a significant humanitarian crisis, which has been the result of the ongoing-armed conflict between Boko Haram, the Nigerian military and the Multi-National Task Force in the north-east. An estimated 10 million people in Nigeria are affected by the conflict and other factors, which has led to a state of emergency being declared in three North-Eastern states and spill-over effects into neighbouring countries.
The Job
The Country Safety Advisor (CSA) will manage all aspects of the DRC Safety Risk Management (SRM) system in all of Nigeria, for both DRC and DDG programmes. The CSA, in consultation with local safety staff and programme manager, under the technical supervision of Regional Safety Advisor and under the direct line management of the Country Director is expected to pursue the following objectives and duties in his/her daily work:
Overall objectives
- Manage the development and implementation of the Danish Refugee Council’s (DRC’s) Safety Risk Management System (SRMS)
- Ensure compliance with DRC safety policy as stated in Chapters 19 & 20 of the DRC Operations Handbook
- Supervise and mentor the Local Safety Officers (LSOs) in Yola and Mubi and the Safety Focal Point (SFP) in Abuja
- Develop policies and procedure, in coordination with project staff, for the safe delivery of program activities
Duties
- Risk Analysis
- Conduct regular Safety Risk Assessments (SRA) for each programme area pursuant to DRC Safety Policy
- Provide quality control for SRAs
- Safety Improvement Plans
- Based on the SRA, advise programmes on achievable and cost-effective mitigation measures through the development of contextualized Safety Improvement Plans
- Supervise and monitor the progress of Safety Improvement Plans
- Minimum Operating Safety Standards (MOSS)
- Ensure Nigeria is compliant with the DRC global MOSS
- Based on the SRA, advise programmes on context specific MOSS requirements
- Monitor programme compliance with MOSS
- Local Safety Rules (LSR)
- Based on the SRA and MOSS, ensure all areas have updated LSR
- Ensure all staff are provided with a copy of the LSR and are briefed on their responsibilities
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Ensure each programme area has appropriate SOPs developed and implemented
- Monitor compliance with SOPs
- Contingency Plans (CPs)
- Facilitate the development of context-specific contingency plans for each programme area
- Support Incident Management Teams (IMTs) with the implementation of contingency plans
- Conduct regular reviews with IMTs to ensure CPs are up to date, realistic and understood
- Capacity Building
- Conduct – or facilitate the delivery of – safety training for staff at all levels
- Ensure watchmen and guards are trained and aware of their responsibilities, in accordance with the SOPs governing access control
- Liaison
- Develop a network of contacts through other NGOs, UNDSS, Government agencies and other useful contacts
- Act as the primary representative for DRC Nigeria on safety matters
- Crisis and Critical Incident Management
- Act as the Country level coordinator for the Incident Management Team (IMT)
- Ensure IMT members are aware of their responsibilities
- Ensure IMT logs are maintained and updated as required
- Advise the IMT at country and area levels on safety related issues
- Act as the primary point of contact for safety related matters with the Regional Office and other local actors (UNDSS, etc)
- Conduct after action reviews of all critical incidents to facilitate organizational learning
- Information Management and Reporting
- Maintain detailed soft and hard copy files of all relevant safety documents
- Monitor the overall situation and provide regular situation reports
- Maintain an up-to-date incident tracking database
- Provide staff with relevant and concise safety related information and analysis, both through external and internal reports, publications, etc
- Coordinate the submission of Safety Incident Reports and ensure that all SIRs are completed within 48 hours of an incident occurring
- Conduct post-incident inquiries, if required, and monitor compliance with action points on SIRs
- Briefings
- Ensure an up-to-date visitor briefing package is provided to all visitors and international staff
- Conduct safety briefings for all visitors and international staff at the country level; at the field level, ensure that individual areas do the same
- Provide briefings on thematic and specific issues, as requested by the Country Director or Regional Safety Advisor (RSA) Field Travel
- Ensure compliance with the Field Travel SOP
- Assist with the planning of field travel, including briefing escorts if required
- Act as the focal point for issues related to armed escorts
- When required, manager and coordinate field travel
Qualifications
Essential Requirements
- University degree or equivalent degree in relevant discipline
- Emergency First Aid qualification (within the last year)
- At least 3 years’ experience working with NGOs and/or other international agencies on similar position and/or with similar duties
- No less than 2 years’ experience in volatile contexts and conflict-ridden environments
- INGO Security Management Experience with a proven ability to develop and implement effective and contextualized protocols and systems
- Proven experience as a trainer/instructor and experience with delivering safety-related training and ability to train and convey information to non-safety personnel
- Management and/or supervisory experience within an NGO
- Strong initiative and self-motivated and, with a strong commitment to humanitarian principles and accountability practices
- Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment
- Proven ability to prioritize and cope with competing demands under tight deadlines
- Excellent communication skills, and fluent in written and spoken English
- Stable, moral and robust character, a good team-player, calm and a good sense of humour
Preferable Requirements
- Previous exposure to HEAT is considered to be an advantageExperience working in the designated area of operations (Nigeria, West Africa)
- Training in safety, fire and evacuation procedures
- Training in safety and disaster management
- Fluent in written and spoken Housa or notions of Housa
- Military/Police experience (those with officer-level or senior non-commissioned officer rank should apply) ?
All employees should master DRC’s core competencies
- Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process
- Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback
- Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation
- Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly
- Demonstrating integrity: You act in line with our vision and values
We offer – Conditions
- LINE MANAGEMENT: The SA will report to the DRC Country Director Nigeria. The SA has a technical compliance reporting line to the Regional Safety Advisor in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
- DUTY STATION: Maiduguri, Nigeria with up to 50% travel between DRC offices in Nigeria – Non-family duty station
- CONTRACT: One-year contract length, renewable – Salary and other conditions in accordance with DRC’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates, which can be found on our website under Vacancies. This position is at employment category A12.
Further information
You are welcome to contact the Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Zeljko Toncic at [email protected] for additional information on the position. For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website. Do not send your application to Mr. Zeljko Toncic – All applications must be sent via DRC’s website, otherwise they will not be considered.
Application Process
Only motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications sent together with a CV will be considered. Please provide references, but do not attach any written recommendations.
Please submit your application and CV in English no later than December 10th 2017 at midnight (CET).
Please note that applications are not to be sent to Mr. Zeljko Toncic. We only accept applications sent via our online recruitment system on our website under Vacancies/Current vacancies/Safety Advisor – Nigeria.
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The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1956 that works in more than 35 countries throughout the world. We are the largest humanitarian NGO in Denmark and consistently ranked as one of the world’s best NGOs according to Global_Geneva.
We fulfil our mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations – refugees, internally displaced people and host communities in the conflict areas of the world. We also advocate on behalf of conflict-affected populations globally on the basis of humanitarian principles and the Human Rights Declaration. Our work and long-term strategies are guided by our five core values: Humanitarian approach – Respect – Independence & neutrality – Inclusion – Honesty & transparency.
We fulfil our mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations – refugees, internally displaced people and host communities in the conflict areas of the world. We also advocate on behalf of conflict-affected populations globally on the basis of humanitarian principles and the Human Rights Declaration. Our work and long-term strategies are guided by our five core values: Humanitarian approach – Respect – Independence & neutrality – Inclusion – Honesty & transparency.