Humanitarian Access Safety and Security Officer

The Humanitarian Access Safety & Security Officer for IRC Ukraine operations in the south region ensures organizational security policies are contextually appropriate and known to staff. The role involves monitoring security environments, conducting risk assessments, liaising with local authorities, and supporting staff safety and humanitarian access.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary field-level focal point for staff safety and operations for the office and program activities in the south region under the technical guidance of the HASS team and in coordination with the Field Coordinator
• Monitor and analyze the local security environment daily, identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities, and provide timely security advice, updates, alerts, and reports to Field Coordinator and staff that will inform decision making on daily movements and program activities
• Implement the Security Management Plan, SOPs, contingency plans and other relevant security protocols
• Conduct or support security risk assessments of the office, accommodation, routes, program locations and other operational premises, and follow up on agreed mitigation measures
• Support the development and implementation of evacuation, relocation, hibernation and emergency response plans, ensuring appropriate emergency preparedness measures are in place
• Review and manage all approval processes (internal and external) for staff movements as needed
• Monitor staff movements and ensure compliance with tracking and security procedures as needed
• Deliver security briefings, inductions, refresher sessions for staff and visitors to the south region
• Manage and maintain all safety and security equipment in Mykolaiv office and guesthouses and escalate any concerns and anticipated needs to the Field Coordinator
• Promote staff awareness of and compliance with security policies and procedures, identify training or preparedness gaps, and promptly escalate serious concerns or breaches through the appropriate management channels
• Monitor and provide support and reporting on NGO security initiatives
• Work to ensure that IRC, its mission and work in all areas of operation is known and accepted
• Work to encourage stakeholders to collaborate with IRC in ensuring that staff are safe and given permission to continue humanitarian activities in Ukraine
• Liaise with relevant security actors e.g., NGO security staff, security forces, local community stakeholders, local authorities
• Compile and submit regular reports that track incidents and trends in local security contexts
• Submit daily contextual updates as needed to relevant staff
• Support incident management, documentation and follow-up in coordination with the HASS team, Field Coordinator, and People and Culture
• Monitor the operating environment in the region, identify new threats, assess IRC vulnerabilities and recommend possible responses
• Provide credible information and contextual understanding of localized and country-wide security situations and incidents along with appropriate advice to IRC
• Regularly share and discuss timely, accurate and relevant information in local languages with communities about access and eligibility to service, expected staff behaviors and code of conduct, community feedback, safeguarding mechanism and how to use them
• Identify and provide communities with opportunities to participate in and guide programs – from assessment and design through to monitoring and evaluation
• Establish or promote the formal feedback mechanism – aligned with organizational best practice – to capture, monitor, respond to and act on feedback and complaints from communities
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection at team level to strengthen safeguarding, wellbeing and duty of care, and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies
• Lead by example and support IRC’s commitment to taking all necessary preventive measures and creating an environment where people feel safe and can report misconduct
• Model accountability and commitment to safeguarding all staff, partners, clients and others the IRC works with to build a culture of prevention of safeguarding violations in our workplace and our programs
• Model accountability and commitment to wellbeing of all staff, partners, clients and others, the IRC works with to build a culture of duty of care in our workplace and our programs

Requirements

• Graduation from a higher education facility in a relevant subject is preferred, however secondary education and significant professional experience will be considered
• Minimum 2 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in humanitarian access or security
• Demonstrated experience working in a high-risk or conflict-affected environment, with practical responsibility for staff safety, field movements or operational security
• Experience implementing SOPs, contingency plans, risk assessments, movement procedures or emergency preparedness measures
• Experience coordinating with local authorities, NGOs, UN agencies or other humanitarian/security stakeholders is an advantage
• Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively represent IRC in coordination forums with external stakeholders
• Strong understanding of operational security and risk management in a conflict-affected environment
• Ability to assess rapidly changing situations and provide clear, practical and timely advice
• Strong negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills essential
• Ability to remain calm and make sound decisions under pressure and during emergencies
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize security-critical tasks while managing competing operational demands
• Ability to work independently and take initiative while maintaining appropriate coordination and escalation
• Fluency in spoken and written Ukrainian, Russian and English (minimum B2)
• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Skills

• Humanitarian Access
• Security Risk Management
• Operational Security (OPSEC)
• Risk Assessment
• Contingency Planning
• Emergency Preparedness
• Standard Operating Procedures Implementation
• Field Movement Coordination
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Negotiation Skills
• Conflict Resolution
• Crisis Decision Making
• Staff Safety Management
• Security Policy
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS PowerPoint

Languages

Ukrainian, Russian, English