Department Summary
 

Mercy Corps Europe has been operational in Sudan since 2009 and currently delivers humanitarian assistance and longer-term development efforts in South Darfur, South Kordofan, North Kordofan, Gedaref, Kassala, Khartoum and Port Sudan States, supporting host communities, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Mercy Corps is planning to expand program coverage to Nile River State and Northern State. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, health, nutrition, peace building and protection, and Market Systems Development.
 

General Position Summary
 

The Security and Access Coordinator (SAC) will work with the Sudan field offices in their respective regions to ensure that organizational security policies and procedures are responsive to the context, adequate and known to staff and advise on operational security processes and procedures in close coordination with security and program teams. This position must maintain an acute awareness of the context and all threats as they relate to Mercy Corps operations. The Security and Access Coordinator is expected to understand all Mercy Corps Sudan program activities in the area of coverage and desirably across all operational areas.

The Security and Access Coordinator will work with the Security and Access Manager and the Program Managers to ensure that the country program adheres to and exceeds compliance with the Global Safety and Security Minimum Standards. The Security and Access Coordinator will technically support the Security Focal Points and the local Security Management Teams on security, safety and access matters relating to programming in their respective areas of coverage. 

The Security and Access Coordinator will be based in Kassala from where they will be responsible for quality control, security and access management in the respective Region of Kassala, Gedaref, River Nile & Northern states. This position will require extensive travel up to 60% to insecure locations and for extended periods to provide support.

The Security and Access Coordinator is expected to have a strong understanding of program management, logistical capacities and humanitarian values. S/he is expected to apply these and other leadership qualities with the Mercy Corps team in Sudan. S/he will advise the Security and Access Manager and the respective Security Focal Points on safety and security risk, operational security measures, and the safety and security aspects of incident management. This will include having a planned implementation of location specific security management plans, while also designing, facilitating, and providing other related training programs, briefings (written and presented) to program staff, technical advice and support for improved assessments and program planning.

General Position Responsibilities
 

● Keep the team aware of incidents of significance on the political, social, security, safety and economic fronts in relation to the country context. Focus to be placed on locations where Mercy Corps has operational presence. '

● Maintain close coordination with Mercy Corps Sudan Program and Operations teams and aid with security, safety and access support as needed. 

● Undertake field visits to familiarize oneself with team members and gain an independent assessment of the situation and support in the implementation of mitigating measures needed to protect staff and program assets in the areas of operation. 

● Work closely with the Security Focal Points to ensure a clear understanding of their roles in the implementation of the respective contingency/scenario plans. 

● Provide a detailed analysis of the conflict situation throughout the country, highlighting emerging trends, patterns and coming up with recommendations on appropriate mitigation measures. 

● Identification of areas of safety, security and access that require budgetary support and supporting in addressing the identified gaps. 

Operational Safety and Security

Support in the development and updating of security procedures including standard operating procedures (SOPs), contingency plans (CPs), guidelines, planning for staff safety and operational security as required. 

● Support in the evaluation, review and update the security management plans (SMPs) where such is required. 

● Support and where needed lead the security risk assessment process for the respective Mercy Corps locations in Sudan

● Monitoring of team field movements and cross state travels via the Journey Management Plan system and assisting with travel clearance as will be applicable. This will include the highlighting the No-Go areas, location risk ratings and agency posture, acceptable levels of operational security risk and respective risk mitigation measures.   

● Manage incident management and tracking platforms with the Sudan team. 

● Support with the implementation of best possible solutions on use of communication equipment in line with the country context including proposing safe alternative means of communication and equipment. 

● Provide security briefing to staff, Mercy Corps consultants and staff members visiting Sudan. This will include working with the respective security focal points in ensuring that security briefings are conducted for newly hired staff and refreshers briefs are done for all staff. 

● In liaison with the Logistics department ensure safety compliance is maintained for the fleet assigned to the country team. This will include vehicles hired for facilitation of official movements by the team.

Security Incident Reporting 

● Ensuring all security related incidents are reported from the field locations and the incident management system and incident log are updated. 

● Ensures the incident log and reporting system is updated in real-time to allow thorough planning and analysis. Facilitate lessons learned in cooperation with other departments after key incidents or learning opportunities. 

● Update the respective Security Focal Points and the Security and Access Manager in real-time of any security related incident(s). 

Humanitarian Access

● Feed into proposal development for access related matters in coordination with the program team.

Communication and Coordination 

● Represent Mercy Corps with attendance at interagency security coordination meetings within the location of presence. 

● Support with inputs towards preparation and presentation of a comprehensive weekly operational access and security update to the Senior Management Team .

● Engage in inter-agency coordination in security; ensure ongoing Mercy Corps field-level coordination in the NGO community. 

Other 

● Adapt security strategies in remote management settings. 

● Effectively represent, promote and protect Mercy Corps’ mandate for independence, impartiality, and neutrality. 

● Any other duties which are not listed but are essential to the safety and security for Mercy Corps staff, property/material, and reputation.

Organizational Learning

● As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Program Participants

● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Reports directly to: Security and Access Manager.

Works directly with: Security and Access Manager, Security Focal Points, Program Managers, Operational Management.

Collaborates with: Mercy Corps Sudan Team Members

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
 

● Bachelor's degree in a related field: (BA/BSc or equivalent Military College) in relevant field; or equivalent work experience: security qualification or advanced security management training.

● Advanced level of understanding with the philosophy and mode of operation of NGOs.

● Minimum 3 years of experience from working in a similar position in hostile environments/conflict areas within humanitarian/recovery context.

● Proven written and analytical skills (sample may be requested).

● Experience in liaising with civilian, police and military government authorities and international institutions.

● Strong analytical skills with commensurate writing ability to provide practical situational and conflict analysis that effectively enable safe access.

● Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation, and mentoring.

● Understanding of significand incident response mechanisms during crises (especially of emergencies).

● Willingness to work and travel frequently in often difficult and insecure environments.

● Competency in Internet and Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and other database/mapping systems.

● Fluency in English and Arabic, both written and spoken.

● Knowledge and understanding of the Sudan Region is essential.

● Formal training qualifications (HEAT, Personal Security, First Aid, Train a Trainer etc).

● Qualified Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
 

SUCCESS FACTORS

A successful candidate will have strong leadership, managerial, and risk analysis/mitigation skills. He/she should be a great listener and will willingly learn from the wealth of knowledge and experience of their security team. A successful candidate will be able to build strong relationships, built on mutual respect and social awareness. They will be invested in the potential, development, and performance of their team members and will seek to strengthen the security of the country program by developing the abilities of the security team.

A successful candidate will be able to identify and communicate security trends at a local and regional level. They will demonstrate the ability to multitask, meet deadlines, and process information in a timely manner to enable efficient and effective responses to contextual changes and challenges. They will be able to tailor their risk appetite to align with that of the Country Director, as the risk holder, and the Security and Access Manager, as the technical security lead for the country program. They will be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment and be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. The candidate will ensure a high degree of professionalism and neutrality when it comes to implementing the response.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on

the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to always adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.