ERT Humanitarian Access, Safety and Security Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Scope of Work:

As a core member of IRC’s ERT (EmU’s deployable staff) and reporting to the Director of Emergency Humanitarian Access, Safety and Security (DEHASS), the Emergency Humanitarian Access, Safety & Security Coordinator (ERT HASSC) will deploy in support of EmU-led or country-led emergency responses for 65% of the time in a fiscal year. Members of the ERT are deployed to either support existing country programs in their emergency response, or to initiate a new program in the crisis zone. The overall responsibility of the team is to rapidly and effectively design, develop and manage the IRC’s on-site for the response to meet the immediate needs of the affected population. The ERT is also responsible for supporting the transfer of responsibilities and knowledge to the long-term staff to ensure the continuity of IRC programming and operations.

With the support of the DEHASS and working with the assigned Response Lead (whether from EmU or a Country Director), they will be responsible for the adaptation and implementation of organizational humanitarian access, safety and security policies and procedures to the specific context and programmatic response ambitions to ensure IRC reaches those who are worst-affected and least-served. They will ensure processes are inclusive, and procedures and measures put in place enable safe programming and are widely known to staff. The ERT HASSC will conduct trainings on site for staff (and, where relevant, partners) and facilitate two-way communication channels that provides expert security advice, and gathers staff’s insights and needs, to all levels of IRC staff working in the emergency response. The ERT HASSC will ensure context analysis is produced to inform programmatic needs, security updates, travel advisories, and incident management.

The ERT must be able to deploy to the site of an emergency within 72 hours of notification; emergency deployments will normally take precedence over other duties. When not deployed, the ERT HASSC will provide a combination of strategic, operational and technical support to the DEHASS and the (global) Analysis, Security, Access and Preparedness (ASAP) team. This includes supporting the development, adaptation and implementation of processes and tools for IRC’s most complex operating environments and emergencies, including scenario analysis, response and contingency plans, and training in aspects of access and security management. It may also include backstopping to deployed Global Surge Team (GST) HASS Coordinators who provide additional surge capacity to EmU and the ERT.

Major Responsibilities:

Humanitarian Access, Safety and Security Management

• In collaboration with Field Response leadership, (Emergency Country Directors, and Team leaders), lead the identification, analysis, and mitigation of humanitarian access, safety and security risks across emergency responses, ensuring alignment with IRC’s Security Minimum Standards (SMS) and duty of care, and integrating GEDI and PEERS principles into HASS culture and practice.

• Develop and implement specific access, security and acceptance strategies, in coordination with the Emergency Country Director/ERT Leader, ASAP and/or Regional Safety and Security Director (RSSD) to enable emergency programs to serve the worst-affected and least-served conflict affected populations.

• In coordination with Country Director/Emergency Team Leader, and Program teams, build and maintain relationships, engage and negotiate with authorities, key power brokers, security actors, and community stakeholders, including state and non‑state actors, to ensure IRC’s mission and activities are understood and accepted, and that staff and programs can operate safely and without disruption.

• Establish and maintain emergency-appropriate access and security incident reporting and trend analysis systems that (could) impact IRC’s areas of operation that reaches country/ERT leadership, senior program and operational staff and/or the DEHASS and RSSD, to inform program design