DIRECTOR, RISK MANAGEMENT – CARE TURKEY

CARE is an international NGO with local staff and community partners in more than 90 countries. We create local solutions to poverty and inequality and we seek dignity for everyone every day and during times of crisis. These solutions have a broad range, from clean water to access to education; from microfinance to ensuring that everyone has nutritious food; from agriculture and climate change to disaster response. CARE puts women and girls at the center of everything we do because they have proven to be the best hope for creating lasting change in the world. Our staff live where they work, which makes us effective at understanding the challenges they face. We’ve been doing this for over 70 years, since World War II. It started with the world’s first CARE Package® of food for the post-war hungry in Europe. Our work today is as important as ever, we believe that poverty and inequality are historic injustices that we can end within a generation, for good. If you share our core beliefs: poverty is an injustice; poverty is solvable; and together, we have the power to end it, join us, and fight with CARE.

CARE is seeking an experienced and innovative Director of Risk Management (D-RM) to lead CARE Turkey’s (CT) overall safety and security and manage risk associated with CARE Turkey’s operations, in light of its unique operating modalities inside Turkey and North-West Syria.

CARE Turkey operates in a complex humanitarian and security environment. CARE Turkey has three operating modalities; a) direct in Turkey, b) through partners inside NW Syria, and c) direct inside Syria’s Northern Aleppo. The D-RM will directly manage a growing Risk Management Team. The D-RMU also engages closely with senior safety and security peers at the national, regional, and global levels.

Reporting directly to the Country Director – Turkey, the D-RM must be a seasoned security professional, must be able to provide complex analysis, set a road map for solutions, and develop security strategies/road maps for security solutions in three complex contexts, two of which CARE does not have direct access to. The D-RM must possess quick negotiation and problem-solving skills, needed under pressure. The impact of this role is organization-wide, with the safety of 300+ staff.

The D-RM will develop strategies to work safely within CARE Turkey program environments, maintain access to program areas, reduce operational risks faced by staff and develop the capacity of national counterparts in the CARE Turkey Risk Management Team (RMT). This will be achieved by maintaining a pragmatic but sophisticated security posture, whilst fostering an inclusive risk-managed culture for health and safety amongst staff.

S/he will manage the ongoing review, development, and implementation of the Country Office Risk Management Plan and associated budget. The D-RM will also develop and execute security operating procedures, in three locations and in line with the CARE International Standards and Principles. The D-RM oversees the implementation of best practices to reduce operational risk and prepare robust contingency plans for incident and crisis response.

The person in this role will be responsible for developing the capacity of staff through training to ensure that risk management protocols and procedures are known, understood, and followed.

The D-RM will be expected to grow and maintain strong network links with key peer collaboration groups and individuals including counterparts in the region to ensure that CARE can maintain access to program areas. S/he will demonstrate a high level of socio-cultural, political, and economic understanding of the contexts where CARE works.

S/he will also develop a solid working knowledge of CARE’s programs and have a strong understanding of humanitarian programming approaches. S/he will engage with team members who are responsible for context analysis and humanitarian access. S/he will be required to travel to operational areas (risk levels permitting), including potentially volatile locations to ensure the provisions of the Risk Management Plan are followed at the field level. The D-RM will support the development of appropriate localized plans and SOPs and provide expert technical assistance to field staff where necessary.

Key criteria for success in this post are:

A clear vision and demonstrated leadership qualities, an advanced ability to plan for and communicate issues of risk management in a credible and consultative fashion, and a management style that engages support and empowers strong decision making. A strong emphasis in this role is the continued development of skills and capacity of colleagues in the Risk Management Team.

Responsibilities:

• Risk Management Analysis, Planning, and Execution
• Procedures and protocols
• Incidents and crisis management
• Management of the CARE Turkey Risk Management Team
• Capacity building
• Advise and Report to Regional Security Manager
• Promote cross-regional collaboration, sharing of ideas and initiatives, and operational best practice with Country Offices in MENA or the broader CARE network
• Represents CARE on S&S Fora and with Security Peers.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a field related to security and risk management or 8-10 years’ field/operational experience in working in complex and hazardous environments
• Recognized certificate in security and risk management (HEAT)
• Recognized trainer certificate in security and risk management
• 8-10 years’ senior-level experience in security and risk management in a complex humanitarian context.
• 5 years’ experience in assisting international organizations in developing countries to manage staff and program safety
• Sophisticated levels of analysis and security management planning skills
• Demonstrable expertise in humanitarian risk management.
• Strong ability to analyze and understand complex situations and translate these into specific policy advice.
• Ability to make good judgment on staff safety and provide appropriate advice
• Demonstrated ability to manage under stressful conditions
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (Turkish or Arabic considered a plus)
• Strong demonstrated inter-personal skills in a multi-cultural environment