Roving Safety Coordinator

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations.

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 800 staff in Ukraine and will continue significant scale-up in 2024 to implement emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context.

DRC is currently looking for a highly qualified Roving Safety Coordinator to be based in Kyiv but with frequent and prolonged travels to the field. 

About the job

You will work in close collaboration with Area Managers and field Safety Focal Points (SFP) to ensure high standards of compliance to DRCs Safety Risk Management System (SRMS) and coordinate all aspects of safety across area of geographic responsibility to ensure safe and effective programming. With such a highly motivated national team, one of the primary functions of this role is to take a leading role in the capacity building of team members. If the successful candidate is internationally recruited, then one of the primary objectives will be nationalizing the role.

Geographic scope

You will be focused on DRCs field areas and ensures compliance to DRC procedures and guidelines with additional ad hoc support to country level operations – specifically in providing country level coverage in the absence of the Head of Safety (HoS). You will contribute to the development of area strategies, which are translated into action plans and day-to-day tasks. You will provide support and/or technical guidance to base operations.

Your main responsibilities will be: 

Team capacity building:

• In close collaboration with HoS, will develop a capacity building plan for local counterparts;
• Proactively support in the transfer of knowledge to local staff;
• Identify training and development opportunities and support local colleague to engage in these opportunities;
• Design and deliver any relevant safety related training;
• Mentor and provide technical supervision to local safety staff including drivers and other colleagues with ancillary safety responsibilities.

Safety Risk Management:

• Support with the development and implementation Safety Risk Management (SRM) process;
• In collaboration with the Head of Safety, help to develop and audit area and country safety management policies, protocols and procedures, maintaining a high standard in documents and operationalization of protocols as per SRMS;
• In collaboration with local SFPs, develop Safety Risk Assessments (SRAs) of locations, facilities and activities and support in the implementation of mitigation measures;
• Analyse, manage and report relevant information within geographical area of responsibility to the Head of Safety, Area Managers (AM), or any other relevant position as necessary on relevant context updates in a timely and proactive manner;
• Create, update and maintain relevant safety documentation, data and records for the areas of concern, including but not limited to maps, incident reports and ad hoc briefings;
• In close coordination with IM department and each area SFP, and under the direction of the Head of Safety, contribute to the correct updating and upkeeping of the different digital platforms used for the mission safety management (Machforms, Sharepoint, InfoPortal, maps (training will be given on DRC specific systems));
• Provide technical advice on the procurement of safety-related equipment, facilities, services and other resources;
• Support HoS, Area Managers and HR in the recruitment of new Safety staff;
• Review and approve field movement requests, working with program teams to produce safe plans where necessary and then monitor field movements remotely in collaboration with the Operations Room. Over time, work with national colleagues to hand this task over;
• Coordinate emergency responses at a local level within geographic area of responsibility;
• Monitor formal and informal information networks as well as open sources of information in order to issue appropriate advice in accordance to DRC policies;
• Collaboratively create development plans for safety officers and assistants within geographical area of responsibility and support officers/assistants to progress through the plan;
• Support and deliver safety-related training to program and support staff;
• Briefing international visitors and new staff prior to their arrival in country;
• Facilitate surge support to the Incident Management Team as required;
• Step-up to cover the Head of Safety when required, and cover for the different area safety teams when requested;
• Any other tasks reasonable required for this role.

Management:

• Whilst this position has no direct reports, the successful candidate will be expected to provide technical support where necessary to the safety team in coordination with the HoS.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to have at least 3-5 years of experience in a position with safety responsibilities for an INGO (Programs and Operations personnel who meet these criteria but who may not have had a position with Safety or Security in the title are strongly encouraged to apply). Moreover, we also expect the following:

• Willing to learn, good sense of humour & high emotional intelligence
• Team player and collaborative but with the ability to work independently, take initiative and make decisions
• An interest in politics, security and a critical understanding of the current situation in Ukraine; a knowledge of regional and wider geopolitical developments and how they influence the war in Ukraine
• An understanding of personal limitations and areas for personal development
• Driven, dedicated and proactive with a drive for excellence
• Stable personality, able to operate in a professional manner under stress
• Proven track record of training and mentoring a range of audiences, both for larger audiences and one on one 
• Experience working in multicultural work settings
• Experience with information gathering, analysis and report writing; with critical incident management
• Experience working in hostile or hazardous environments
• Full professional proficiency in English ( the ability to read and write English to a high level and to operate in a professional space

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five 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 uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

• Contract length: 6 months renewable depending on performance and funding
• Band: F-non-management
• Duty Station: Kyiv, non-family suty station
• Start date: December 2024

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for national and international employees; please refer to our website.

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter (no longer than one page) and an updated CV (no longer than two pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 22nd of November 2024

We encourage candidates to apply earlier, since DRC reserves the right to close the vacancy before the initial deadline if an application is accepted. Only short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

DRC is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and candidates from backgrounds not traditionally represented in Safety and Security are strongly encouraged to apply. Additionally, Ukrainian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.