Jul 6, 2021

Safety & Liaison Manager - Khartoum , Sudan

Employer: Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
Location:  Khartoum, Sudan

Closing date 10 Jul 2021

Description
The Safety and Liaison Manager is in charge of the safety and liaison department in Sudan with direct line management responsibilities for the liaison staff in Khartoum and a technical line management responsibility for safety staff in the area offices.

Liaison: The Safety & Liaison Manager’s responsibility is to develop and maintain good working relationships with relevant governmental stakeholders on national and state level to ensure that the Danish Refugee Council in Sudan is compliant with relevant government regulations regarding registration, project approvals (Technical Agreements), travel permits and visas for international staff to support our operations in Sudan.

Safety: The Safety & Liaison Manager is in charge of ensuring that DRC’s Safety Risk Management System (SRMS) is successfully implemented in Sudan (incl. effective MOSS, regularly updated Safety Risk Assessments for all SLS locations). A critical part of this role will be capacity building of existing teams in Darfur, Gedarif , South Kordofan and Khartoum, the main operational areas of DRC Sudan.

The Safety and Liaison Manager will report to the DRC Sudan Country Director, with technical support from the Regional Safety Coordinator North Africa.

Main Responsibilities
The position holder will be the lead of safety, security and liaison affairs of DRC’s country program in Sudan under the direct line management of the Country Director with technical backstopping from the Regional Safety Coordinator. The position holder will be part of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and will be working closely with Area Managers, Base Managers and the program teams to provide contextualized safety and security information as well as liaison support to enable programs to deliver programs in often remote and hard to reach areas.

SAFETY AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT
Mentor national safety colleagues in DRC Sudan, and enable them to implement DRC’s safety risk management system;
Undertake and support others to increase Minimum Operating Safety Standards (MOSS) standards, conduct Safety Risk Assessments (SRA) for all current and future SLS (Safety Level System) locations and facilitate the implementation of Local Safety Rules (LSR) as well as Standard Operating Procedures (SOP);
Inform CD/ SMT of areas of non-compliance, and support management and teams to improve quality and compliance;
Manage the SLS assessments in cooperation with the Regional Safety Coordinator North Africa;
Ensure a technical reporting line to the Regional Safety Coordinator
Mentor national Safety Specialist on the subject of reporting by fostering the use of the SIR data base and advance analysis products, in particular access-focused assessments;
Lead scenario developments for DRC Sudan, and place emphasize on humanitarian implications;
Evaluate access prospects for new operations and facilitate programme access/continuity through the provision of informed advice;
Support the senior management team in Khartoum in all safety-related issues, particularly in cases of emergency, and act as a standing member of the incident management team. Assist with the implementation of the CIMP (critical incident management plan) by office/location and act as surge capacity in case regional emergencies demand so;
Based on an assessment of training needs develop, support, facilitate and/or deliver safety trainings to all staff members and partake in training initiatives;
Analyze, advise, and report relevant information to the Country Director and the Regional Safety Coordinator for the areas of concern;
Represent DRC within inter-agency for a as related to safety issues;
Share regular contextual updates with SMT,DRC staff and the Regional Safety Coordinator ensuring that contextual understanding is improved;

Liaison Management: 
Under the supervision of the Country Director, the Safety and Liaison Manager will represent DRC’s Country Director vis a vis government authorities’ in Khartoum and area offices as required:
Responsible for establishing networks between DRC and central & state authorities in close coordination with the CD and SMT members;
Ensure support to the field liaison/program teams in processing/follow-up of project permission (Technical Agreements), country agreements, visas, travel permits and other permissions on national and state level;
​Coordinate efforts with Area Managers in field bases to strengthen liaison efforts and relationship building;
​Support Country Director in representing DRC at Khartoum level vis a vis government authorities including other key stakeholders and attend relevant meetings in order to strengthen DRC’s position nationally;
Develop, implement and regularly revise a DRC engagement strategy for government agencies in Khartoum and the field bases;
Ensure collaboration and coordination with the DRC SMT members to ensure key issues are understood from all bases and key messages are shared from Khartoum;
Coordinate and arrange meetings for SMT members and higher-level visits to Sudan at federal and state level. Advise Country Director on taking strategic positioning in regards to relationships with authorities;
Support the smooth running of the activities through maintaining a constructive and inclusive relationship with concerned authorities, partners and other agencies;
Ensure that all compliance requirements of INGO regulatory framework are followed and submission of relevant reports are done in a timely manner in close cooperation and coordination with the respective departments/ project leads;
Keep senior management informed of any changes in the administrative procedures for obtaining key documents.

About you
At least 3 years in safety and security management, liaison and coordination roles in volatile contexts and conflict affected environments, preferably in diverse and multi-cultural environments;
Strong technical skills and ability to provide conflict/context analysis, stakeholders analysis, safety and security analysis;
At least 3 years of proven experience with delivering safety-related trainings to both national and international staff members;
Master’s Degree or equivalent in relevant discipline
First Aid Trainer certificate
Fluency in English – Arabic is a strong added value
Stable and robust character with excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills
Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment
Proven ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
Willingness to travel regularly to our field bases in Central Darfur, Al Gadarif, and South Kordofan
Sound technical, management and leadership skills
“Can-do” attitude that acknowledges risks but seeks mitigation strategies to reach those most in need.

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