Democratic Republic of the Congo: Regional Security Manager Central Africa

Regional Security Manager

Central Africa

Summary of Position

The Wildlife Conservation Society currently operates four Country Program offices in its Central Africa Program portfolio: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo (ROC), Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. The ROC and DRC programs are the two single largest programs in the WCS Global Portfolio in terms of budget and staffing. The DRC program has a Kinshasa office and manages extensive field project operations in the east of the country (including Ituri, North and South Kivu provinces).

The Regional Security Manager is accountable for developing and implementing procedures, communications, and training to safeguard WCS personnel, assets and operations within the WCS Global Conservation Program’s Central Africa Region. This position is responsible for improving security readiness, awareness, intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination, and providing the necessary advice and training to enhance security of our staff, assets, and operations throughout the region. The Regional Security Manager will also be responsible for reviewing existing crisis management plans and providing guidance as needed to make sure all plans are current and effective.

This position will be based in Bukavu (South Kivu Province, DRC) to primarily focus on the programmatic security needs of the WCS DRC Country Program. Thereafter, the position will focus on the overall programmatic security needs of all country programs within the Central Africa Region. Support to other programs outside of the region may be required on a limited basis.

Key Relationships

Reports to: Director, Central Africa Program along with a dotted line reporting relationship to the WCS Director of Risk Management and Insurance.

Direct Reports: None

Key Relationships:

WCS Country Program Directors and senior staff (in DRC, ROC, Equatorial

Guinea and Gabon)

Other members of the WCS Global Crisis Management Team (New York)

Key Responsibilities

· Identify, document, analyze and prioritize programmatic threats and risks affecting the safety and security of WCS staff, visitors, and assets within the WCS Central Africa Region

· Work collaboratively with the Central Africa Regional Director and the Director of Risk Management & Insurance for the purpose of developing and managing an overall regional security and risk management strategy

· Enhance WCS’s ability to receive, evaluate and react to threat intelligence and to analyze local, regional and global trends

· Prepare and deliver communication tools and training modules to disseminate regular security briefings and create broader awareness and responsiveness of staff to safety and security

· Design, implement and monitor threat mitigation strategies, including personnel risk management, asset management and communications protocols, in cooperation with all country directors within the Central Africa Region

· Provide guidance and support to all country directors on building a more robust response to program security including guidance on applying for external funding to support near and long-term comprehensive security initiatives

· Perform regular onsite audits of all programmatic security infrastructure and procedures

· Assist all country directors with the recruitment and/or designation of staff best suited to oversee security processes within in each country program

· Coordinate and assist in the investigative responses to all security incidents

· Participate on the Global Crisis Management Team for emergencies taking place within the Central Africa Region

· Assist country programs with increasing its local participation in security networks (such as OSAC and INSO) for the purpose of creating a broader security awareness exchange with other NGO security resources

· Provide annual progress reports on the state of security for each country program within the region to include all accomplishments, short and long-term security goals and budget guidance

· Assist with responding to security matters in other regions on a limited basis

Qualifications required

· A minimum of 10 years of increasing security responsibilities with a multi-national organization with operations in remote high-risk environments

· Thorough knowledge and experience applying security principles and practices in threat identification, management and mitigation, incident response and investigation, facility hardening, hostile environment first-aid, kidnapping and hostage survival, site perimeter protection; access and control policy management, transportation security in hostile environments, counter-surveillance techniques, crisis management response, and intelligence collection and dissemination

· Thorough awareness of the intent and capabilities of criminal organizations within the region that engage in wildlife poaching and trafficking

· Verbal and written fluency in English and French is required

· Strong computer skills (MS Office, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint or similar applications)

· Ability to work independently with extensive travel to remote regions

· Previous law enforcement and/or military experience within the region is desired

· Previous experience of working with an international NGO desired

· Bachelor’s degree in a security or law enforcement related discipline is desired. Master’s level degree is preferred

· Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with an emphasis on training and public presentation to a very broad range of audiences; apply sound judgment in ambiguous situations; effectively manage change, working effectively with and through others to achieve required results; establish and maintain effective interpersonal relationships

· Committed to the mission of the Wildlife Conservation Society

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, should apply by emailing an application letter and CV together with the names and contact information of three references to: africaapplications@wcs.org. Please include “Regional Security Manager” in the subject line of your email. Candidates must also apply online via the WCS career portal by searching job title at: http://www.wcs.org/about-us/careers. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews