About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.  In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

The Program

Mercy Corps has worked across Iraq’s 18 governorates since 2003, implementing relief and development programming. Mercy Corps Iraq’s goal is to work with civil society, public and private sector partners to meet immediate needs and reduce longer-term vulnerabilities of communities within Iraq. Mercy Corps Iraq focuses on (1) a relief-to-resilience pathway to meet the needs of conflict-affected communities leveraging agency expertise in conflict management and civil society development (2) a humanitarian response that empowers conflict-affected populations to meet their own needs (3) sustainable development and good governance programming through strategic partnership with Iraqis and Iraqi government to design and implement programs and concepts towards sustainable development of Iraq as democratic and prosperous country.

The position

The Access and Security Manager (ASM) as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) will work with the country management team to develop and implement an access strategy, to support program team with access processes and approaches, to ensure that organizational security policies and procedures are adequately responsive to the context, and to ensure that the country program adheres to and exceeds compliance with the Global Safety and Security Minimum Standards. This position must maintain an acute awareness of the context and all development as they relate to Mercy Corps.

The ASM will manage a team to implement, document and train access and security management planning, and lead high level access engagement with government officials and other relevant high-level actors. This person is expected to have a strong understanding of humanitarian values, access strategies, program management and logistical capacities. S/he is expected to apply these and other leadership qualities with the Mercy Corps team in Iraq.

The ASM is responsible for quality control and security management for all offices and programs. S/he also will advise the Country Director on operational access and security measures, as well as provide the program, operations/logistics, advocacy and management teams with up-to-date briefings, analysis and engage as a thought partner in finding solutions to safely and effectively reach people in need.

Lastly, this position will interact, as directed, with the regional and global teams in analysis, advocacy, and context updates.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategy, Planning and Management

• Direct and manage the country team to ensure the implementation of Mercy Corps Global and Regional safety and security standards.
• In close cooperation with the program and security & access teams develop and implement access strategies and approaches at the national level and tailored to local contexts in field sites throughout Iraq.
• In consultations with the program team and Country Director, develop ongoing relationships with local authorities and other power brokers within Iraq.
• Provide technical input and advice in assessments to consider new Mercy Corps programs in new geographic areas.
• Provide timely feedback on questions and technical assistance requests from country program team members.
• In coordination with the relevant department, liaise with security actors e.g., NGO Security Focal -Point, NCCI, INSO, other NGO security coordinators, region UNDSS contacts, local community stakeholders, Governors, etc.
• Maintain a high level of preparedness vis-a-vis predicted contextual fluctuations operationally and programmatically.
• Engages with the regional and global safety and security directors to ensure effective resourcing, standards, accountability and management of security in the country.

Safety and Security Management

• Develop and update all policies, procedures, guidelines and planning for staff safety, operational security and program continuity in Iraq;
• Evaluate, review and update the security management plans on a regular basis. Reference and ensure compliance to Mercy Corps Security Management Framework and Global Safety and Security Minimum Standards.
• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Ensure safety and security protocol, reporting mechanism, and capacity building initiative account for gender-specific risks, staff profiles and background, and are sensitive to local contexts.
• Together with the security team, plan and conduct risk security assessment of permanent and temporary MC locations and roads based on program needs to ensure compliance with safety and security standards.
• Ensures the security officers contribute and maintain tracking, mapping and automated reporting systems of security incidents and updates for a comprehensive view on events & trends in the region.
• Ensure continuous information is shared among staff members through routine briefings, meetings, written reports etc. to ensure that new team members are fully informed, and the larger Mercy Corps team is fully aware of the context (political, social, security and humanitarian). Responsible for flash reporting, documentation and analysis of incidents.
• Act as the Security Focal Point on the country Incident Response Team in case of any emergency or critical situations, and be ready to provide support in case of incidents involving the staff of Mercy Corps.

Liaison Management and Networking

• Develop and maintain, with the Security and Liaison team, a professional network within relevant governmental offices at the national and local level.
• Lead and/or facilitate, with the support of the Security and Liaison team, all access related conversations with key stakeholders, access applications, and document management.
• Coordinate, support, and follow-up on visa and residency application and activation processes for international staff.
• Where relevant, develop and maintain, with the security and liaison team, a professional network of religious and/or tribal leaders.
• Maintain a network of access and security counterparts with NGO/UN, commercial entities, and diplomatic mission.
• Facilitate regional NGO security coordination through networking, collaboration, and coordination with humanitarian actors.
• Place high value on inter-agency coordination in security; encourage Mercy Corps field-level coordination in the NGO community. Seek opportunities for formal and informal cooperation.

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development

• Supervise and support the access and security team to ensure sustainable workflow, team success and capacity building of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.

Supervisory responsibility

Supervises the safety and security officers and liaison officer in Iraq

Accountability

Reports to: The Country Director

Works directly with: Members of the SMT, Operations Management and team as well as with the Regional Safety & Security Advisor (ME) and Global safety and security teams.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.  

Minimum Qualifications and Transferable Skills

• 3-5 years of experience in safety and security or government liaison with a humanitarian or development non-governmental organization.
• 2 years minimum of experience in a managerial position required, previous experience building capacity and coaching staff members is preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of humanitarian and resilience programming and knowledge of NGOs operations and related access and security concerns
• Good conflict and political analysis skills (knowledge of the intelligence cycle)
• Experience in incident reporting and management.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation, and coaching.
• Experience and ease in high-level representation preferred.
• Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills. Ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities, and present complex information in succinct and compelling manner (including to a team from diverse backgrounds and cultures.)
• Arabic and English proficiency required.

This role is only open to Iraqi citizens and individuals who have the legal right to work in Iraq.

Success Factors

The perfect candidate is a person with a deep understanding of NGO’s best practices for security management and experience in a relevant field. The successful candidate will be able to follow and read the changing context and understand the political landscape to better plan and forecast. S/he will have experience/ confidence with high-level representation and will be comfortable in networking and communicating frequently with counterparts for a comprehensive portrayal and implementation of security and access. The successful candidate will be confident in taking the lead of a team, and clearly communicate and guide them.

Living conditions

This position is based in Baghdad or Erbil, Iraq. The position requires extensive presence in Baghdad as well as regular travels across operational areas.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. 

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES:

Successful candidates should meet the education and experience requirements in the position descriptions for the vacant positions. S/he must be self- motivated, creative, tolerant, and able to work in difficult, stressful environments and follow Mercy Corps procedures. S/he must respect diversity and gender equality at the workplace.

Interested candidates should submit their CVs to the email address mcerbilhr@gmail.com before the deadline indicated below.

Please indicate on the subject of the email the title of the position you are applying for, for full position description for the noted posts, please visit websites NCCI and F-Job.

ALL APPLICATIONS/ CVs SHOULD BE RECEIVED BY February 19, 2024

Potential candidates for the post will be contacted for an interview and processed according to Mercy Corps Human Resources policies and procedures. As soon as qualified candidates are identified the positions will be closed automatically. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for potential interview.

Any documents submitted will remain with Mercy Corps and will not be returned to candidates.

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer. Females are highly encouraged to apply.

Female Candidates are encouraged to apply for This Position. Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global Impact.

Mercy Corps Iraq offers a variety of arrangements that enable women to excel in their careers. Mercy Corps Iraq ensures a safe and inclusive working environment for women and men through field security training and measures to provide secure working arrangements on-site and in the office.