USA: Security and Conflict Advisor

Oct 4, 2022 | Chemonics
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From its founding in 1975, Chemonics has worked in more than 150 countries to help our clients, partners and beneficiaries take on the world’s toughest challenges. Today, Chemonics reimagines global supply chains to deliver essential medicines to the right place at the right time. It takes a promising new way of powering a village in Kenya and adapt it to a village in Colombia. It embraces project management as a discipline, not an afterthought, so its clients get maximum impact for minimum risk. And Chemonics thinks big, about applying lessons learned across all of its projects, about bridging the gap between segregated technical fields and about forging partnerships that unite the world’s best minds to solve its toughest problems.

General Summary

The security and conflict advisor leads global security and conflict analysis for the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Early Warning Team (EWT). This includes overseeing the security, risk evaluation and mitigation, and emergency response for all EWT staff, offices, and activities. The security and conflict advisor also supports improvements in the EWT’s ability to monitor, analyze, and report on conflict – a key driver of emergency food insecurity – and supports the growth and inputs of the conflict sector for EWT reporting. This position is preferred to be based in Washington, D.C., though US-based remote options may be considered for well qualified candidates. 

FEWS NET is an integrated set of activities funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is intended to provide timely, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent food security early warning information and analysis. Chemonics International (Chemonics) implements the FEWS NET EWT, a team charged with integrated emergency food insecurity analysis through a Washington-based technical office and more than 20 field offices. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

The main activities of the security and conflict advisor include, but are not limited to:

Security Management:

  • Ensure the effective development, implementation, and monitoring of the project’s global security platform, to include security assessments, emergency action plans, and associated recommended mitigation measures
  • Manage the security response to emergencies or crises occurring in FEWS NET presence countries by working with internal and external stakeholders to coordinate efforts and to ensure that all crisis response efforts include timely, accurate information on the security and risk situation as it develops to reduce the impact on staff, operations, and project reputation
  • Design, lead, and otherwise monitor validity of relevant staff safety and security trainings to create a culture of safety through one-on-one mentoring, small group trainings, broader information dissemination, and tracking of staff participation in important safety and security skills building
  • Maintain deep subject matter expertise on safety and security threats and risks to staff throughout FEWS NET presence geographies
  • Coordinate with Chemonics’ security stakeholders to ensure that EWT project office staff maintain and enact safety and security procedures in accordance with USAID’s and Chemonics’ policies
  • Liaise with project office security staff and country-specific safety and security focal points (SSFPs) to ensure all project offices comply with security requirements
  • Conduct security reviews for all project field trips, coordinating with other Chemonics security professionals, and SSFPs to monitor EWT members’ safety and security during field trips, and craft and implement country-specific field travel planning documents where necessary to enhance journey management, particularly for high-risk destinations
  • Undertake short-term field assignments to review and implement safety and security strategies, policies, and procedures, as well as train staff on associated content where necessary
  • Manage safety and security processes, standards, and operational plans – including the EWT Re-opening Road Map in response to COVID-19 – for all project offices, working with country-specific SSFPs to manage internal plans and security subcontracts with third-party providers in select countries where necessary
  • Develop relationships with UN agencies, such as the FAO and WFP, as well as government partner agencies to understand their programmatic approaches, as well as to know key security stakeholders and contacts
  • Actively engage in internal or external professional associations and represent the EWT at conferences, educational workshops, industry meetings, and through personal networking in the security industry

Conflict Analysis:

  • Lead the technical development of the EWT’s conflict analysis sector, including improving the team’s ability to understand, communicate, and interpret conflict events, and supporting the development of conflict scenarios and projections of likely future conflict situations in EWT geographies as relevant
  • Oversee Chemonics’ security personnel during the Food Security Outlook (FSO) and FSO Update development processes to review draft conflict assumptions produced by project office staff in all EWT conflict-affected geographies and provide technical feedback on conflict intensity, patterns, and trajectory to strengthen technical assumptions regarding conflict
  • Regularly review the consistency and accuracy of conflict projections and other conflict-related forecasting in the EWT’s analysis and incorporate associated learning into sector methods, processes, and products
  • Provide technical assistance and guidance to enable Washington DC- and field-based project office staff to conduct high-quality conflict analyses
  • Monitor, assess, and analyze social, political, and/or economic events that are likely to have an impact on the trajectory or intensity of conflict for integration into conflict assumptions where relevant
  • Identify, develop, and implement innovative methods for the collection of critical conflict-related data, including but not limited to armed conflict, violence against civilians, protests, and the emergence of new conflict actors (e.g., rebel groups, violent extremist groups, state actors)
  • Provide regular and ad hoc updates on evolving conflicts and respond to specific questions and requests for information from project offices and/or EWT senior management team (SMT) and decision support group analysts on emerging or rapidly evolving conflict(s).

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. The qualifications listed below are representative of the required knowledge, skills, and/or abilities needed to perform the principal duties.

  • Fluency in English is required; additional language skills in French and/or Spanish are desirable
  • Education and experience in a discipline relevant to the conflict and security sector work of FEWS NET (e.g., PhD and at least two years of relevant experience; Master’s degree and at least four years of relevant experience; Bachelor’s degree and at least six years of relevant experience) is required. Relevant work experience includes humanitarian and/or development work, of which at least two years must be directly relevant experience in security, operations, risk, and/or project management or other technically relevant areas
  • Demonstrated ability to implement security platforms for civilian operations in conflict zones, to include successful crisis management, is required
  • In-depth knowledge of conflict-affected geographies, preferably in a humanitarian context, with demonstrated experience conducting trend analysis and tracking conflict and/or security events, including but not limited to incidents of war, terrorism, unrest, and crime
  • Ability to leverage and synthesize information from in-country networks, media reports, social media, and paid information sources to determine drivers of conflict and triangulate conflict trends
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and oversee multiple staff and project teams is required
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and lead presentations, training courses, and effective meetings is required
  • Willingness to work overseas for up to 6-10 weeks per year is required
  • Strong knowledge of MS Office applications, including Outlook, Word, and Excel is required
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team is required
  • Demonstrated ability to behave in a manner that invokes independent thinking, good judgment, and respect for others is required
  • Knowledge of and previous working experience with USAID-funded development and/or humanitarian projects is preferred
  • Experience living, working, researching, or managing projects and/or staff in relevant EWT geographies is preferred
  • Ability to solve complex technical, managerial, and/or operational problems and evaluate options based on relevant information, resources, well-rounded experience, and knowledge is highly preferred
  • Demonstrated leadership, versatility and integrity

Physical Requirements

  • Regular attendance and availability during normal business hours are required.
  • Ability to work in a normal office environment.
  • Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Conditions

  • Normal office environment; usually moderate noise level
  • Occasional exposure to environmental conditions include exposure to hot, cold, wet, humid, or windy conditions caused by the weather.
  • Ability to travel and work abroad in less developed countries for at least 6 to 10 weeks a year. 

Apply by October 7, 2022 at 11:59PM EST. No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted.

Chemonics is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Chemonics is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics. Military veterans, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

Chemonics will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by Chemonics, or (c) consistent with Chemonics legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

COVID-19 Recruitment Information

Chemonics International is continuously monitoring COVID-19 activity around the world. The health and wellbeing of our staff and potential candidates is of the utmost importance to us and we continue to offer virtual interviews for all on-going recruits. On-boarding for new staff is offered in hybrid format through our Washington, D.C. and London, UK offices to accommodate remote workers.

COVID-19 Vaccination Information

Chemonics requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated.