ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone. We are driven by a vision of a world where each person has the health care needed to thrive. VillageReach’s goal is to reduce inequities in access to quality primary health care for 350 million people by 2030. We work with governments, the private sector, partners and communities to build responsive primary health care systems that deliver health products, information and services to the most under-reached. As a locally driven and globally connected organization, VillageReach has offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and the United States.

Summary

VillageReach is seeking an experienced Security Officer for safeguarding staff, assets, and operations while enabling safe access for health and immunization activities. This role requires a blend of traditional security management, contextual analysis, diplomatic liaison, and a strong commitment to humanitarian principles.

The Security Officer will report to the Director of Finance and Operations and will collaborate with VillageReach staff in provinces and relevant provincial stakeholders.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

Security Risk Management: Conducting ongoing and ad-hoc security risk assessments of all operational areas and offices to identify threats, assess vulnerabilities, and recommend mitigation measures.
Policy and Procedure Implementation: Developing, updating, and ensuring compliance with the organization's security management plans, standard operating procedures and minimum-security requirements.
Context Analysis & Reporting: Monitoring and analyzing the local security situation, identifying trends and emerging threats, and providing regular, non-partisan, and credible updates and briefings to management and staff
Humanitarian Access & Liaison: Building and maintaining a network of contacts with local authorities, community leaders, provincial health authorities and other NGOs to ensure access to vulnerable populations is maintained
Incident & Emergency Response: Responding 24/7 to security incidents and emergencies, including documentation, investigation, and reporting. This also involves developing and rehearsing contingency plans such as hibernation, relocation, and evacuation procedures.
Training & Capacity Building: Providing security inductions for new staff and visitors, and organizing and conducting regular safety and security training and drills for all personnel and consultants.
Movement & Facility Management: Overseeing daily movement planning and tracking, ensuring communication systems are functional, and that physical security measures for facilities are in place and maintained.
Perform other tasks as needed

Competencies:

VillageReach has ten (10) Organizational Competencies that describe how we work together and get things done that are grouped into three strategic areas of Achieving Great Results, Setting Direction and, Bringing Others With you. For a full description, please download our Organizational Competency document.

Achieving Great Results:

1. Risk Taking and Innovation

· Key Behaviors: Comfort with ambiguity, curiosity, adaptability, unconstrained and undeterred creativity, resourcefulness.

2. Business Judgement

· Key Behaviors: Getting to root causes, understanding environment, navigating complexity and ambiguity, entrepreneurial energy.

3. Building Strong Teams

· Key Behaviors: Trust in Subject Matter Experts (SME’s); radical candor to resolve conflict, hold each other accountable as colleagues, focused on results, commitment to mission.

Setting Direction:

4. Compelling Communication

· Key Behaviors: Clear and evidence-based communication, audience adaptability, curious listener.

5. Resilient Self Leadership

· Key Behaviors: Self-aware, plan how one shows up, emotionally intelligent, use one’s own agency and takes accountability.

6. Stewardship and Personal Alignment

· Key Behaviors: Take ownership, display ethical conduct, effective at resource management, alignment of personal objectives with organizational goals and mission, focus on continuous improvement and sustainability.

Bringing Others with You:

7. Influencing Leadership

· Key Behaviors: Cultivate trust, influences to make change, navigate the matrix structure.

8. Radical Partnership

· Key Behaviors: Share information and credit, address conflict, increase impact through collaboration, political and contextual awareness.

9. Cultivates a Growth Mindset

· Key Behaviors: Seek out diverse input, demonstrate flexibility in thinking and curiosity, embrace challenges, demonstrate persistence, seek learning opportunities.

10. Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion

· Key Behaviors: Continuous learning and ally-ship across cultural lines, challenge prejudice and bias, modeled in one’s own behavior.

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience:

A Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, International Development or a related field, with a Master's degree often preferred
At least 3-5 years of similar experience
Demonstrable experience in planning, organizing, and executing security operations, preferably within non-profit or NGO international humanitarian assistance programs in conflict-afflicted or emergency settings.
Strong ability to analyze complex situations and provide clear, dynamic briefings and solutions.
Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and mediation skills, with the ability to work diplomatically in a cross-cultural context
Superior verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey information effectively to diverse audiences
A strong sense of professional discretion, integrity, and a commitment to humanitarian principles (neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity).
Proficiency in communication technology, risk assessment methodologies, and standard security software/systems.
Ability to develop and carry out work plans and solve problems independently.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to work independently and take initiative.
Experience working in team settings, preferably in an international capacity.
Ability to work under time constraints and meet deadlines.
Superb written and verbal communication skills, fluency in English is a plus.

Other Qualifications:

Comply with VillageReach’s COVID-19 vaccination policy which requires full vaccination for in-person work or travel.
Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse groups.
Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context; experience living in and/or working in a low-income country a plus.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.

Environment and Physical Demands:

VillageReach employees typically work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to the time zone differences across our USA, Kenya and Country Offices and location of other global staff, we have established core collaboration hours between 6am Pacific Time and 18:00 South Africa Time (GMT+1) Monday through Thursday. All staff, regardless of location are expected to be available between these hours. During Daylight Savings Time, this allows for 12 hours per week (3 hours/day) of collaboration time and during Standard Time, 8 hours (2 hours/day). We do not hold cross-office meetings on Friday.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most under-reached and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 6 January 2026. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/. In your cover letter, please address (1)Why you are interested in this position, (2)What is one reason you think you’d be a good fit for this position and, (3)what is one strength you would bring to this position?

Hiring Process:

The hiring process will include the following steps:

1. Review submitted applications

2. Conduct 20-30 minute screening interviews for shortlisted candidates

3. Conduct skills and value-based interviews for 3-5 candidates.

4. Request that top candidates submit a practical assessment (designed to take no more than two hours to complete). Sometimes the assignment will occur before the interview.

5. Conduct final interview if necessary

6. Request references

7. Make offer

8. Conduct background check

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, but candidates who proceed to step 2 will be notified if they are not chosen for step 3.

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Benefits

Compensation & Benefits:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. Please refer to our compensation overview on our website for more information and for more information on employee benefits.

Security Officer

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