Write a short job advertisement for a security manager for a major commercial company (real or imagined) and specify the qualifications, experience and management skills you require and the salary you expect to pay. Also, produce a more detailed job description which gives more information about the role and management skills required.
please use: the handbook of security second edition edited by martin gill
Job Advertisement
Position: Security Manager – Southern Africa
Reports to: Senior Regional Security Director, Office of Global Safety and Security
Location: Pretoria
Duration: Permanent
Salary: Competitive Package
Leading, independent non-government organization, “Save the Children”, offers interested candidates the opportunity to work with dedicated, inspiring individuals and have a central role to play in making sure the organization keeps its promises to the precious children it caters to. Our task is challenging as well as ambitious, and delivers real outcomes for vulnerable kids and family members.
Staffed with over 14,000 individuals who operate in more than 120 nations (including the US), Save the Children serves young ones in need. The organization’s aim is: Inspiring breakthroughs in how mankind treats kids, and attaining speedy and long-term change within their lives, via improvements to their health, and economic and educational opportunities. Under conditions of grave crisis, our organization mobilizes timely aid for helping children recuperate quickly from the ill effects of natural catastrophes, war, and conflict. Working full-time as a non-government organization or for the not-for-profit sector should not be regarded as charity – rather, one is investing in the future of the world’s children and helping families support themselves effectively (Save The Children, 2016).
ROLE PURPOSE:
The security and safety manager, being part of the organization’s national-level executive management, shares the overall task of directing and coordinating the organization’s Country Office. This post’s overall aim is mitigating the risks to Save the Children’s South African program, assets and employees, by providing specialized, focused, and coordinated security management assistance.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Country Director
Dimensions: The organization, operating in the South African region, offers support to kids by means of humanitarian relief and developmental programs that are administered directly as well as via local partners. The focus of current programs is on the following areas: child protection, safeguarding of children’s rights, health, education, nutrition, WASH, HIV/AIDS, and livelihoods.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
As part of the organization’s executive management team, the security manager should play a part in:
• Leading the organization’s Country Office located in South Africa
• Supporting the development of a corporate culture reflecting the organization’s dual mandate principles, promoting superior performance and answerability, encouraging team learning, innovation and creativity, and empowering employees to deliver superior outcomes for kids and first-rate customer service to benefactors and members
• Helping devise and adopt a sound company structure in line with agency norms and suited to program requirements
• Ensuring the Country Office adheres to all operating procedures and standards stipulated by Save the Children
• Ensuring necessary support is delivered in a timely manner, aligned to and at scale with regulations and norms in times of emergencies, in close collaboration with the Office at the regional level
• Providing support as needed to incident management personnel, if security-related crises arise (Save the Children international, 2016)
Procedures and Policies:
• Developing and maintaining nation-wide security blueprints and strategies and agreeing to adhere to its procedures and policies
• Closely watching the security setting and modifying security procedures and policies appropriately
• Ensuring relevance and quality of different areas’ security plans
• Reviewing procedures and policies, and identifying security enhancement opportunities
Assessment and Analysis:
• Ensuring proper compilation of incident reports by employees and timely distribution to the Country as well as Regional Offices
• Monitoring events, reviewing incidents and coordinating analysis, in addition to regularly following up and making recommendations to the Executive Management Team
• Handing in weekly as well as monthly organizational reports to Save the Children’s executive board and regional office management team
• Providing informed advice with regard to security examinations and appraisals
• Evaluating security policy application and susceptibility levels of facilities belonging to Save the Children, as well as recommending changes directed at security enhancement
• Monitoring Logistics/Finance/Human Resource department practices in terms of security and safety, and notifying the Country Director in the event unsuitable decisions are taken that affect the team’s security and safety or the organization’s external perception, thus leading to security risks
• Collaborating with the Program Operations director for ensuring the organization’s assets and personnel are secure and safe
• Ensuring minimum secure and safe operating standards are adhered to in every operational aspect
• Coordinating formulation and execution of workforce security guidelines, as well as supporting sub-offices when it comes to conducting routine security appraisals and preparing reports (Save the Children international, 2016)
Program Implementation:
• Providing advice on safe personnel movement, such as sound policies for managing vehicle fleets, appropriate communications and safety tools and equipment in automobiles, and providing drivers training in required skills and fixed procedures
• Assisting with development of program proposal, for ensuring appropriate consideration of security and safety requirements, and including security and safety costs
• Taking on field missions and security evaluations in potential and existing program areas, reporting results, and formulating required improvements
• Providing security and safety support and counsel to field and area managers
Communication and Training:
• Coordinating regularly with community leaders, the government, consultants, diplomats, and the United Nations for collecting and authenticating security information
• Coordinating collection and movement of security data with appropriate players, and categorizing security information based on its accuracy and reliability
• Maintaining and reviewing mapping and incident reporting systems, as well as regularly ensuring availability of the latest incident maps for all employees of the organization
• Ensuring the presence of proper systems for efficiently disseminating security updates and data to employees
• Coordinating and managing appropriate utilization of the organization’s telecommunication systems
• Organizing regular meetings on security and related issues with appropriate staff members of the organization
• Formulating and implementing security training plans for employees, as well as developing and applying an appraisal process for ascertaining whether or not the organization meets training competencies
• Facilitating employee training in security management at different project sites and the Country Office
• Developing the capacity of the security team’s focal points for carrying out threat assessments
• Offering recommendations to the workforce with regard to how to successfully reach out, gain approval, and establish as well as improve their positive image among host community members
• Developing security briefing content and orienting fresh recruits
• Training the executive team in crisis management (Save the Children international, 2016)
Management Skills
Inspiring and Leading Others
The security manager must exhibit leadership skills in all tasks, role model Save the Children’s values, and formulate and verbalize a convincing vision for inspiring employees and collectively achieving the organization’s goals for kids. The security manager should contribute to
• Creating a common strategy and vision, and engaging employees in it, for delivering more value for children.
• Behaving with integrity; this encompasses the manager’s commitment to turn his/her back to huge opportunities if they aren’t in line with organizational values.
• Inspiring subordinates to perform to the best of their ability and instilling in them pride in being a member of such a cause (Save the Children international, 2016).
Problem Solving and Decision Making
The security manager is responsible for taking efficient, timely, and well-thought- decisions by collecting and assessing relevant internal and external data and making judgments judiciously.
The security manager must carefully record a comprehensive range of risks that the security team has to tackle. This includes sources of threats, factors causing them, how threats grow to become actual events and how perpetrators can outwit mitigation measures established by the organization (GILL, 2006).
The individual occupying this post must be capable of considering numerous alternatives, making sound decisions and taking proper action. He/she must also possess good judgment as well as know the right time to implement certain decisions. These traits are vital to a reliable security manager (Davies, 2012; PETTINGER, 1997).
Leading Edge
The security manager has to capably engage in:
• Identifying and tackling the root of long-run organizational issues
• Bringing an external outlook to the table, for guaranteeing future-focused, relevant strategic decisions are made
• Providing a strategic frame for supporting organization-wide decision making
• Exploring and analyzing external trends as well as their likely influence on strategic organizational choices.
• Taking careful risks and being strong enough to stick to his/her decisions even if employees resist (Save the Children international, 2016).
Engaging and Networking
The person in the role of security manager should cultivate and make the most of sustainable networks and relationships for supporting the organization’s work.
Leading Edge
The security manager should
• Role model honesty and transparency in his/her interactions with others.
• Drive external partnerships and networks within and outside the non-profit sector.
• Align and develop partnerships and networks for reflecting global opportunities and changes.
• Collect intelligence from outside for influencing the long- and medium- term impacts of Save the Children’s work with kids (Save the Children international, 2016).
Further, he/she must be tech-savvy and capable of overseeing important technology developments. He/she should integrate these with other existing security technologies for identifying, assessing and responding to an event (GILL, 2006).
Objective Setting
The security manager must establish a well-defined goal and effectively communicate it to employees (PETTINGER, 1997). Employees must be included in the process of objective formulation and they must agree to the goals wholeheartedly. Further, appropriate resources must be identified and made sufficiently available for attaining necessary outcomes.
Communication
Excellent verbal and written communication skills are expected. The security manager should effectively make his/her point openly and directly before his/her team and develop positive rapport with them, as well as with colleagues and superiors (Davies, 2012).
People Development
Performance maximization by knowing how one must work with other people is essential. For getting maximum cooperation and performance from employees, the security manager ought to possess coaching, facilitating and mentoring skills, in addition to the ability of managing performance and offering encouraging and constructive feedback. These are important aspects in supporting people and helping them develop (Davies, 2012).
Motivation
The capacity to motivate and encourage subordinates to give their best and perform to their utmost potential is expected in the security manager. The key is acknowledging and rewarding achievement (Davies, 2012; 25 qualities and characteristics of a good manager, 2011).
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
• A relevant Bachelor’s degree
• Formal qualification in the security field or advanced training in security management
• Advanced understanding of non-governmental organizations’ philosophy and method of operation
• No less than 7 years of experience on field in insecure, complex settings. Should have preferably worked in two or more countries with a large team under his/her wing
• Experience with communicating and coordinating with civilians, military, police, governmental bodies, and national, regional, and international level organizations
• Experience with intelligence collation, analysis, incident reporting and mapping, conducting security assessments and compiling reports, and establishing and implementing a warden/incident warning process
• Resourcefulness, sound analytical ability, and inventiveness in developing security role within programs and ensuring sound support to the line managers
• Capacity of balancing security players’ and benefactors’ demands, whilst maintaining proper contextual organizational security counseling and coordination
• Advanced communication and interpersonal skills, including coaching, influencing, and negotiation
• Advanced cultural awareness as well as capacity to work efficiently in international settings with individuals belonging to diverse cultures and social/economic background
• Capacity of presenting complex facts succinctly and in an interesting way
• Exceptional planning, reporting, and coordination skills, as well as the capacity to organize significant workloads encompassing complex, diverse responsibilities and tasks
• Capacity and readiness to dramatically alter work hours and practices, and work alongside incoming surge units when crises strike
• Readiness to travel and work in frequently insecure and difficult settings
• Well-versed with the internet, mapping/database systems, and Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access)
• Fluent spoken and written English, and ability to talk in local languages including Kiswahili would be a bonus
• Readiness to regularly journey to field offices of the organization as well as its operational areas
• Understanding the organization’s mission and vision and committing to its values and goals (Save the Children international, 2016)
25 qualities and characteristics of a good manager (2011) Available at: http://www.phdinmanagement.org/25-qualities-and-characteristics-of-a-good-manager.html (Accessed: 11 August 2016).
Davies, S. (2012) 5 essential management skills. Available at: http://www.businesszone.co.uk/community-voice/blogs/thalestraining/5-essential-management-skills (Accessed: 11 August 2016).
GILL, M. L. (2006). The handbook of security. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan.
PETTINGER, R. (1997). Introduction to management. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Macmillan Press.
Save The Children (2016) Save the children jobs. Available at: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.5717/Save_the_Children_Jobs.htm (Accessed: 11 August 2016).
Save the Children international (2016) RE-ADVERTISEMENT: SAFETY AND SECURITY MANAGER. Available at: https://kenya.savethechildren.net/jobs/job-details/163 (Accessed: 11 August 2016).
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