Security Advisor

Security Advisor – Ukraine

For over 30 years, and through our work in more than 100 countries, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) has sought to strengthen legal institutions, support legal professionals, foster respect for human rights, and advance public understanding of the law and citizen rights. In collaboration with government agencies, the judiciary, lawyers, bar associations, legislatures, and civil society, we design programs that are responsive to local needs and that prioritize sustainable solutions to pressing rule of law challenges.

To learn more about our work in Ukraine, please visit https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/where_we_work/europe_eurasia/ukraine/

Job Summary

ABA ROLI is looking to hire a local Ukrainian expert to serve as the Security Advisor for the new five-year “Healing & Accountability through Human Rights Activity” funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The purpose of this new activity is to help Ukrainians achieve justice and address social divisions resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion. The activity will support processes aimed at accountability for war crimes, foster dialogue on difficult questions related to post-conflict recovery, and begin healing and reconciliation using human-rights-based approaches, including transitional justice tools.

Reporting directly to the Field Finance and Administration Manager (FFAM) with a dotted line to the Director of ABA Security, the Security Advisor is the principal role within Ukraine responsible for ensuring the safety and security of staff and assets throughout the country. The Security Advisor is also responsible for providing oversight and support for logistics and may, on occasion, assist with the procurement of goods and services. This position is based in Kyiv, with occasional travel to ABA ROLI event locations in the field. This position is part-time (approximately 60%).

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

·         Assists the FFAM to ensure compliance with security policies and procedures.

·         Educates and trains ABA ROLI staff on security policies and procedures.

·         Creates, tests, validates, and deploys security processes, policies, and practices which mitigate risks and threats to ABA ROLI staff and assets. 

·         Operationalizes safety and security plans and procedures, to include but not limited to:  Journey Management, Incident Response, Emergency Communications, International Evacuation and Medical Emergencies.

·         Collects, compiles, and analyses security related information from both formal and informal networks in order to continually assess the security posture for all ABA ROLI offices.

·         Enforces journey management policies designed to mitigate risk for planned visits to the field.  Ensures an appropriate security assessment is conducted prior to such travels. Recommends whether travels be postponed or delayed based upon his/her assessment.

·         Continuously assesses and identifies opportunities for improvement as related to security, logistics and procurement in order to improve processes and procedures, while minimizing risks to staff members and the organization.  

·         Advises colleagues by providing security-related and logistical coaching, counseling, and feedback. 

·         Conducts security audits/assessments of offices in order to ensure minimum physical security standards are met.

·         Creates, fosters, and expands relationships with other NGOs, INSO, UN agencies, security providers, law enforcement entities, and risk information resources and networks to ensure that all threat assessments are as current as possible and to ensure optimal support from such entities in cases of emergency.

·         Prepares weekly and monthly security reports regarding the situation in Ukraine for the FFAM.

·         Performs other related duties as required.

Required Qualifications:

·         Possession of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university and at least five (5) years’ experience in corporate security management and safety.

·         Previous experience actively working with security providers, law enforcement entities, and/or intelligence resources and utilizing information to create and deploy actionable security plans and programs.

·         Demonstrated ability to establish priorities and plan, coordinate and monitor his/her own work plan with minimum supervision and to work under pressure or in crisis situations.

·         Proven interpersonal skills and the ability to listen and work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity. Proven communication skills, both verbal and written.

Preferred Qualifications:

·         Ten (10) years in the security field.

·         Experience managing and implementing logistics, operations, and security systems.

·         Commitment and demonstrated skills to build national staff capacity in areas of logistics, operations, and security.

·         Strong verbal and written communication skills in.

·         Ability to speak and write in Ukrainian and English.

How to apply:

To apply, please send your CV to roli-ukraine-recruitment@americanbar.org by May 29, 2024. Please include the name of the position and country (Security Advisor – Ukraine) in the subject line.