Area Liaison - Security Officer

Liaison - Security Officer – Area Office

Assignment

The Liaison Officer is responsible for all communications with the local authorities at both District and Provincial levels and sub-levels and military liaison officers, and may provide administrative support as well as security and human resources assistance whenever necessary.

Chain of Command

Under the authority of:

Area Coordinator

Working Relations Internal Relations:

• HR/Administration Department;
• Programme / Project Manager[s] and staff

External Relations:

• Local Authorities / Military Representatives
• Government Departments at District and Provincial level[s]
• Emergency Response Unit
• Local and International NGOs
• UN Agencies

Functions

A.     Administrative Support

• Ensure compliance of ACTED with all general requirements of the Provincial and District Authorities and Military Orders including submission of requested reports and responding to special requests.
• Advise ACTED on its relationship with the local authorities to facilitate a positive cooperative relationship.
• Advise programme teams on specific regulations implemented by the Authorities that impact the ability to implement activities and/or impact the speed of implementation.
• Submit and follow up on any pending permissions/authorizations to conduct activities across the District as per the needs of programme teams and ensure presentations on completed activities are provided in a timely manner when required.
• Support programme teams in their communications with District Government Departments and/or in the collection of Government data for programme planning purposes.
• Ensure all ACTED Internationals arriving in Swat have all the necessary documentation to access and remain in Swat District.
• Ensure all copies of up-to-date permissions for ACTED to operate in the District are regularly filed and passed on to the country office in Islamabad.
• Undertake regular field visits, including at the specific request of Programme Teams, to ensure all Union Council Authorities are briefed on ACTED activities and that all activities are properly coordinated at every administrative level.
• Capitalize on all processes and documentation used on a regular basis for interactions with local authorities including: (a) preparation of templates for basic programme requests; (b) development of a follow-up tool for all pending requests initiated by ACTED and any/all ad-hoc/regular requests made by the civilian authorities or military commander[s]; (c) preparation of an authorities contact/information sheet to be updated on a monthly basis; (d) preparation and dissemination to senior management of procedures/processes to be followed according to the type of interaction; (e) land ownership legal technicalities and processes of follow-up.
• Support processes at the Area Office aimed at improving internal and, as per the recommendations of Coordination, external communication / visibility; i.e. development of an ACTED Information Bulletin, implementation of an activities bulletin board, etc.
• Advise ACTED on opportunities for collaboration with local NGOs, private sector organization, and government departments; specifically support coordination in developing practical relations with other actors.

B.     Security:

• Complete daily security situation reports to Coordination in both Swat and the country office in Islamabad outlining the major incidents and general trends.
• Support Coordination in developing security guidelines.
• Support the GIS team in developing District maps.

C.     Coordination with Local NGOs:

• Represent ACTED at local coordination meetings or local NGO fora and ensure good relations with them.

D.     General

• Prepare weekly activity reports for the Area Coordinator outlining meetings attended and issues discussed therein along with any required action points.
• Translation of any documents required for the purposes of coordination / external relations.
• Ensure all paperwork is filed and disseminated, where necessary, to the relevant line manager for their respective filing.

Accountability to Communities and Beneficiaries

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner.  Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about ACTED programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies.  This is the responsibility of every ACTED staff member.

Note: “ACTED is committed to protecting beneficiaries and staff within our programs from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). ACTED has a Code of Conduct and organizational policies, which outline the expected behavior of all staff, consultants and other stakeholders and reminds ACTED’s zero-tolerance approach. Any candidate offered a job with ACTED will sign those documents as part of their work contract and is expected to abide by them.” “ACTED is commitment to zero tolerance to all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff. ACTED is equal opportunity ACTEDs. Females and minorities are encouraged to apply. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Final selection will be based on security clearance of the candidate.