Head of Security, Resilience and Technical Operations - Americas

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

Role Summary

Background

As TBI grows, we are evolving our global operating model to best support the delivery of our mission, establishing empowered regional hubs to run our operational functions across Legal, Finance, Security, IT and People.  These hubs are in Singapore (Asia), Nairobi (Africa), Abu Dhabi (Middle East and Eastern Europe), and London (Western Europe), with Washington DC (Americas) being the newest. 

Reporting to the new Director of Operations (Americas), the Head of Security, Resilience and Technical Operations (Americas) will be based full-time in Washington DC and will develop and deliver our operational, safety and security model and ensure all relevant systems and processes perform at the highest levels of professionalism and capability in accordance with global and, where relevant, local policies and standards.

As a new role in the startup of our operational hub in the Americas, this will need a highly commercial and entrepreneurial approach to establishing a cost-effective, future-proof, and scalable model. The focus of the role will change over time, requiring a hands-on and problem-solving approach from the outset to best support our growth in the region, before shifting to more steady-state operations to facilitate the successful delivery of all our client-facing and other teams in the region.

The role will ensure the Institute achieves its Duty of Care obligations to its staff, as well as protect its assets and reputation within the region. It does this across three connected specialisms:

Security

Incorporating security risk management, incident management, travel security management, health and safety, access negotiations and Duty of Care, we keep our people and programmes safe from harm and insecurity.

Resilience

Incorporating crisis management, business continuity, and election contingency planning, we enable and enhance Institute resilience.

Technical Operations

Incorporating international procurement support, fleet management, facilities management, logistics, new country start up and special projects, we provide the technical operational expertise the Institute needs to deliver impact.

Key Responsibilities

Security

The Head of Security, Resilience and Technical Operations will:

• Act as the lead for safety and security advice and support across the region ensuring global policies and standards are implemented.
• Proactively monitor and analyse country contexts, sending operational and security updates to the relevant teams, including CDs, RDs and the global HQ. 
• Draft or oversee the development of country Essential Security Packages (ESP; Country Risk Register, Welcome Pack, SOPs and contingency plans) throughout the region.  Each country must have a complete ESP which is communicated to, and understood by country teams.
• Monitor the security preparedness of country staff and enforce staff compliance with internal security rules and SOPs, ensuring they are communicated to all staff and understood.
• Conduct regular quality assurance, including in-country technical assistance visits, supported by capacity building and technical mentoring to ensure active SRTO management in the regional portfolio.
• Provide a safety and security inductions to all new joiners across the region.
• Maintain an active security network, proactively engaging with the relevant governments, security forums, agencies and organisations to ensure active monitoring and response to emerging threats within the Americas.
• Ensure preparedness to evacuation and contingencies (work with our Carribean teams to prepare for natural disasters, check contingency kits, first aid kits etc.).
• Lead on ensuring that events within their region are fully compliant with safety and security policies, oversee or carry out event risk assessments and mitigations.

• Support travellers within the region undertake high risk travel. Supporting them as they complete Unique Travel Forms and ensuring informed consent. Run safety and security related trainings for country teams in support of their ESPs and crisis preparedness plans.
• Undertake, or support, remote research and scoping missions for new country start-up projects, including the identification of contextual factors, threats, risks, mitigations, contingencies and programme design, delivering clear advice to the Institute on risk appetite considerations.

Resilience

• Support the Director of Operations to build the crisis management capacity of the country teams through procedures and training.
• Act as a key member of the Crisis Management Team as required.
• Build the level of maturity required to maintain operational resilience, business continuity and crisis management capabilities.
• Build a calendar of trigger events, within the Americas to deliver tailored contingency plans for the relevant events.
• Support or lead the review of incidents and ensure that lessons are identified, and corrective action plans are created, implemented, and monitored.

Technical Operations

• Setup the capacity and systems to deliver effective logistics, fleet management, asset management and facilities management across the region. Ensure all assets across the region are tracked.
• Conduct scoping on potential TBI amenities, including accommodation and office spaces and complete facilities assessments forms.
• Support teams with logistics coordination for VIP leadership visits and regional events. 
• Ensure value for money in all procurement and supplier management, conducting suppliers spot checks, including conducting due diligence, during quality assurance visits. 
• Draft fleet management rules for all countries within the region. Train staff and operations focal points on safe use of fleet and correct management procedures.

Representation and Coordination

• Draw on TBI resources and specialists to deliver high quality technical advice to Institute staff in the Americas.
• Work with peers in People Operations, Digital Operations, Legal Operations and Financial Operations to enhance global frameworks, regional empowerment and operational agility.
• Act as a trusted critical friend to Managing Directors, Regional Directors, Regional Director of Operations and Country Directors, building relationships that enable them.

• Support the Regional Director and Country Directors in the development of SRTO related budgets.
• Contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organization, notably through the application of TBI’s, values and policies with regard to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure TBI is working to best practice standards and deliver contextualised and relevant SRTO support.

Salary range: $120,000 - $150,000 gross per annum

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate should work to the highest standard with a keen attention to detail, delivering workable solutions to multiple teams with competing priorities. They should proactively engage with the business and be bold in their approach, working to make change for the better, improving operational efficiency and reducing the threat to our people, assets and reputation.

This is a role requiring an exceptional candidate: 

• With between 8 and 10 years’ security risk management experience in the Americas, in the government, government advisory, financial services, management consulting or non-profit sectors.
• Who has a deep understanding of the legal, moral and contractual elements of Duty of Care, at all organisation levels.
• Who has managed incidents and critical incidents, including guiding crisis management teams to deliver effective responses and embed incident-based learning.
• Who is a skilled written and verbal communicator.
• Who has the ability and confidence to work independently and as part of a committed and interdisciplinary team.
• Who understands and practices the importance of integrity and confidentiality.
• Who is pro-active, solution orientated and delivery focussed, acting as a thought leader and change agent within and beyond SRTO.
• Experience in managing diverse, multi-location, and international teams.
• Who understands information security and digital security contexts, risks and mitigations.
• Has an understanding of Cyber Security.
• Willingness to travel across the USA and Americas region, sometimes at short notice
• Candidates must have the right to work in the USA and be able to work in-person in Washington DC.
• Business fluency in English required, Spanish and Portuguese strongly preferred.

We encourage early applications as we reserve the right, if required, to close this role earlier.

Closing Date:

2024-10-21