Security Director, Assistance

Overall Description:

The Security Director Assistance, Americas, is the senior dedicated security assistance leader responsible for directing and leading the security assistance for the Americas region, in line with the direction set by the Global Security Director, Assistance and in alignment with global standards, procedures and priorities.

The Security Director, Assistance oversees and owns regional security assistance response and advice to client requests for assistance and ensures effective management of all client cases to the highest levels of customer satisfaction. This role oversees the security assistance function in the North America and LATAM regions and is responsible for the professional leadership and ongoing development of the security assistance professionals in Philadelphia, as well as those in Mexico in collaboration with the Senior Security Manager of Latin America.
 
The individual in this position will oversee the delivery of market leading security incident management, advisory and crisis response services in the region, professionally managing a team of Security Managers and Security Specialists. The Security Director, Assistance will be responsible for ensuring operational planning and security case management guidance is done in lockstep with our intelligence assessments, ensuring operational planning and decision-making in both business-as-usual and crisis scenarios are being fed by, and aligned with, the analytical position and outlook. 

The Security Director, Assistance will closely collaborate with the relevant Assistance Centre leadership personnel from the Medical, Operations, Flight Desks and Assistance Travel teams in both crisis and business as usual phases, ensuring the highest standards of security operational service delivery. Additionally, the Security Director, Assistance will oversee the implementation and continuous improvement of relevant security operational processes and ensure regional security assistance capability is scaled to meet client exposure and demand in line with global standards, regional security dynamics and commercial priorities. 
 

Responsibilities:

Core Client & Internal Support: 
•    Oversee and own regional security assistance response and advice to client requests for assistance.
•    Manage International SOS’ regional operational preparedness and advice positions on the North America and LATAM regions, ensuring both are clear to Intl SOS clients and internal stakeholders to inform timely decision-making. 
•    Responsible for resource allocation across core security activity, including situational awareness, advice, assistance, consulting delivery, when mutually agreed with C&S, and operational readiness, according to agreed priorities, with the appropriate balance of effort between longer-term developments and current events.
•    Maintain understanding of the security situation to maintain readiness to pre-emptively deploy.
•    Ensure effective management of all client cases to the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
•    Direction and deployment of Incident Management Team(s) to provide on-the-ground support to clients or regional assistance.
•    Ensure implementation of the Global Quality Management Program across regional operations.
•    Ensure adoption of best practices influencing customer brand loyalty.
•    Ensure the Security Assistance team is given appropriate case management direction for the North America and LATAM regions on a standing and dynamic basis.
•    Ensure the Security Assistance team has appropriate numbers and diversity of security providers and secure hotels for case management, developing action plans for the business where appropriate. 
•    Provide professional director and management to the Security Trainer, Western Hemisphere, in developing and delivering both onboarding and continuing development training to all specialists in Philadelphia and Mexico, in collaboration with global and regional L&D leaders.
•    Collaborate with relevant senior stakeholders in the Assistance Centre and Flight Desk teams to ensure excellent of case management and operational planning outputs in addition to overall economy of effort.   
•    As required, travel to countries in the North America and LATAM regions to assess the current security situation, local provider capabilities and expand the existing network of security intelligence and assistance contacts to further support clients and aid operational planning.

Consulting Delivery & Sales, Marketing Support:
•    As required, deliver safety and security trainings and workshops for senior audiences – especially those focused on the North America and LATAM regions – as well as engage in client specific security assistance consultancy tasks as required.
•    Support the Sales and Marketing teams in the articulation of International SOS’ services and in providing senior functional expertise in the North America and LATAM region client facing forums such as webinars.

Leadership:
•    Direct business as usual as well as crisis regional security assistance delivery. 
•    Deliver supervision and guidance to all regional security staff, including 24/7 escalation support to the security desks.
•    Professional management including career development and succession planning of Security Managers, Assistance and Security Specialists, Assistance.
•    Maintain operational and commercial relationships across the International SOS business.
•    Manage the strategic regional relationships with third party security providers.
 

Required Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications:

Required Skills and Knowledge:
•    Extremely strong knowledge of the security risk management best practices and principals across a diversity of risk environments, supported by in-country experience in challenging/hostile environments.
•    Significant knowledge of directing, planning and managing complex security assistance operations. 
•    Very strong knowledge of the political and security landscape within the Americas region, as well as the global security landscape.
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills including ability to explain complex situations and advice to non-expert audiences in English.
•    Ability to critically analyze multiple streams of security, logistics and threat-based information under time pressure and produce actionable advice and plans of action. 
•    Ability to work effectively in a cross-cultural, cross functional, global, matrixed business.
•    Knowledge of and experience in managing all stages of an operational intelligence cycle. 
•    Strong IT skills including Microsoft Office Suite and other applications.

Required Work Experience:
•    Typically, at least 10+ years’ experience in security assistance delivery and planning including deployed experience in hostile and/or challenging environments in military, government or private sector roles ideally in the North America and LATAM regions.
•    Experience in planning, managing and conducting complex security assistance operations.  
•    Experience in writing to senior management and decision-makers.
•    Experience working internationally and managing cross-culturally. 
•    Public speaking and training delivery experience.
•    Business development, consultancy, and sales experience.
•    Significant experience in conducting profile specific security risk assessments.
•    Quality management experience.
•    Crisis Management experience. 

Required Qualifications:
•    Educated to a degree level (or relevant professional training & experience) in a field related to security studies, war studies, international politics, international relations or similar. 
•    Accreditation by regionally recognized security or risk management body.

Required Languages:
•    Excellent spoken and written English language.
•    Other language proficiency desirable, ideally Spanish language.

Travel / Rotation Requirements:
•    Some travel, sometimes on urgent request, including as part of an Incident Management Team
•    Occasional evening/weekend work based on operational requirements.