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Abstract

The global security environment is constantly evolving and presenting new risks and threats to aid workers involved in international humanitarian action. In response, humanitarian agencies are increasingly required to ensure the safety and security of their staff, including by implementing specific security policies and establishing dedicated security management roles. These roles have traditionally been filled by individuals with a military or law-enforcement background, but this type of candidate profile might no longer be relevant in the modern context.
In the present dissertation, the LinkedIn profiles of humanitarian security managers were reviewed and data extracted to determine the current characteristics, background, and education profiles representative of this role. These findings were compared with the candidate requirements in current job advertisements for humanitarian security managers to determine whether the industry needs are aligned with the profiles of individuals currently working in the sector. The findings of this analysis underline that security managers working within humanitarian organisations are less likely to have security experience from a military/police or other sector and instead typically develop their security management skills specifically within the humanitarian sector. Other notable findings are the shortage of women employed in security management roles and the diverse educational backgrounds of current security managers, with an emphasis on the social sciences as well as on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. This diversity may be highly appropriate, given the need for skilled communicators and people managers and the increasing emphasis on the use of digital technologies for risk management in humanitarian aid settings.

Course: Risk and Security Management - BSc (Hons) - C1565

Date Deposited: 2020-11-25

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13622.html