NGO staff

Building Skills for NGO Staff

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Our courses are designed to support all NGO staff—whether highly experienced programme personnel or newcomers to the sector—in developing essential security and risk-management skills. We help participants understand diverse perspectives, interpret security analyses, recognise how risks directly affect programme delivery, and ultimately make better, safer decisions in the field.

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Many NGOs operate with limited budgets and staffing, which often results in programme staff being given responsibility for security and risk management regardless of their training or background. Staff carrying secondary security duties frequently lack both the time and specialised knowledge required to manage risks effectively. As a result, they may become reactive—

responding to incidents rather than using available data to proactively identify threats and implement preventative measures.

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In recent years, NGOs have faced a rise in legal cases related to failures in duty of care—situations where insufficient training, limited oversight, or a lack of contextual understanding contributed to avoidable injuries or fatalities. Many of these incidents were both foreseeable and preventable, had staff been properly trained and supported to take informed action.

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Some organisations rely on a global security advisor to develop policies and set risk parameters. While this strategic role is essential, such policies cannot fully capture the realities on the ground without firsthand understanding of local environments, staff challenges, and context-specific nuances. Gaining this understanding requires time: visiting field sites, listening to staff, and liaising with other agencies to build an accurate operational picture. The Global advisor managing multiple countries and only visiting for a week or two in a year, needs quality data from Country programs to help shape policy. 

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Even senior NGO staff with many years of experience may not have worked extensively in the field before stepping into senior operational roles. Understanding dynamic contexts, identifying evolving threats, and applying effective mitigation strategies are learned skills, not assumptions. Everyone makes mistakes—but in high-risk environments, a single poor decision can place an entire team in danger.

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This is where our Security, Risk, and Crisis Management training excels. We empower NGO staff at all levels to make informed, evidence-based decisions using all available data, strengthening operational safety, organisational resilience, and duty-of-care compliance.

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Many organisations now recognise the necessity of HEAT training, Organisation Duty of Care responsibility and often driven by insurance requirements for deployed staff. But HEAT alone is not enough. Organisations now have an opportunity to invest in capability and capacity, ensuring their teams possess the skills needed to operate as safely and confidently as possible. In today’s environment, leaving things to chance is not an option.

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With rising demands and shrinking budgets, NGOs may struggle to employ dedicated security professionals. However, they can significantly enhance safety by investing in the development of their existing local and international staff. Building local capacity is just as critical—as local staff often face the highest levels of risk.

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In recent years, several NGOs have experienced serious incidents and tough lessons, yet many still fail to budget for or implement the full recommendations from Boards of Inquiry. Having worked in seven NGOs myself, I have seen firsthand how poor decisions are made when individuals are placed in operational roles without the necessary training or knowledge to navigate hostile or complex environments.

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We can all do more to improve. Our courses are designed to evolve skills, enhance knowledge, and support safer, more effective humanitarian operations. Understanding the need for Fully integrated Security and Budget management is only one key factor, Program development should always include the Security advisor to help build that budget.