Three Days in the Life of a Humanitarian Security Professional

Awil Bihi, based in Sudan, is Risk and Access Advisor at one of the world’s largest humanitarian and development organisations. In this blog, he describes three very different days in his life as a security management professional.

My name is Awil Bihi, a security management professional with over 18 years of experience in humanitarian security, access, and operational risk. As Risk and Access Advisor, I support CARE International in delivering humanitarian assistance and developmental interventions in a complex and volatile environment.

My work centres on enabling safe, principled, and sustainable access to people in need while cultivating a strong organisational culture of safety and risk awareness. It requires constant engagement with colleagues (a broad spectrum of internal and external stakeholders including senior leaders, regional structures, and operational and program teams), UN agencies, partner NGOs, government authorities, and local communities. Within the organisation, I provide both technical and strategic advice, mentor and guide diverse teams, and foster an environment in which staff, consultants, and partners feel both protected and valued.

To remain ahead of an ever-shifting humanitarian landscape, I continuously monitor, analyse, and interpret contextual dynamics to understand potential implications for the organisation. Humanitarian access is constrained by a constellation of factors, including armed conflict, political instabilities, bureaucratic impediments, environmental challenges, and internal organisational risk considerations. Experience has taught me that effective access and security management demands not only technical expertise on the threat landscape, but also analytical thinking, agility, foresight, diplomacy, and a strong understanding of humanitarian principles.

 “Effective access and security management demands not only technical expertise on the threat landscape, but also analytical thinking,  agility, foresight, diplomacy, and a strong understanding of humanitarian principles.”

My work at CARE broadly falls into three distinct types of days: a normal office day, a crisis‑driven day, and days spent in the field.

A Normal Day in the Office

A typical office day is dynamic and exciting, filled with a wide variety of activities and interactions. I participate in internal and external coordination meetings, engage in discussions with peer organisations, and liaise closely with leadership, programme teams, and operations colleagues. Much of the day’s work also involves focused analytical planning. This includes drafting work plans, scheduling security training, reviewing access strategies, developing SOPs and contingency protocols, and compiling weekly and monthly reports, all of which feed into the country office’s Key Performance Indicators.

Performing these tasks requires a strategic mindset and strong interpersonal capabilities: diplomacy, persuasion, negotiation, and communication. These soft skills are as essential as technical knowledge, as they enable me to align diverse teams and secure the resources needed to implement effective risk and access strategies.

A Crisis Day: When the Unforeseen Becomes Reality

Humanitarian operations are conducted in environments characterised by pervasive uncertainty and volatility. Crises frequently arise with little or no forewarning, and the occurrence of critical incidents may serve as a rigorous test of an organisation’s security management architecture. In such contexts, organisational effectiveness is not measured by the mere absence of adverse events, but rather by the robustness of its preparedness, the timeliness and adequacy of its response mechanisms, and the resilience embedded within its institutional systems.

A crisis day is intense, demanding rapid decision‑making under pressure. It involves continuous Crisis Management Team (CMT) meetings, detailed reporting, complex information analysis, close coordination with internal and external stakeholders, and meticulous planning for post‑incident actions, including staff support, after‑action reviews, and institutional learning. Such days call for more than technical knowledge. They require composure, emotional intelligence, adaptive leadership, and an unwavering commitment to humanitarian principles. As the Greek philosopher Epictetus once said, “Circumstances do not make the man; they reveal him.” In crises, one’s values, leadership integrity, and sense of responsibility are illuminated with unmistakable clarity.

Days in the Field: Where Strategy Meets Reality

Days spent in the field represent the most meaningful part of my job, as they give me the opportunity to train staff and interact with frontline workers to instill a risk-aware culture. It is also an opportunity to listen to them; hear their voices and learn the different ways they manage risks in the field. For security professionals, field missions are part of the learning curve, as they offer an opportunity to ground theoretical frameworks in the experiences of staff and communities.

“[Field Missions] offer an opportunity to ground theoretical SRM frameworks in the lived experiences of staff and communities.”

These days involve conducting context assessments, evaluating access constraints, visiting project sites to see how people’s lives are changing, and validating whether security protocols are realistically applicable in the environments where teams operate. Fieldwork also involves engaging directly with community leaders, local authorities, and partner organisations to build trust, strengthen acceptance, and gather insights that cannot be captured from afar.

Above all, the field is where security professionals practice the philosophy that “proximity is clarity.” It is through dialogue and learning the daily rhythms of communities that we refine our understanding, recalibrate our assumptions, and reaffirm our commitment to enabling humanitarian action with humility and precision. When you manage security only through policies, reports, and dashboards, you may miss how people actually behave, where controls are being bypassed, what vulnerabilities exist in day-to-day operations, and which risks are truly actual versus merely perceived.

“When you manage security only through policies, reports, and dashboards, you may miss how people in the field actually behave.”

Ultimately, whether I’m in the office, managing a crisis, or in the field, everything my team and I do reflects the spirit of CARE’s motto: “CARE, always there.” This is not just a slogan; it is a commitment to be there, remain present, to endure, and to deliver even amid heightened uncertainty and evolving threats.

Awil Bihi is a seasoned security management professional and humanitarian practitioner with more than 18 years of experience in high-risk environments. He has worked with United Nations agencies in complex operating contexts and has spent the past decade with CARE International. He currently serves as Risk and Access Advisor for CARE in Sudan. Awil has contributed significantly to Good Practice Review 8 (2025) and actively engages in global discussions on Security Risk Management (SRM) best practices, including efforts to strengthen Saving Lives Together (SLT) initiatives.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views or position of GISF or the author’s employers. 

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