“Being with a humanitarian organization, crisis is almost bread-and-butter business for us,” says Priyanka Utham, regional safety and security director, MENA, with the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
In the 5th episode of Back to Source, we explore what it is like to manage a security team during a specific crisis – the war between Israel and Hamas. Priyanka delves into the preparations her team has made for war in Lebanon, discusses how the crisis has impacted the dynamics within her team, reveals how she builds resilience personally and within her function, and more.
Based in Amman, Priyanka joined the IRC in 2018 as a Context Analyst in the MENA region after working as a political and security risk analyst in the private sector in Dubai.
Discover:
- Why managing anxiety is part of her job protecting staff and volunteers
- How she mediates between regional teams and the global headquarters
- The difference between security in the corporate and humanitarian sectors
- Why building relationships with local communities is key to security for NGOs – and how she accomplishes this
- The biggest lesson she’s learned from working in crisis situations
- Why her team has done group therapy
- What it’s like moving from an analyst role to leading the security function
- Where her team gets their intelligence and analysis from
- The advantages of being a woman in security intelligence
- How her personal risk appetite has changed over the years
- Why, counter-intuitively, she is excited about working in a tough funding environment
- The advice she would have given herself when she started her current role
And more.
