The Regional Security Manager (RSM) Asia is WCK's dedicated security lead within the assigned area of responsibility. The RSM maintains deep, current expertise in their region, its actors, its risks, its geography, its political dynamics, and its humanitarian landscape, and applies that expertise to enable safe, rapid response to disaster-affected communities worldwide.
The RSM operates with calm and composure in crisis situations, makes sound decisions under pressure, coaches peers, and advises senior leaders on hazards and risk mitigation strategies. The role is both a standing preparedness function and an active operational leadership position during responses.
The RSM's work spans three interconnected imperatives:
- Sustain 24/7 Global Response, ensuring continuous, time zone-aligned security coverage in WCK's most operationally active regions so the organization can respond anywhere, at any time, without over-reliance on emergency workarounds.
- Reduce Operational Friction, embedding subject-matter expertise within the region it serves, enabling faster security assessments, clearer decisions, and fewer delays during active responses.
- Scale Through Community, building and managing a Security Corps: a network of vetted local security professionals comprising the Security Corps who extend WCK's response capacity without requiring full-time headcount for every geography.
Preferred Location(s): ASEAN - Must live within one (1) hour of an international airport.
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Thailand
Regional Expertise
The RSM is expected to develop and maintain a living, current understanding of the security environment across Asia and Oceania (excluding the Middle East). It requires continuous engagement with regional context, proactive monitoring of emerging threats, and anticipatory planning for areas where WCK is likely to deploy — even before a crisis materializes.
- Build and maintain relationships with NGO security counterparts, and local civil society organizations operating in the same geography, enabling timely, high-quality information sharing when a response is activated.
- Develop pre-response contingency assessments for areas with elevated likelihood of WCK deployment, so the team is never starting from zero when a crisis strikes.
- Serve as WCK's institutional knowledge base for security conditions within the region, informing go/no-go decisions, response modalities, and acceptable risk thresholds.
- Conduct regular security assessments and audits of field locations, ground transportation options, hotels and lodging, and other WCK activities to identify potential vulnerabilities and recommend mitigations.
Security Corps Development
A defining responsibility of the RSM is the identification, development, and management of a regional Security Corps — a network of trusted, vetted local security professionals who can augment or lead security functions on WCK responses across anticipated geographies.
The Security Corps model is central to how WCK scales security capacity responsibly. The RSM builds relationships and capability within the communities WCK serves and develops local security professionals that bring language fluency, cultural knowledge, and established networks that aid WCK’s mission..
- Identify and vet local security professionals across anticipated response geographies who meet WCK's standards for experience, judgment, and mission alignment.
- Develop and deliver in-region training to build Security Corps capacity, ensuring members are prepared to operate within WCK's protocols and values.
- Manage Security Corps deployment on active responses, including onboarding, briefing, and performance oversight.
- Contribute to the development of WCK's broader Response Security training curriculum, incorporating regional lessons and Security Corps best practices.
Active-Response Leadership
During activations, the RSM may transition from a preparedness role to an operational one, providing direct security leadership for responses within their area of responsibility.
- Deploy within four hours' notice to a disaster area, as required, and lead security operations at field sites, ensuring the safety of employees, contractors, and WCK assets.
- Provide advance security assessments and hazard mitigation recommendations to the Response Director and VP, Response Security before WCK assets or community teams arrive on location.
- Manage the tactical elements of critical incidents including medical emergencies, loss of life, and security evacuations, with the judgment and composure.
- Maintain 100% accountability of all WCK personnel operating in the field through management of Journey Management Plans (JMPs), callback rosters, and traveler tracking systems.
- Onboard, deploy, and manage Security Corps members, specialty security vendors, and secure transportation services for each response.
- Coordinate response to safety and security incidents or emergencies, providing leadership and ensuring proper documentation and reporting.
- Complete After-Action Reports immediately following safety and security incidents and following activation wind-down.
- Ensure all security operations meet legal, regulatory, and company policy requirements, including compliance with international security standards.
- Minimum 3–5 years of direct responsibility for the safety and security of others in challenging environments; 5–7 years of experience in hostile, remote, and/or austere settings is strongly preferred.
- Deep, current knowledge of the security landscape in the assigned region, including relevant actors, risk patterns, and operational context.
- Demonstrated knowledge and hands-on experience applying security best practices across multiple disciplines: risk and hazard identification, emergency response, investigation, crowd control, wilderness first aid, kidnapping and hostage survival, transportation security, crisis management, and intelligence collection and report writing.
- Residence within one hour of an international airport; availability to deploy for up to four weeks at a time, with up to 70% of time spent in the field.
- Ability to work independently with minimal infrastructure and resources, including in austere living conditions without reliable access to water, communications, or electricity.
- Negotiation and diplomacy skills sufficient for complex and potentially volatile situations.
- Physical fitness and stamina to perform demanding tasks in varying and potentially extreme climates and environmental conditions.
- Mental resilience and emotional intelligence sufficient to manage the sustained stressors of working in conflict and disaster environments.
- Cultural awareness and sensitivity; ability to work respectfully and effectively with local communities across diverse backgrounds.
- Fluency in English; proficiency in additional ASEAN languages relevant to the assigned region is highly desirable (e.g., Bahasa (Indonesian/Malay), Javanese, Thai, and Mandarin Chinese ).
- Valid Driver's License and valid Passport.
Preferred
- Background in military service, first response, NGO security, or a comparable operational field.
- Experience with helicopter operations and/or marine vessels.
- Medical certification such as EMT, Paramedic, Wilderness First Responder, or equivalent.
- Established networks with NGO security communities or UN security coordination bodies in the relevant region.
Physical Demands & Work Environment
The Regional Security Manager - Asia role is physically demanding and field intensive. The RSM will be required to stand or walk for extended periods during site assessments, carry equipment or materials weighing up to 50 pounds, and operate in extreme weather conditions including rain, heat, and cold. Work is primarily conducted at field sites — which may include remote locations, active disaster zones, and high-risk urban environments — and requires adaptability to widely varying indoor and outdoor conditions.
The role requires strong vision and hearing for threat detection, communication, and monitoring of alarms and radio systems. Driving to field locations in varying and potentially hazardous conditions is a regular requirement. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions of the position.
Additional Info
Application & Cover Letter Instructions
This application REQUIRES a cover letter that clearly articulates your interest in working with World Central Kitchen. We aim to understand your passion for our mission, please elaborate on how your experience aligns with the responsibilities detailed in the job description. Only applications accompanied by a cover letter will be considered for further review. We encourage you to express your genuine voice and avoid using generic cover letters.
References and Background Checks
To help ensure the safety of our communities and our teams, our selection process will include reference and background checks, subject to any legal or regulatory requirements.
Equal Opportunity
WCK is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity and to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.
Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the country in which they reside. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment at this time.
No recruiters or agencies, please.
Contract Type (If based outside United States or Spain)
We are excited to offer an opportunity for this role in partnership with Pebl as an Employer of Record (EOR). If based outside of the United States or Spain, depending on location, the successful candidate will be contracted by Pebl, which will handle all HR-related processes, including payroll, benefits, and compliance, while the employee will work directly with World Central Kitchen to fulfill the job responsibilities.
As a contractor of Pebl you will receive the benefits and support of a dedicated HR team, ensuring a seamless experience while you contribute to the mission of World Central Kitchen.
