IOM Director, Office of Staff Security, Luc Vandamme

Mr. Luc Vandamme has over 34 years of experience in the security sector. As an officer with the Belgian Army, he was deployed to five missions with the UN, NATO and the EU. Since 2002, Luc worked as a civilian for the UN in three UNHCR field offices (in Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea), and two UN peacekeeping operations (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kosovo), as well as at UN Headquarters. He also worked for NATO and EU missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo.

Luc’s UN Headquarters experiences have been in the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). As a Desk Officer in the Peacekeeping Operations Support Section (POSS) of DSS from 2006 to 2012, he provided support and guidance to senior Headquarters and field leadership. In 2012, he joined UNDP as the Regional Security Advisor for Africa, was the Deputy Director before he was subsequently promoted to Director of the Security Office in 2014.

In 2021, Luc was appointed to his current position as Director of the IOM Office of Staff Security (OSS). In this capacity, he provides leadership and strategic oversight of the safety and security functions within IOM. Luc is a Belgian national and spent most of his life abroad. He has a masters degree from the Royal Military Academy of Belgium.

UNHCR Head of Field Security Service, Julie Dunphy

With a background in policing and security management, Julie has worked for 35 years in security. She leads a team of more than 300 security officers who assist the organization to manage security risks in high-risk contexts and enable operations to deliver humanitarian assistance globally.

Julie has worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina, East Timor, North Macedonia (former fYROM), Afghanistan, Nepal, Liberia and Sri Lanka before moving to UNHCR headquarters where she has held multiple roles in security management.

UNICEF Principal Security Coordinator, Paul Farrell

Paul Farrell (Canada) is a strategic security risk-management expert with 40 years of military and security experience, 26 at the international level in the United Nations. Paul is presently the Principal Security Coordinator/Director of Global Security for UNICEF. He has served in multiple roles in UN Security, including as the Director of Policy and Compliance in the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), Principal Security Adviser for the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chief of the Peacekeeping Operations Support Section in UNDSS, Regional Security Adviser for UNICEF in West and Central Africa, and Security Coordinator for the Witness and Victim Support Section in the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Paul was the key architect of the “risk-based” approach to security in the UN and is the foremost expert in the UN on Security Risk Management (SRM). Paul is presently the Chair of the UN Inter-Agency Security Management Network (IASMN) working group on SRM. He has extensive crisis-management experience, including with hostage incident management. Paul holds a Bachelor of Education (BEd) from McGill University and Master of Science (MSc) in Security Risk Management from the University of Leicester.

UNDSS Deputy Director, Division of Field Operations, Florence Poussin

Florence Poussin is currently serving as the Deputy Director, Division of Field Operations (DFO) in the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS). The Division is responsible for the daily coordination and management of safety and security programmes in more than 130 field operations around the world, including peacekeeping and special political missions. The Division provides operational and technical security support to security professionals and to UN leaders responsible for making security decisions (i.e., Designated Officials for Security). The office of the Director provides guidance, monitoring and oversight to ensure consistency in the delivery of security programmes in field operations, the implementation of the UNSMS policies and of UNDSS strategic goals and priorities. Prior to this, Ms. Poussin was the Officer-in-Charge of the Strategic Planning and Policy Service, providing strategic support to UNDSS senior management in all aspects of policies, communications, gender and inclusivity, oversight and partnerships. She was the Chief of the Policy unit for four years supporting the development of security policies for the United Nations System following four years as desk officer supporting the security management of large peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Central African Republic and two years in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Ms. Poussin joined the United Nations following 12 years of experience in the French diplomatic and security service in various positions. Florence graduated from the Institute of Political Sciences (“Sciences- Po”) in Bordeaux, France. She is married with two children.

UN Women Global Security Advisor, Paul OHanlon

Care International Director of Development & Capacity Building, John ODonoghue

John, originally from New Jersey, USA, has served in various safety and security roles over the last 12 years with CARE.  John began with CARE as the Country Security Manager-Pakistan, progressing into roles as the Regional Security Manager-Asia and then Regional Security Manager-Americas.  John has deployed several times to various disaster responses globally as part of CARE’s surge capacity, and presently serves as the Director of RISKREADY (Training) based in CARE USA’s Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).  In his current role as Director of RISKREADY, John leads a team of CARE colleagues to develop and deliver a wide range of training strategies and courses in support of CARE’s 10,000+ staff, enabling program delivery and continuity in over 60 countries globally.

Prior to joining CARE, John worked for various humanitarian organizations in East Africa and Pakistan in risk management roles after a period of military service from 2002-2010. 

WFP Senior Regional Security Officer, Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa, Patrick Mergey

NRC Regional Head of Health, Safety & Security, Ryan Hall