Capacity Building & Security Sector Reform
Supporting governments, security institutions and international partners to build sustainable defence, security and justice capabilities through institutional development, specialist advisory support and capacity building across the Middle East.
Effective security sector reform and capacity building requires more than training. Sustainable capability depends on the institutions, systems, doctrine, leadership and people that enable security organisations to operate effectively over the long term.
Stratum Global Risk supports governments, defence and security institutions, international organisations and programme partners to assess, develop and strengthen institutional capability across the Middle East and other complex environments. Our approach combines regional understanding with specialist international expertise.
Programmes can range from targeted development of a specific operational capability through to broader institutional assessments, doctrine development, organisational reform and multi-year capacity-building initiatives. We recognise that every institution operates within its own political, organisational and operational context. Effective programmes must therefore be designed around the requirements of the institution rather than applying models developed for entirely different environments. Our objective is to help partners develop capabilities that are practical, sustainable and capable of being embedded within the institution long after an individual programme has concluded.
Our Capabilities
Stratum Global Risk brings together specialist advisers and practitioners with experience across defence, policing, explosive hazard management, maritime operations, strategic communications and institutional development. Our capabilities can be delivered individually or combined as part of wider security sector reform and capacity-building programmes.
Strategic Counsel. Global Perspective
Our advisory panel brings together senior experts from defence, security, governance, justice, communications and international affairs. These subject matter experts have extensive experience across military and police capacity building and security sector reform programmes in the Middle East and Globally.
Paul Brooker MBE
Advisor - Security & Justice
Paul is an experienced international security and justice advisor. His career spans senior leadership positions in the UK Metropolitan Police Service and extensive advisory roles across fragile and conflict-affected environments, where he has worked to strengthen policing, rule of law, and community security. Following a 30 year career with the Metropolitan Police, culminating as Detective Superintendent and Deputy Head of the UK National Policing Improvement Agency’s Leadership College, Paul has since led complex programmes across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, focused on police reform, capacity building, and strategic security planning.
Barakat Mubarak
Advisor - UXO/EOD - Mine Action & Risk
Barakat is a Senior UXO/EOD Specialist and retired Lieutenant Colonel with over 30 years of military and humanitarian mine action experience across MENA. He has led major UXO clearance, NTS, MRE, and BAC operations in Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, and Sudan. He commanded EOD and IEDD units, trained national teams, and supported UN missions. He is recognised for delivering IMAS-compliant operations, organisational SOPs, and managing high-risk field environments. He holds an MBA, EOD Level 3+ certification, and membership in IABTI, bringing strong leadership and technical expertise to UXO risk management and advisory roles.
Rachel Farnham
Advisor - Defence Capacity Building
Rachel is an accomplished Security and Defence consultant with extensive operational and advisory experience across the Middle East and Africa. Over a distinguished career in the UK Armed Forces she advised special operations and partner forces in 26 nations. Her expertise spans operations management, strategic communications, international capacity building, and security risk management. Fluent in Arabic and French, Rachel brings a unique blend of strategic insight, cultural understanding, and practical field experience to her role as an advisor, supporting partners operating in complex and high-risk environments.
Dr. Gordon Bourne MD
Advisor - Medicine & Operational Risk
Gordon is a medical and risk specialist with a distinguished background as both a physician and risk management professional. He brings over 20 years of experience across clinical leadership, operational medicine, and international risk management, bridging the gap between medical governance and field operations. He has held senior medical and leadership roles across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, directing multidisciplinary teams and advising on crisis response, emergency preparedness, and organisational resilience. His expertise spans clinical risk frameworks, medical intelligence, and the design of healthcare systems.
Saad Basir
Advisor - Defence Capacity Building
Saad is a former British Army Officer with extensive advisory experience across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. An accomplished leader and strategist, he has held senior staff roles within the UK Ministry of Defence and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, advised two successive US two-star commanders on operations across the Middle East. Previously seconded to the British Embassy in Riyadh, he designed and delivered partner capacity programmes for the Saudi Armed Forces, directly advising the Saudi Royal Family and multinational coalition commanders on training, doctrine, and security operations.
Muna Fityani
Advisor - StratComms & Public Affairs
Muna is a strategic communications and public affairs expert with over 15 years of experience spanning government, diplomacy, investment, and international institutions. Her work focuses on reputation management, crisis communications, and strategic messaging. She currently serves as an External Affairs advisor in Riyadh and spent several years at the Royal Hashemite Court in Jordan, supporting the Office of His Majesty King Abdullah II in international media engagement, crisis response, and strategic narrative development. Muna holds a degree from King’s College London and is recognised for her ability to navigate complex communications challenges
Defence & Military Capacity Building
Command & staff development, doctrine, operational planning, joint and combined operations, specialist capability development and professional military training.
Police & Law Enforcement Development
Counter-narcotics, organised crime, counter-terrorism, criminal investigation, community policing, public order and major incident response.
EOD & Explosive Hazard Management
EOD capability development, IED awareness, search and detection, post-blast investigation, explosive hazard risk education and specialist instructor development.
Maritime Security & Capacity Building
Maritime domain awareness, coastal and port security, maritime interdiction, critical infrastructure protection and regional maritime cooperation.
Strategic Communications
Information environment analysis, strategic communications planning, counter-disinformation, public information and communications exercises.
From Training to Institutional Capability
Training can be an important component of capacity building, but training alone rarely creates sustainable institutional capability. Effective programmes begin by understanding the institution, its operating environment and the capability it is seeking to develop. This allows requirements to be identified before appropriate doctrine, organisational structures, training systems and development programmes are designed.
Depending on programme requirements, this may include capability and training-needs assessments, programme design, doctrine and curriculum development, instructor development, specialist training, mentoring, exercises and evaluation. The objective is not simply to transfer knowledge to individual participants. It is to help institutions develop the internal capability to maintain, adapt and continue developing that knowledge themselves. This approach is particularly important in environments undergoing institutional reform, modernisation or post-conflict recovery, where sustainable systems and local ownership are essential to long-term success.
Regional Expertise, International Standards
Security institutions cannot be developed effectively without understanding the environment in which they operate. Stratum Global Risk is a Middle East-based company combining regional presence and operational understanding with access to specialist international expertise across defence, security, policing and institutional development. Our consutlants include experienced practitioners from military, special operations, policing, maritime, explosive ordnance disposal and strategic communications backgrounds, allowing programmes to draw upon appropriate subject-matter expertise according to the requirements of each institution.
Successful capacity building should leave institutions stronger than when a programme began. Whether developing a specialist operational capability, strengthening a training institution, supporting doctrine development or contributing to wider security sector reform, our approach focuses on practical outcomes, institutional ownership and sustainable capability. Stratum Global Risk brings together regional presence, programme delivery capability and specialist expertise to support defence, security and justice institutions across the Middle East and beyond.