Fresh Jobs at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The Assistant Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC), ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that PoC are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of them. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
• Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
• Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
• Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
• Provide inputs for the development of protection policies and standards within the AoR. 
• Implement and monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
• Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection.
• Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
• Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
• Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other PoC.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
• Assist capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
• Assist the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
• Assist the supervisor in enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
• Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level For P1/NOA 

• 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree Field(s) of Education Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field. (Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential) Certificates and/or Licenses Not specified; (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

• Essential Knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles
• Desirable Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme.

Functional Skills

• PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
• PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) MG-Project Management
• PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
• PR-International Humanitarian Law
• PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement CO-Drafting and Documentation
• PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

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Duties  

• Assist in commissioning and/or conducting practical research and analysis to interpret long-term political, economic and social trends that will enhance opportunities for solutions, resilience and inclusion for populations of concern to UNHCR as well as more sustainable approaches to refugee protection. Help ensure evidence generated from analytical and advisory services needs to be translated better into context-specific policy dialogue, project design, and programming.
• Assist in planning for resilience and inclusion with a clear shared vision of longer-term protection and solution outcomes for people of concern that takes account of host communities and leverages the roles, resources and capacities of development partners, including Multilateral Development Banks, and Bilateral Development agencies and donors.
• Support the facilitation of the development of comprehensive multi-year transition plans/strategies (incl. Multi-Year Multi-Partner Strategies) for Persons of Concern to UNHCR and/or facilitate the inclusion of populations of concern into national and local development planning and programming instruments.
• Support the identification, strategic articulation and capitalization of development and resilience opportunities, including through Government pledges and or pledges made by bilateral or multilateral development and/or peacebuilding partners.
• Assist in facilitating relationship building with development co-operation agencies and peace and state-building agendas through the different stages of policy and programme identification, preparation, implementation and review.
• Support the development of partnerships and networks with development actors to influence the policy dialogue with governments on institutional arrangements related to sectors, locations and programme content of consequence to UNHCR and persons of concern. This would, in particular, focus on supporting the coordination of the in-country relationship with the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, especially where there is potential for specific funding directed towards UNHCRs persons of concern (e.g. WB IDA sub-window for refugees and host communities or the WB Global Concessional Financing Facility).
• Support the cooperation with development partners to assist them in incorporating the concerns of refugees, returnees and others of concern to UNHCR into the design and implementation arrangements of projects and interventions in a manner that impacts positively on protection circumstances.
• Support the operation to ensure that development actors are provided relevant data to inform their planning, programming and advocacy around resilience for and inclusion of UNHCR persons of concern.
• Support the facilitation, coordination, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience between UNHCR and development actors and across UNHCR operations globally by documenting and disseminating good practices and active participation in the Division of Resilience and Solutions Development Partnerships Community of Practice.
• Support training activities aimed at the capacity building of UNHCR and partner agency staff to achieve greater coordination, effectiveness and synergies between humanitarian and development interventions.

Minimum Qualifications

Candidate should have the following:

• Holder of undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in Social Sciences, Socio-Economic Development, Development Planning, Rural Development, or other related fields.
• At least six years (5 years with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's)) of previous job experience relevant to the function, both in humanitarian and development contexts. Experience in similar settings is essential.
• Preferably with knowledge of, or experience in, local or area based economic development, direct engagement in a technical sector such as education, WASH, social protection, health, energy
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain partnerships with a variety of actors - including government and private sector.
• Proven experience in planning, implementing, and monitoring programmes and projects.
• Excellent drafting, presentation and reporting skills, including strong advocacy and negotiation skills in situation involving multiple actors and diverse interests.
• Knowledge of protection, refugee matters and UNHCR’s mandate.
• Excellent computer skills including excel, word and power point.
• Excellent English language skills, including drafting and research capabilities.
• Previous experience of working with development agencies or private sector.
• Experience of working with national governments on development planning.
• Experience of working on forced displacement issues, including with host communities in the country.
• Previous exposure and experience of working with synergies between the humanitarian-development nexus.
• Experience in resource mobilisation.

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Duties

• Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection strategy and operational procedures.
• Through relationships with PoC and network of partners, stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team.
• Understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the PoC and advise the protection team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
• Work with host communities to identify opportunities for national civil society involvement in improving the protection of PoC.
• Work with implementing and operational partners as well as with displaced and local communities to develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and response to GBV. - Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
• Support participatory assessments by multifunctional teams and ongoing consultation with PoC.
• Assist in planning and monitoring of programmes and budgets, with an AGD perspective
• Build office capacity for community-based protection through training and establishing systems for community mobilization and participation of PoC.
• Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures.
• Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response.
• Act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
• Contribute to the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR's work.
• Initiate AGD sensitive interventions at the appropriate level on community-based protection issues and to respond to protection concerns and incidents within the office, with external interlocutors, groups and individuals based on agreed parameters.
• Identify and select which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
• Intervene with authorities on protection.
• Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
• Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level For G6

• 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent 
• Certificates and/or Licenses Development, Human Rights, International Law International Social Work, Social Science, Political Science, (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Desirable

• UNHCR learning programmes (PLP). Knowledge of MSRP.

Functional Skills

• IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• IT-Computer Literacy UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
• PR-Community-based Protection
• Principles and methodologies CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
• PG-Stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate)
• TR-Capacity Buidling (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)