Associate Community-Based Protection Officer

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is an international organization with the mandate to assist persons in need of international protection; asylum seekers; refugees; statelessness; and internally displaced persons. The UNHCR operation in Mozambique has its main office in Maputo, field offices in Nampula and sub-office in Pemba. The incumbent will be based in Nampula; however, it will also support the implementation of activities in Niassa and Zambezia provinces, which may require frequent field missions. The working language in UNHCR's offices in Mozambique is English. The incumbent, as a member of the Protection Unit, will report to the Community Based Protection Officer. He/she will work under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with otherUNHCR staff and units, the government, NGO partners and other stakeholders. Overall, he/she is expected to provide support to respond to the protracted refugee situation in Maratane, which hosts some 9,552 PoCs of various nationalities. The refugee response is led by the Government of Mozambique (GoM), through the National Institute for Refugee Support (INAR) and is supported by UNHCR. Maratane is located about 25 km from Nampula and is the only refugee establishment hosting refugees and asylum seekers in Mozambique. Following the violent insurgency that began in October 2017 in Cabo Delgado, which intensified exponentially in 2020 with increased attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), the incumbent is also expected to support the Office in responding to the situation of recently internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the FO Nampula AoR, which covers Nampula, Niassa and Zambezia provinces. The IDP response is led by the GoM, through the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD), while UNHCR leads the Protection Cluster, both nationally and in Cabo Delgado, and in Nampula, the Protection Working Group (PWG). The latest figures reported by the GoM indicate over 800,000 IDPs in Cabo Delgado and over 60,000 being hosted in Nampula province. In November 2020, the first IDP site of Nampula province was established in Corrane and currently hosts over 7,000 IDPs.

Therefore, the incumbent will work directly with the communities of concern to identify the risks they face and leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. As part of protection, he/she will support the application of UNHCR's Community-Based Protection standards, operational procedures, guidance, and practices in delivering Community-Based Protection at the field level. To fulfill this role, the incumbent must spend a substantial percentage of his/her time working out of the office, building, and maintaining networks within the communities of persons of concern. Developing and maintaining constructive relationships with persons of concern that have a measurable impact and improve protection planning, programming, and outcomes form the core of Protection's work in the AoR and Operation. The incumbent will also support the design and implementation of a Community-Based Protection strategy, ensuring that this is based on consultations with persons of concern.

Under the direct supervision of Associate Protection Officer the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Be fully informed about community structures and the protection and security situ-ation of the population of concern and develop strong links with a cross-section of members of refugee/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)/stateless communities, using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach; • Through relationships with persons of concern and network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an im-pact on the protection environment and provide advice to senior management. En-sure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of con-cerns are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minor-ities and persons living with HIV/AIDS; • Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the necessary resources are allocated to enable community work to identify and address protection and assistance gaps; • Assist in supporting consultative process with government counterparts at local levels, partners and persons of concern to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education and SGBV, and solutions approaches; • Provide technical guidance and support to UNHCR and partners and implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on all community-based pro-tection related issues; • Support the design, implementation and evaluation of protection centred and solu-tions oriented programming with implementing and operational partners guaran-teeing that community-owned activities are integrated; • Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures. • Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among populations of concern, authorities and host communities; • Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities and partners. In operations applying the humanitarian cluster system, contribute to en-suring that the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in an AGD-compliant strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations; • Support the Operation's work to ensure the protection strategy is fully integrated into the Country Operations Plan, the UN Development and Assistance Frame-work (UNDAF), the Humanitarian Country Team’s common humanitarian action plan where applicable; • Contribute to the Protection team's information management component, which provides disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; re-searches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary; • Ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are in-cluded in, strategies and plans in the country operation; • Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on account-ability and quality assurance in its response; • Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection. and protection. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

• Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to ap-ply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take owner-ship; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under es-tablished procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, im-partiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confiden-tially; responsive and client oriented. • Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations. • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work envi-ronment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priori-ties and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities. • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious work-ing relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diver-sity and gender; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presenta-tions, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommenda-tions; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse back-grounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, re-mote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of opera-tions; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

the areas of community-based protection, community services, social work, and human rights.

Mozambique has a total population of about 29 million people and Maputo is its capital city. An entry visa is required for travellers and must be obtained from Embassy prior to arrival. However, some nationalities are exempted from visa requirement and usually travellers are advised to check their visa status prior to travelling to Mozambique. The metical is the local currency and exchange rate stands at USD 1 equivalent to about 58.3 meticais (MZN) as per April, 2018. There are several private clinics that provide quality healthcare, plenty of Banks and ATMs to meet financial needs. Visa cards are accepted in few limited hotels.

The duty station is in Nampula city, capital of Nampula Province, with frequent visits to Maratane Refugee Camp, located some 35 km of the city. Nampula is duty station classified under UNHCR rules and regulations as a “D – family” duty-station. It may be that the incumbent is asked to spend two to three days per week working accompanied or independently in the Refugee Camp. Conditions in the camp are reliable both security and social wise, but can be harsh during summer months due to humidity, dust and heat. Direct contact with people, sometimes in extremely vulnerable conditions will be a daily activity, requiring patience, openness and utmost respect from the incumbent. In the camp, basic facilities are available, but the incumbent is expected to know how to handle long hours working outdoors. In Nampula, basic health facilities and food shops/restaurant are available. The general security situation is reliable. Accommodation can be found through house renting from the private sector. Communication and transport services are also availablePlease complete with the required information as per country Living Conditions.