Associate Durable Solutions 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.

With the support from various actors including the Government of Bangladesh, donors, NGOs, INGOs, UNHCR provides humanitarian assistance in 16 camps and support to the neighboring host community. In this regard, UNHCR implements comprehensive protection strategies including registration, legal assistance, child protection, prevention of and response to GBV, education, health & nutrition, water & sanitation, shelter, environmental management, energy access and other assistance programmes, including support to authorities in site management.

Durable solutions for Rohingya refugees remain elusive. The prevailing security and human rights situation for the Rohingya people in Myanmar’s Rakhine State indicate that safe, dignified, and sustainable repatriation is not feasible anytime soon. The Government of Bangladesh maintains a position that it will not allow Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to locally integrate. Without decisive interventions to enable and encourage solutions, vulnerabilities of Rohingya refugees to various protection risks will increase as is often the case in protracted refugee situation.

A robust and proactive approach to solutions is thus necessary to meet the needs of Rohingya refugees and alleviate some pressure on the Government and host communities of Bangladesh. Solutions strategy for the refugees in Bangladesh use resettlement mainly as a protection tool for refugees at heightened risk, while keeping a primary focus on the safe, voluntary, and dignified returns.

As a complement to voluntary repatriation, and with support from the Government of Bangladesh, discrete, small-scale resettlement could offer a solution for refugees with urgent/emergency protection cases or specific needs and vulnerabilities. The resettlement needs of the entire population is much larger but considering that there has not been any resettlement of Rohingya from Bangladesh since 2010, the implementation of this solution will have to be carefully planned and implemented to build confidence and trust among stakeholders.

UNHCR is in discussion with the Government of Bangladesh to resume resettlement program. Resettlement countries, particularly USA, have shown interest to resettle Rohingya refugees out of Bangladesh. As a priority, UNHCR identified and submitted about 50 refugees for resettlement to the USA as test cases in 2021. Based on the success of this test cases, UNHCR will increase submissions in 2022 and plan to scale up resettlement processing by putting in place robust system for large scale resettlement processing including standard operating procedures including but not limited to fair and transparent identification mechanisms, anti-fraud measures, and communicating with the refugees.

Under the direct supervision of Durable Solutions Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Implement activities in accordance with the comprehensive solutions strategy, with a view to finding durable solutions to the maximum number of PoCs. • Participate in the planning of, and advise on opportunities for alternative solutions, including available regional and national legal frameworks. • Participate in consultative processes within UNHCR and with a broad range of regional and national external partners to promote voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement. • Meet PoC, assess their durable solutions needs and identify the most appropriate solutions for them. • Monitor the implementation of the durable solutions strategy and provide advice for improvements. • Analyse statistics, trends, and other documents, and draft reports. • Interview and prepare Resettlement Referral Forms (RRF), in line with Resettlement SOPs. • Interview candidates for local integration and prepare the appropriate documentation for onward submission to local authorities or partners, in line with Local Integration SOPs. • Implement and contribute to the designing of national and regional comprehensive durable solutions strategies • Engage national and local interlocutors on durable solutions issues. • Authorize payments relating to durable solutions. • Perform other related duties as required.

Results/expected outputs:

As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR Sub Office Cox’s Bazaar its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:

• Obtaining of durable solutions for Rohingya refugees including resettlement, local integration and voluntary return when feasible. • Knowledge and communication skills to identify vulnerable cases for referral for resettlement assessment following the established criteria.

• Accountability • Adaptability and Flexibility • Building Trust • Client Orientation • Commitment and Motivation • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Empowering Others • Ethics and Values • Integrity • Judgement and Decision-making • Knowledge Sharing • Managing Performance • Planning and Organizing • Professionalism • Respect for Diversity • Working in Teams

relevant fields.
• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures. • Field experience. • Knowledge of ProGress database software. • Good knowledge of refugee issues and Human Rights doctrine. • Good reporting and writing ability • HCR Protection Learning Programme, HCR Resettlement Learning Programme, HCR RSD Learning Programme

Cox's Bazar is a district of Bangladesh and it is famous for fishing port and tourism. It is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh. The beach in Cox's Bazar is an unbroken 120 km (75 miles) sandy sea beach with a gentle slope, making it the second longest sea beach in the world. The climate of Cox's bazar is similar to the rest of the country. The climate of Bangladesh is generally determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, generally excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. It is further characterized by the location in the coastal area. Historically Cox’s Bazar, like other parts of Bangladesh, is a safe place to live. Since August 2017, with the large scale Rohingya influx from Myanmar, Cox’s Bazar is seen as a district with a humanitarian crisis. Culturally Cox’s Bazar is very diverse and well-known for its traditional heritage. The communications systems in Cox’s Bazar is well developed and the district is well-connected with other cities. All the national mobile networks are operational in Cox’s Bazar. Walking within Cox’s Bazar city is only allowed during day time. Travel by rickshaw is also permitted within Cox’s Bazar only during day time. Cox’s Bazar has a domestic airport and is currently classified as a family duty station (Security Level 3-moderate; Hardship category-D).