Associate 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 Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Balochistan province is situated in the South-Western (220N to 320N, 660E to 700 E) region of Pakistan. It (Balochistan) hosts 319,213 refugees. Over 60% of the refugees in Balochistan reside in urban areas (mainly in Quetta city), while the rest are to be found in 10 refugee villages (RVs) and rural settlements. Pakistan is not a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. At present, Pakistan has also not enacted a domestic legislation to regulate refugee protection. Therefore, UNHCR conducts screening and individual interviews to determine asylum applications. The absence of a legal framework favours ad-hoc and short-lived approaches and exposes the management of refugees to unpredictable and difficult to control political/security developments. One example is the temporary validity of PoR cards, which has been repeatedly interpreted as a deadline for the stay of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and, coupled with delays with regard to the extension, has created pressure for refugees to return. Among the key protection challenges in refugee protection in Balochistan include addressing social and cultural beliefs that pander to certain types of sexual and gender-based violence. Additionally, assessments have consistently pointed to the prevalence of child protection concerns, harassment, detention and arrest by law enforcement agents and concerns over meaningful engagement of the youth; who constitute a substantive segment.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Protection Officer, the UN Volunteer will un-dertake the following tasks:

• Stay abreast of and report as relevant on legal, political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment. • Promote the implementation of the AGD policy, including UNHCR’s updated commit-ments to women and girls, and, design, deliver and monitor programmes on an AGD basis to address identified protection needs. • Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consul-tative process with sectorial partners.

• Liaise closely with all functional units in order to gather and collate accurate data about protection delivery and assistance. • Provide appropriate support for operational planning and forward-looking coordination of the inter-agency response. • Ensure that the Protection Sector has an effective information management compo-nent which provides disaggregated data on populations of concern, gaps; collects and disseminates relevant information and good practices to enhance protection delivery. • Work closely with Information Management to ensure accurate and effective data presentation and graphics. • Draft correspondence, reports, guidance notes and background information for meet-ings and missions.
• Liaise with external partners and local organizations on behalf of UNHCR. • Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum 3 years of experience with refugees and/or other people of concern in a protection capacity required.
Field experience;
Commitment to help persons of concern and willingness to cooperate with counterparts.
Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills;
Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing;
Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development;
Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel;
Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;
Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;

Pakistan is situated in South Asia. Located along the Arabian Sea, it is surrounded by Afghanistan to the west and northwest, Iran to the southwest, India to the east, and China to the northeast. Pakistan has an extremely varied geographical outlook, including mountains, deserts, major rivers and the sea. Pakistan experiences frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe, especially in north and west.

Security: Quetta is a non-family duty station. For all official travel, UN Security Clearance is required/mandatory. Registration with home embassy is highly recommended. International Staff deployed in Pakistan are required to report to Security Unit for detail briefing.

Guest Houses: The UNV Field Unit will help arrange your initial accommodation, at your expense (Settling-in Grant is foreseen for this).

Telecommunications: There is one major fixed line provider (PTCL) and 4 cellular companies (Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Zong). 3G service is being provided by almost all cellular companies. Call rates vary but are extremely cheap for some Western countries. All cellular operators in Pakistan use GSM platform. Country code for Pakistan is +92 and City code for Quetta is (0)81.

Electricity (Voltage): Electricity in Pakistan is 220-240 Volts.

Health: State of the art health facilities are available throughout the country and especially Islamabad. Dental care facilities are also available. There are no mandatory vaccines required to travel to Pakistan.

Diet, Food and Water: There are many local markets around Quetta as well as various supermarkets that are stocked with imported goods. Tap water is not advisable and bottled water is available almost everywhere. Using alcoholic drinks in public is illegal in Pakistan.

Money/banking: Current US dollar exchange rate is 1 USD = PKR 153. To receive payments locally, UNV unit will help you open a bank account with Standard Chartered Bank. This will be a paired account where you can use it both for US dollar as well as Pak Rupee. ATM machines can be found throughout the country.

Climate: Quetta features a continental semiarid climate with a large variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summer starts in late May and continues until early September with average temperatures ranging from 24 °C (75 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F). Autumn starts in late September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures of 12 °C (54 °F) to 18 °C (64 °F). Winter starts in late November and ends in late March, with average temperatures near 4 °C (39 °F) to 5 °C (41 °F). Spring starts in early April and ends in late May, with average temperatures close to 15 °C (59 °F). Unlike most of Pakistan, however, Quetta does not have a monsoon of sustained, heavy rainfall.

Respect: Pakistan is a conservative country and it is advisable for women to wear long skirts or trousers in public (Pakistani women wear the traditional shalwar kameez, but in the big cities, women wearing jeans and khakis is not very uncommon sight, especially in casual settings, shopping malls and around picnic spots). Dress codes for men are more lax, though shorts are uncommon. Men should never shake hands with or touch a woman they don't know very well. As with most of South Asia, the right hand is used for eating, shaking hands and giving or receiving everything (including money), while the left hand is reserved for handling shoes and assisting in toilet duties. Discussion about religion and Islam should remain respectful and positive.