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.

Eligibility criteria

Minimum age: 25 years old. Nationals of the country of assignment are not eligible, except the assignments in Headquarters duty stations.

Description of task

• Through relationships with persons of concern, authorities 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 senior management.
• Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concerns 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 minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS;
• Utilize the IDPs footprint during the planning process;
• Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and also IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection;
• Coordinate the implementation and monitoring of programmes ensuring that identified protection needs, including an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach, are adequately addressed;
• Provide policy guidance and operational support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues;
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interlocutors; ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (civil documentation, in particular birth certificates);
• Monitor, and assist with the intervention in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners;
• Assist in the coordinated implementation and oversight of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities;
• Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement are sought and provided to the largest possible number of persons of concern;
• Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the necessary resources are allocated to enable protection activities to identify and address protection and assistance gaps;
• Support a 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;
• 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 ensuring 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;
• Contribute to the Protection team's information management component which: provide disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, 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 included in, strategies and plans in the country operation;

• Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.

• Implement activities in accordance with the multiyear-multi partner protection and solutions strategy, with a view to finding durable solutions to the maximum number of Persons of Concern (PoCs).

• Contribute to training and awareness-raising initiatives on durable solutions organized by the Field unit.
• Assist in the creation and development of alliances with relevant public institutions, while lobbying for the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers in state policies and public programs, and strengthen their capacity of implementing livelihoods projects in line with the livelihoods strategy.
• Participate in consultative processes within UNHCR and with a broad range of partners to promote local integration and resettlement.
• Meet persons of concern, assess their protection and solutions needs and identify the most appropriate solutions for them.
• Monitor the implementation of the protection and durable solutions strategy and provide advice for improvements.
• Analyze statistics, trends, and other documents, and draft reports.
• Ensure that UNHCR’s policies, standards and procedures are constantly and coherently applied in the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
• Ensure that the needs of persons of concern in the AoR are assessed and analyzed in a participating manner and using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective to form a firm basis for planning.
• Ensure that protection incidents and gaps in assistance are immediately identified and addressed.
• Identify vulnerable groups or individuals who may need special attention or special arrangements and make recommendations on the needs of different groups of refugees.
• In coordination with government and implementing partners, handle the reception, registration and provision of assistance to persons of concern to UNHCR.
• Participation in needs assessment as a member of the Multi-Functional team
• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Undertake other duties as required

Qualifications/Requirements

Required degree level:

Bachelor degree or equivalent

Education - Additional Comments:

University degree in Law, International Law, International Relations, Social Sciences, Political Sciences or related field.

Required experience:

24 Months

Experience remark:

• Minimum 2 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.

Language skills:

• Spanish(Mandatory), Level - Fluent
• English(Mandatory), Level - Fluent

Area of expertise:

Protection of refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs, Other development programme/project experience, Social inclusion

Area of expertise details:

• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures;
• Good analytical skills;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting;
• Ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential.

Driving license:

Yes

Competencies values:

Accountability, Building Trust, Client Orientation, Commitment to Continuous Learning, Communication, Empowering Others, Judgement and Decision-making, Working in Teams