Associate Protection Officer

Volunteering Security

Overview

Support protection efforts for refugees and persons of concern.

You have:

• Minimum 3 years of experience with refugees and/or other people of concern in a protection capacity required.
• Field experience.
• Ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential.
• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting.
• Good analytical skills.

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV 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).

This UNV assignment is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19 with WHO approved vaccine, unless the UNHCR Medical Service approves an exemption from this requirement on medical grounds.

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.

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNHCR; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNHCR procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNHCR in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • 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 environment. • 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 priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNHCR’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

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.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills: • 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.

Computer skills: Office Package (excellent knowledge of Word, good knowledge of Excel and Power Point) and Internet browsing.

The duration of your assignment is until 31 December 2026, with the possibility of an extension depending on operational needs and funding availability.

A volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) which is composed of the Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a Family Allowance (FA) for those with dependents (maximum three).

The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$ 1,571. The VLA base rate is a global rate across the world, while the PAM is duty station/country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website (http://icsc.un.org). For example, if the PAM for the current month is 54.6%, then the VLA for that month will be (US$ 1,571 x 54,6 /100) + 1,571= US$ 2,429. Moreover, a Family Allowance (FA) is added in accordance with the number of recognized dependents: US$ 250 if the UN Volunteer has 1 recognized dependent, and US$ 450 if the UN Volunteer has 2 or more recognized dependents. Accordingly, the VLA will be US$ for a volunteer without dependents; US$ for a volunteer with one recognized dependent; and UD$ for a volunteer with two or more recognized dependents.

In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station.

UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements).

UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for periodic home visit and for the final repatriation travel (if applicable). Resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment.

UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 day ago - Updated 37 minutes ago - Source: unv.org