Associate Protection Officer (Community-Based)

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 Field Office Quibdó is located in Chocó, a region that experiences recurring humanitarian crisis and emergencies related to both the security situation and natural disasters and it has an estimated 280.000 IDP population according to the official State report (UARIV). There is also an additional migrant- and refugee population from Venezuela, most of whom have an intention to stay in the region and socially and economically integrate. Furthermore, there are mixed migratory movements of people of a variety of nationalities moving along the Pacific Coast, looking to cross the border into Panama. These movements present further challenges for UNHCR to uphold its mandate. Chocó is generally characterized by weak State- and Government structures and limited resources. The population is predominantly Afro- and indigenous communities living in areas that are challenging to access due to the presence of armed groups and poor infrastructure.

The Associate Protection Officer will support in designing a Community-based protection strategy (CBP) in the locality, working directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The Associate Protection Officer will be working on the prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including the provision of psychosocial support to survivors, mapping of and developing referral pathways for survivors to frontline services, and strengthening and supporting the local infrastructure and public policies related to SGBV. Additionally, the Associate Protection Officer will be working on strengthening existing Prevention of Sexual Explotation and Abuse (PSEA) procedures in the locality.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Be fully informed about community structures and the protection and security situation 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 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; • 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 protection related issues; • Support the design, implementation and evaluation of protection centred and solutions oriented programming with implementing and operational partners guaranteeing 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 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; • 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: 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; • Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response; • Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation 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 instance 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 publications/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.

Results/Expected Outputs:

• Effective and timely support is provided to the formulation of a clear and coherent protec-tion and solutions oriented strategy, which incorporates a thorough age, gender and diver-sity analysis and reflects the Organization’s global, regional and country level priorities. • AGD sensitive analysis of community risks and capacities provides the essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work. • The participation of persons of concern is assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory, rights and community based approaches, which inform protection and assistance programming and ensure that UNHCR meets its commitments to accountability to persons of concern. • National protection capacities are improved through direct engagement, research and advocacy with all relevant external interlocutors. • Protection incidents and needs are immediately identified and addressed through direct intervention, advocacy and public exposure. • The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the as-signment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

• Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; • Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organi-zational 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 environment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and abil-ity to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; • 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 diversity and gender; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; • Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of oper-ations; 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.

areas of community based protection, community services, social work, and human rights. • Knowledge of UN policies and procedures; • Field experience; • Commitment to help refugees and willingness to cooperate with counterparts; • Good analytical skills; • Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting; • Experience of working with refugees; • Ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is es-sential. • Experience working with international protection, mixed movements and IDPs with UN-HCR highly desirable. • Computer skills: Microsoft Office Package (excellent knowledge of Word, good knowledge of Excel and Power Point) and Internet browsing.

Colombia is a large country (1,141,748 km2); its population rises to 47,000,000 citizens. Quibdó is the capital city of Chocó Department, in Western Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of 3,337.5 km² and a population of 129,237, predominately Afro Colombian and Indigenous communities.

Quibdó is located in one of the most biodiverse regions of Colombia, close to large eco-logical reserves such as the Emberá National Natural Park. It is also one of the regions with the largest number of indigenous reserves.

Quibdó has an extremely wet and cloudy tropical rainforest climate without noticeable seasons. It has the highest amount of rainfall in South America and of any city of its size or greater.

Quibdo is served by El Caraño Airport with flights by three commercial airlines.

The security situation in Quibdo and the Chocó region has been deteriorating in the past months, especially around urban areas. Petty crime in the form of assaults, thefts, muggings and pick pocketing (mostly mobile phones and money) are often accompanied by intimidation or violence and are likely to be the most significant threat and danger for un-aware tourists and short-term visitors especially in urban areas.

In the city of Quibdó, there are restaurants and supermarkets. Regarding health services, Quibdó has both primary and secondary health services. For more specialiced health services, the best option is the city of Medellin, located 30 minutes fly distance from Quibdó.