Associate Protection Officer (Community-Based)

Volunteering Crisis & Emergency Response

Overview

Support and advocate for the protection of refugees and vulnerable populations.

You have:

• Minimum 4 years (2 years with Advanced University degree) relevant professional experience, including in the areas of community based protection, community services, social work, and human rights.
• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures.
• Field experience.
• 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.

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).

The UNHCR Office in Guatemala opened in 2015 in order to strengthen UNHCR’s protection work in the region as part of the UNHCR’s Regional Protection and Solutions Strategy for the countries in the North of Central America (NCA). The operation has 5 field units- the one lo-cated in Guatemala City, is the newest as of June 2021. This new Field Unit, provides cover-age to 7 municipalities located around the metropolitan area. Central America is suffering a wave of violence stemming from organized criminal groups, including record high homicide rates, sexual violence, disappearances, forced recruitment into gangs, and extortion. The epidemic of violence is compelling a diverse range of people to flee their homes and to seek international protection, particularly in bordering and nearby countries. The United States of America, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador are all affected, either as countries of origin, transit or destination, and in some cas-es, in a combination of these. The Associate Protection Officer will report to to the Head of Field Unit who will provide the incumbent with general guidance and workplans. The incum-bent works quite independently with an oversight from the supervisor. These position do not imply supervisory role.

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

• Be fully informed about community structures and the protection and security sit-uation of the population of concern and develop strong links with a cross-section of members of refugee/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)/stateless communi-ties, 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 im-pact 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 opera-tions 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 solu-tions oriented programming with implementing and operational partners guaran-teeing that community-owned activities are integrated; • Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures • Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among populations of con-cern, 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 en-suring 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; re-searches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if neces-sary; • Ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are in-cluded in, strategies and plans in the country operation; • Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on ac-countability and quality assurance in its response; • Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.

• Integrity and professionalism • Accountability • Commitment to continuous learning • Planning and organizing • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Communication: proven interpersonal skills • Flexibility, • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

Minimum 4 years (2 years with Advanced University degree) relevant professional expe-rience, including in the areas of community based protection, community services, social work, and human rights.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills:

• 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. • Previous experience working with UNHCR, other UN agencies or NGOs working with displaced and/or refugee populations • Previous experience with fieldwork in humanitarian organizations, especially in emer-gency contexts • Previous experience in direct work with communities affected by displacement, disas-ters or armed violence • Previous experience working on women’s issues in direct contact with individual women and women’s organizations, particularly in the topics of empowerment and community mobilization • Previous experience working in the provision of guidance and services to indigenous and afro populations

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

Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala. It is categorized as a United Nations family duty station, hardship category A. To learn more about hardship category ratings, visit https://icsc.un.org/Home/DataMobility This location is classified as Cwb (Dry-winter subtropical highland climate) by Köppen and Geiger. Temperatures average 19.4 °C | 66.9 °F. Official language is Spanish and is spoken in Guatemala City. The two other official languages are Xinka and Garifuna. Over 40 percent of Guatemalans are indigenous. Much of Guatemala City is safe during the day. The city is subdivided into Zones, which resemble neighborhoods or administrative districts in other countries. Zone 10, where the UNHCR office is located and most businesses, hospitality industry are found, is also among the safe areas. It is not recommended to walk alone after dark as some areas or zones can get dangerous. Uber is widely used for transportation and the usual safety precautions apply. Most crime consists of theft of cell phone and laptops. It is advisable not to flaunt them in public. Guatemala City offers banking, transportation, health and communications services, which are easy to obtain. Credit cards are widely used and accepted. There are numer-ous shopping malls, restaurants, gyms and cinemas. A large variety of accommodation options can be found. Road network is good both in terms of spread and quality. Traffic, however, can be overwhelming. It is advised to live near the UNHCR Office in Zone 10. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. Owing to the restrictions on account of COVID-19, UNHCR adopted hybrid work arrangement by alternating between teleworking (working from home in Duty Sta-tion) and physicial presence in the office.Teleworking situation will be reassessed and revised in line with the national laws and policies as well as the United Nations staff rules and regulations complemented by the required information as per country Living Conditions.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unv.org