Protection Volunteer

Contract

This is a UNV Community Volunteer contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV Community Volunteer contracts.

Since 24 February 2022, the Government of Bulgaria granted Temporary Protection to more than 160,000 persons refugees displaced from Ukraine, of whom some 90,000 remain in the country as of July 2023. Some 12,000 refugees from Ukraine are hosted under the state sponsored accommodation programme, including hotels and state recreational facilities located predominantly at the Black Sea regions and other locations throughout the country. In addition, in 2022 Bulgaria received 20 047 applications for international protection, of which 3348 of unaccompanied children. UNHCR as the UN refugee agency supports the Government of Bulgaria in providing response to the needs of persons in need of temporary or international protection and inclusion space is provided to them. UNHCR conducts various advocacy, support and capacity-building activities to effective access to rights and specialized services of asylum-seekers and persons granted temporary and international protection. Some of these activities are implemented directly by the Agency, with others implemented through partner agencies or service providers.

The Protection volunteer will support the UNHCR advocacy team to strengthen effective access to rights of forcibly displaced and stateless persons and enhance the capacity of government, NGO and other stakeholders. He/She will be based in Sofia.

The main tasks and responsibilities of the Protection volunteer will support the UNHCR Bulgaria advocacy team to: - Assist with the organization of capacity-building activities for various stakeholders at national, regional and local level - Assist in monitoring the emerging legal acts and judicial practice. - Contribute to legal analysis and review. - Draft correspondence and other documents as requested, as well as translating and editing of protection-related documents from English into Bulgarian and vice versa. - Cooperate with partner NGOs and other relevant stakeholders as assigned. - Participate in meetings within UNHCR and with external counterparts at the relevant level, provide interpretation if needed and take notes. - Provide counselling on protection issues to PoC; make referrals and liaise with competent authorities as instructed. - Support activities in protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. - Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness. - Participate in individual protection case management including cases of GBV and child protection. Monitor and report on cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents. - Assist in identifying potential suitable cases for strategic litigation. - Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. - Draft reports, routine correspondence, update relevant databases and compiling statistics within the Area of Responsibility (AoR). - Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners. - Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct. - Perform other related duties as required.

• Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Commitment to continuous learning • Planning and organizing • Communication • Flexibility • 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.

law, social protection, and other relevant field.

• Experience with conducting legal and/or policy research • Experience in social protection including working with vulnerable persons • Excellent communication and interviewing skills and ability to communicate patiently and respectfully with a broad range of individuals including persons with specific needs. • Strong interpersonal skills, cultural competency, problem solving abilities. • Good listening and observation skills to understand and obtain information. • Experience with organizing events • Experience with drafting reports, summaries and analyses
• Good data analysis and management skills. • Good ICT and digital literacy.
• Experience with handling confidential data and demonstrated understanding of different data collection methodologies. • Fluency in Arabic, Russian/Ukrainian, Farsi/Pashto or French is an advantage • Candidate must have a valid work permit in Bulgaria

The UN Volunteer will be based in Sofia and will be expected to work at UNHCR’s office. He/she will be responsible for his/her own accommodation. This assignment requires full time engagement (8 hours/5 days).

About UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances, you can use the entitlement calculator in https://app.unv.org/calculator and read the Conditions of Service in https://explore.unv.org/cos. The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service.

Monthly Living Allowance (per month): appx. BGN 1,500 Entry lump sum (one time payment): USD 50 Medical and life insurance: Cigna Private Insurance Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month Uncertified sick leave: 7 days

Note: "Non-UN Volunteer job opportunity shall be offered by UNHCR to any UN Volunteer during the first year of a UN Volunteer's assignment with UNHCR. UN Volunteers assigned to serve with UNHCR shall document their consent with this understanding as part of the UNHCR Undertaking".