Senior Protection Assistant

Volunteering Legal Security

Overview

Support protection operations for refugees and stateless persons

You have:

• Minimum of 2 years of work experience in protection field or working with refugees and/or communities.
• Excellent oral and written skills including drafting and reporting.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and email/internet; familiarity with database management.
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners including community members and authorities.
• Completion of the Protection Learning Programme or related programs is desirable.

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National 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 UNV Senior Protection Assistant is a member of the UNHCR Moscow Protection Team under the supervision of the Senior Protection Officer. The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.
The Senior Protection Assistant provides quality, timely and effective protection support to forcibly displaced and stateless persons and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. In the context of the mass influx of Ukrainian situation S/he will support the management and monitoring of the implementation of the referral system and may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on protection issues, statistics, data processing, interviewing and other tasks as guided by the supervisor. The Senior Protection Assistant also ensures that forcibly displaced and stateless persons are involved in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Senior Protection Officer or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Senior Protection Assistant will:

• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise through partners or directly with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation. • Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness. • facilitate the referral system and liaise with partners/state institutions on protection issues, oriented by the supervisor; • Support training and orientation activities for partners on protection issues; • Refer cases of women and children at risk, people with specific needs and other categories of refugees in need of protection interventions to senior Protection staff; • Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct. • Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach. • Contribute to a country-level education plan. • Implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities. • Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. • Contribute to a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners. • Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
• Contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights. • Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures. • Support the UNHCR priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals. • Participate on protection missions as requested. • Facilitate compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services. • Facilitate and support the protection activities of partners. • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• 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; • Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• 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.

Managerial Competencies: Judgement and Decision Making Cross-Functional Competencies: Analytical Thinking; Negotiation and Conflict Resolution; Political Awareness

protection field or working with refugees and/or communities is an asset. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;

Desirable: • Diverse field experience; • Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD learning programme, SGBV learning programme, Child protection learning programme.

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unv.org