Senior Protection Assistant

Overview

Provide effective protection support to persons of concern.

You have:

• Demonstrated experience in protection interventions in humanitarian environments.
• Proven knowledge of and demonstrated experience in case management, gender-based violence, child protection, international protection.
• Knowledge of community-based protection.
• Demonstrated experience in Interagency and interinstitutional coordination.
• Knowledge of governmental protection services.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong adaptability and flexibility skills, as the position requires working in a very dynamic work environment.
• Fluency in Spanish and working knowledge of English (minimum B2 overall).

Deadline for Applications

January 18, 2026Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

BFamily Type (not applicable for home-based)

FamilyStaff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS LICA5Target Start Date

2026-04-01Terms of Reference

• Demonstrated experience in protection interventions in humanitarian environments. • Proven knowledge of and demonstrated experience in case management, gender-based violence, child protection, international protection. • Knowledge of community-based protection. • Demonstrated experience in Interagency and interinstitutional coordination. • Knowledge of governmental protection services. • Experience in monitoring and evaluation. • Strong adaptability and flexibility skills, as the position requires working in a very dynamic work environment. • Experience in humanitarian action in border areas is an asset • Experience with UNHCR case management systems (ProGres, BIMS, Rapp) • Fluency in Spanish and working knowledge of English (minimum B2 overall).

Persons interested in applying for this position should be legally present in the country at the time of application, recruitment, and appointment.

Please note that this position will be located in Tumbes, Peru on presential modality and is offered as a Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA / UNOPS) for six months. Extension is subject to operational needs, budget, and performance.

Only short-listed candidates will be notified and might be requested to sit a test. No late applications will be considered.

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19 and valid medical certificate.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted based on the information submitted during the application. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision, or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training, or any other fees).

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.Standard Job Description

Senior Protection Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships The Senior Protection Assistant normally reports to a more senior Protection colleague. 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 persons of concern (PoC) and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on protection issues as guided by the supervisor.

The Senior Protection Assistant also ensures that PoC 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.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties - Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct. - Provide counselling on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation. - Support activities in protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. - Conduct preliminary information gathering and interviews in support of eligibility, status determination, durable solutions and social needs assessment. - Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness. - Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy. - Contribute to a country-level education plan for PoC as part of the protection strategy. - Monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities. - 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 durable solutions for PoC in voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement. - 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). - Contribute to initiatives to enhance national and local protection capacities. - Select PoC for preliminary interviews and decide which relevant information to share. - Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s). - Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications Education & Professional Work Experience Years of Experience / Degree Level G5 - 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses International Law; Political Science; (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience Essential: Not specified. Desirable: Not specified.

Functional Skills IT-Computer Literacy PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English. For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language. For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Required Languages

English,

,

Desired Languages

Spanish,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and FrameworkEducation

Certifications

International Law - Other, Political Science - OtherWork Experience

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance Remote

No

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 months ago - Updated 5 months ago - Source: unhcr.org