UN Youth Volunteer in Refugee Status Determination

Contract

This is a UNV International Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Youth contracts.

Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and the 1969 OAU Con-vention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Pursuant to a 1954 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of Egypt and UNHCR, the UNHCR carries out inter alia Registration, Documentation, and Refugee Status Determina-tion (RSD) under its mandate in the absence of national asylum procedures.

Egypt hosts around 539,956 registered refugees and asylum-seekers from 61 nationalities. In line with UNHCR’s RSD strategic direction, the Office takes into consideration the role RSD plays in the broader protection environment and carries out RSD to achieve maximum pro-tection dividends for the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers—based on capacity, while ensuring integrity of the system, including by strict adherence to UNHCR's RSD Proce-dural Guidelines. One of the RSD Unit’s objectives is also to contribute to the Office’s objec-tive to engage in ongoing dialogue with the Egyptian Government on the development of a national asylum framework.

In order to carry out this work, the UN Volunteer will be properly trained both formally, through available workshops, seminars, e-Learning platforms; and informally through on-the-job training, intensive coaching/mentoring, shadowing other colleagues to familiarize his/herself with the relevant global and local policy and procedures related to RSD activities. The UN Volunteer will be closely supervised by both senior and middle level management within the unit and it is expected that within a few months s/he will have the necessary skills to carry out many of the daily tasks with limited guidance.

Under the direct supervision of the RSD Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments relevant to mandate RSD, the protection environment, including developments in relation to national asylum/RSD systems, as applicable. - Learn how to support engagement with relevant national authorities and structures in identifying and expanding opportunities in view of developing or strengthening national asylum/RSD systems.
- Learn how to support the quality review of RSD Assessments in line with UNHCR policies/guidelines related to mandate RSD and endorse RSD decisions as required. - Learn how to provide ongoing coaching as well as training on the inclusion criteria; principles/procedures related to exclusion; cancellation/revocation; international humanitarian law; human rights law; interviewing techniques and credibility assessment/establishing the facts; and legal drafting. - Learn how to provide training to other UNHCR units on the refugee criteria and related issues as needed. - Learn how to assist with developing/enhancing regional and global RSD standards and policies, as required. - Learn how to assist with the design and implementation of operation-specific SOPs for all aspects of RSD operations in line with relevant standards/policies, including UNHCR's AGD policy and Forward Plan, ensuring the prioritisation of persons with specific needs, or, if based in a Regional Bureau, provide support to operations on the above. - Monitor trends and systematically compile statistics related to RSD case processing. - Analyze key indicators of the quality and efficiency of decision-making in RSD processing to assess capacity and resource requirements of operations in the region or the operation to which the RSD Officer is assigned. - Contribute to identifying and preventing fraud in RSD through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR personnel, partners and persons of concern. - Together with competent host authorities and partners, learn how to contribute to developing processes aiming at developing national institutional capacities and the timely identification of international protection needs in line with the GCR and other key planning considerations. - Perform other related duties as required.

☒ Accountability; ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility; ☒ Commitment and Motivation; ☒ Communication; ☒ Creativity; ☒ Ethics and Values; ☒ Integrity; ☒ Judgement and Decision-making; ☒ Knowledge Sharing; ☒ Planning and Organizing; ☒ Professionalism; ☒ Respect for Diversity; ☒ Self-Management; ☒ Technological Awareness; ☒ Vision; ☒ Working in Teams.

or demonstrated interest in refugee law, international human rights and humanitarian law, criminal law, and/or general public international law; application of international legal principles in domestic context; • Working with vulnerable or traumatized individuals;
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded.

Cairo is a family, category A duty station, has good residential areas and offers multiple touristic sites and locations to visit and enjoy. Cairo also offers excellent and frequent air connections to a wide range of international destinations. When it comes to accommodation, food, furniture and clothing, there is variety of choice withs the costs depending on the preferences of the incumbent. International banks and a wide variety of private health facilities are available, even though some international staff members opt to seek specialized medical services abroad. Bilingual and international schools are many, but some colleagues have experienced overt discrimination on the basis of nationality when trying to register their children into certain schools. Some international staff have experienced difficulties importing or exporting private vehicles as the customs-clearance process is cumbersome. Also, some staff members have experienced significant delays in the customs clearance of their personal belongings, leading to high demurrage and storage charges. Heavy traffic, air & noise pollution, and long commuting hours are often mentioned as challenging aspects of living in Cairo.