Protection Assistant

Details

Mission and objectives

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).

Context

The Protection Assistant working within the Protection Unit reports to the Associate Durable Solutions Officer. The incumbent provides functional and administrative support to the Protection unit, focusing on supporting the toll-free Helpline.
The Protection Assistant supports the protection unit in providing quality, timely and effective protection responses to forcibly displaced people. He/she may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on correspondence and/or protection issues as guided by the supervisor.
The Protection Assistant supports in the managing of queries from the Helpline, in preparation of schedules for appointments at the Joint Refugee Service Centre (JRSC), and in providing training and capacity building to Helpline staff working at the service provider, currently Calltronix.
The incumbent maintains frequent contacts with his/her supervisor, relevant colleagues within the same Office to exchange information and discuss issues on protection matters, including based on analysis of trends of queries at the Helpline. The Protection Assistant also facilitates the involvement of forcibly displaced people with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Associate Durable Solutions Officer or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Protection Assistant will:
− Under the direct supervision of the Associate Durable Solutions Officer, the UN volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
− Update Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Helpline agents to enable quick responses to queries from POCs.
− Undertake analysis of trends with regards to calls coming to the Helpline.
− Support in scheduling of appointments for persons seeking protection services at the JRSC.
− Helpline Individual Case Management (ICM) related work
➢ Keep track of vulnerable cases in need of inter-unit follow for dispatch to relevant units.
➢ To receive queries on the customer relationship management (CRM) system for Protection delivery, Resettlement, Refugee Status Determination, Community based protection, Education, Livelihoods and Medical Units.
➢ Provide timely responses to asylum seekers and refugees
➢ Liaise with respective Unit’s heads before responding/sharing information with third party callers
➢ Liaise and follow up with other units and camp focal points to resolve queries that are forwarded to them and that require a multi-sectoral approach.
➢ Follow up with other units and camps to ensure that queries referred to them are responded to.
➢ Liaise with partners, Department of Refugee Services and other third parties on forcibly displaced and stateless population related issues.
➢ Contributing to fraud mitigation efforts by forwarding reported incidents to the Risk Management Unit.
– Provide regular updates in progress on actions taken.
– Assist in mitigating fraud by reporting suspected fraud.
– Act as a backup to provide counseling to forcibly displaced people who inquire about their cases through email or telephone call.
– Alert and follow-up on cases with supervisor regarding any relevant protection concerns and subsequent action, including scheduling for documentation, registration, or RSD fast-tracking.
– Capacity building for the agents through training.
– Quality control for the agents. Attend Calibration sessions at Calltronix on a weekly basis.
– Serve as back-up to Helpline Coordinator as necessary
– 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