Associate Protection Cluster Officer – UNOPS IICA1  

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

D

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Non Family with Residential Location

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS IICA1

Target Start Date

2024-08-15

Job Posting End Date

August 14, 2024

Terms of Reference

1. Overall context
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 UNHCR North Kivu Operation covers refugee protection, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and affected populations. UNHCR is also the Protection Cluster lead in DRC, and coordinates protection cluster working groups in provinces most affected by the conflict, including North Kivu. The UNV volunteer will provide instrumental support to the coordination of the protection cluster in North Kivu, by assisting the coordinator in fulfilling essential functions of the cluster, in particular with regard to information management, communication with cluster members and other clusters, advocacy and training/capacity building on protection for cluster members and other relevant partners.  
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Cluster Coordinator and the overall supervision of the Head of Sub Office, the UNOPS will undertake the following tasks:

1. Assist the Protection Cluster Coordinator (PC) with a particular emphasis on information management and communication among Cluster members and other relevant partners, as well as training and capacity –building for members and partners. 
2. Interact with PC members and maintain close contact with OCHA for the collection and transmission of periodic reports and documents required, elaborate routines for the timely production of these reports.
3. Ensure liaison with thematic working groups (Area of Responsibility – AoRs) under the PC (SGBV, Child Protection, House Land and Property Issues), as well as Protection working groups /focal points at the territorial Level and national protection cluster to ensure follow-up of recommendations and alerts, input into joint analysis and advocacy initiatives, and into protection strategies.
4. Compile and review thematic information/data from PC members with a view to drafting a consolidate Protection Cluster periodic newsletters on a monthly basis.
5. Assist in the collection of information and analysis of protection data, in the form of reports and/or maps, in particular in view of advocacy with the UN Peace-Keeping Mission on priority protection areas.
6. Alert and consult with nuclear PC members in case of emergency and assist in organizing joint evaluation protection missions.
7. Assist in the research of data and analysis in support to the Protection Cluster advocacy initiatives, organize advocacy for a with relevant target groups as deemed appropriate.
8. Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection.
9. Refer PC recommendations to members and UN Agencies/NGOs concerned and ensure/follow-up their implementation. 
10. Coordinate the development of Protection strategies in context of Pooled Fund process, ensure timely information of PC members of applicable rules and procedures, ensure that submissions are timely received and ensure review of submission as per Pooled Fund procedure.
11. Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concerns are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
12. Ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (civil documentation, in particular birth certificates).
13. Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities, and partners.  Contribute to ensuring that the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in an AGD-compliant strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations. 
14. Support the follow-up of all matters linked to resource mobilization, including the Humanitarian Action Plan.
15. Design, plan and deliver training in coordination with order actors for target audience as per PC recommendations, in particular with regard to protection mainstreaming, age & gender issues, Protection Monitoring and advocacy, follow-up the impact of training in accordance with indicators.
16. Elaborate essential documents for the Cluster, as well as preparatory documents, draft agenda and convene Protection Cluster meetings, and draft meeting minutes.

Results/Expected Outputs :
The Cluster’s analysis of trends, gaps, and response in enhanced based on inputs from all cluster members, including national NGOs, and is reflected in user-friendly documents (including maps).
Routines are in place to ensure the timely and sustainable production of periodic documents of the Protection Cluster.
Training and capacity building activities targeting Protection Cluster members and other relevant partners are implemented.
Data relevant to strategic advocacy initiatives of the Protection Cluster are collected and analyzed.
Essential documents of the Protection Cluster are periodically updated and disseminated (list of members, minutes of meetings, “Who Does What Where” report);
Periodic reports are produced in a timely manner with the input of the Cluster members, including monthly reports to OCHA, and HAP activity reports.
The Protection alerts are recorded, and followed through referral to relevant institutions, including other clusters.
Protection Cluster members are well informed on the Pool Fund mechanism and participate in the development of a joint strategy.
The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment.
A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Qualifications/Requirements (including competencies, values and skills):

A) Qualifications, skills, experience:  

Degree level:   Master’s degree
Type of Degree: 
University degree in Law, International Law, Political Science, or related field.
Years of work experience :   
Minimum 2 years of experience with refugees and/or other people of concern in a protection capacity required.
Experience in information management and communication in Humanitarian and Protection affairs, in particular in the framework of Protection Clusters. Experience with relevant information management tools and software is desirable. 
Field experience in particular of working with persons of concern desirable.
Commitment to help persons of concern and willingness to cooperate with counterparts and partners.
• Good analytical skills ;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting.
• Ability to design, organize, deliver, and evaluate training/capacity building activities.
• Ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential.
Desirable Qualifications and Skills :
• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, as well as of relevant UNHCR and inter-agency policies and guidelines on Protection.
•  Other

Language:   Excellent knowledge of English and French is essential.
Computer skills:  Office Package (excellent knowledge of Word, good knowledge of Excel and Power Point) and Internet browsing. 

Competencies and values :
• Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client oriented.
• Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations.
• Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.
• Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.
• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
• Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary.
• Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance, and commitment towards the UN core values.

Living Conditions:

 Goma is a non-family duty station; international staff live in private accommodations. Goma offers banking services as well as clinics (both public and privates) and one general hospital a swell as a few restaurants and bars.  All sort of Food and nonfood items are available on the market.

Standard Job Description 

Associate Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Associate Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

The Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that persons of concern are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of persons of concern. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

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
– Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
– Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
– Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations.
– Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to persons of concern.
– Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
– Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
– Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
– 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 and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures.
– Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
– Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of persons of concern through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
– Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other persons of concern.
– Participate in the organisation and implementation of participatory assessments and methodologies throughout the operations management cycle and promote AGD sensitive programming with implementing and operational partners.
– Contribute to and facilitate 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.
– Promote and integrate community-based approaches to protection and contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
– Support activities in the area of risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, fraud, case-processing, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level.
– Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
– Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
– Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
– Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
– Enforce compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
– Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.

– 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
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P2/NOB – 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.
Desirable
Field experience, including in working directly with communities. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
MG-Project Management
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
CO-Drafting and Documentation
(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.

Desired Languages 

French

Additional Qualifications 

Skills

CO-Drafting and Documentation, MG-Project Management, PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation, PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement, PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination, PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards, PR-International Humanitarian Law, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political Science

Other information

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No

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