Assistant Protection Officer

General Background 

• The Assistant Protection Officer under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer or Head of Field Office and in collaboration with Protection Team in Cox`s Bazar will provide day-to-day support to UNHCR protection activities on Bhasan Char.
• The incumbent is stationed in Cox’s Bazar. S/he is expected to travel to Bhasan Char on regular and frequent bases for missions that can take several weeks. The position might eventually be transferred to Bhasan Char.
• Bhasan Char is an island currently hosting approximately 35,000 refugees and gradually growing population. UNHCR maintains a field presence to deliver and coordinate activities and services provided to refugees by NGOs and UN agencies. UNHCR leads Protection Sector Coordination at Bhasan Char level as well as at Cox’s Bazar level where most of the agencies have their primary offices. In this regard, the Assistant Protection Officer will play an important role in implementing and coordinating the work of Protection Sector, including Child Protection and GBV, as well as other cross cutting themes such as AAP, Communication with Communities, gender and disability inclusion etc. The Assistant Protection Officer will support Protection Sector coordination work including mapping of protection actors/activities, contributing to the development of protection strategies and specific programs, ensure timely and accurate reporting, etc.
• The Assistant Protection Officer will oversee overall referral system, which is still at the stage of development. In this regard, the incumbent will have to consolidate, analyze and strengthen protection and other cross sectoral referral of individual cases. Moreover, s/he will coordinate individual case referrals received through UNHCR CFM and will ensure timely and effective feedback. The Assistant Protection Officer will provide necessary training to UNHCR and partner staff on referrals.
• The Assistant Protection Officer will work with UNHCR and partners to gather and analyze overall protection information and draft protection monitoring reports, updates and other documents. Furthermore, the incumbent will be actively involved in relocation monitoring: organize data collection for post arrival surveys, analyze data and draft reports.
• Moreover, the Assistant Protection Officer will oversee UNHCR protection partners, including close monitoring of partnership agreements, providing guidance and advice to UNHCR partners. This will include regular monitoring, reporting and planning activities, maintaining close oversight of project implementation progress, coordinate with program and other units to ensure successful and compliant implementation of UNHCR funded activities. Regular guidance, training and support should be provided to national partners on the island in line with UNHCR protection guidelines.
• The Assistant Protection Officer will support the Protection Officer and/or Head of Field Office in overall management of the team, and in particular in the function of leading coordination agency and when necessary represent UNHCR with authorities and external visitors.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment 

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to provide international protection to refugees and to seek permanent solutions for them. In Bangladesh, UNHCR has been working with Rohingya refugees since 1992. Since 25 August 2017, Bangladesh has witnessed the largest refugee exodus in the region in recent decades. More than 930,000 Rohingya refugees currently reside in Bangladesh in two locations: Cox’s Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char.
• In late 2020, the Government of Bangladesh began relocating refugees from the Cox’s Bazar camps to Bhasan Char located about 60 km from the mainland. In October 2021, UNHCR signed an MoU with the Government of Bangladesh to establish a framework in relation to the UN’s overall engagement on Bhasan Char, based on humanitarian and protection principles. As of June 2023 more than 35,000 refugees/8,000 households are residing on Bhasan Char. Among those on Bhasan Char, 51% are female and 49% are male, 56% children, 2% older persons and13% with specific needs. GoB plans to relocate gradually up to 100,000 refugees from Cox’s Bazar.
• UN engagement on Bhasan Char is to support and complement the work of the Government, in charge of the overall response, as well as NGOs who are present and have been delivering critical assistance on the island.  UNHCR is leading overall coordination, as well as leads Protection Sector (including GVB and Child Protection). In close coordination with the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs, UNHCR operation in Bhasan Char works on three strategic protection priorities: 1) Strengthen the protection of refugees in an environment respectful of their basic rights and well-being, 2) : Increase access to protection services, including SGBV and Child Protection; 3) Enhance community and individual resilience (CBP, Education and Livelihoods) through a protection lens and Operationalize Accountability to Affected Population (AAP) Mechanism.

Duties and responsibilities

• 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 protection assessments, 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 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 through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
• 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 for refugees 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.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Monitoring and Progress Controls 

• For NOA – 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1-year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field
• Certificates and/or Licenses -International Law, Political Science or other related field
• Desirable Certificates- Protection Learning Programme

Work Experience 

• 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 demonstrated ability to interpret and apply the relevant legal principles.

Source: https://unhcr.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Coxs-Bazaar-Bangladesh/Assistant-Protection-Officer_JR2445703