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 Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer will be key in operationalizing the strategic vision to align livelihoods and economic inclusion efforts with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which underscores the need to mobilize additional actors and to adopt a whole-of-society approach to strengthen refugee self-reliance and help ease pressure on host countries. Promoting economic inclusion of refugees is a key development area that will enable the achievement of these objectives and contribute to the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Leveraging the growing global momentum, UNHCR is working to translate the objectives of the GCR into impactful results for persons of concern (POC). Contributing to this global roll-out of the GCR, the Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer, with support from the Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion Unit in the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS), works towards the following objectives:
1) improve the enabling environment for refugees to work through advocacy on the right to/at work, access to economic opportunities and service;
2) assist in seeking new and strengthen existing partnerships including with the private sector, development actors, government institutions and specialized agencies to advance economic inclusion of refugees; and
3) enhance ongoing livelihoods and economic inclusion programming through evidence-based and market-driven approaches to improve economic inclusion outcomes.
This UNV assignment is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19 with WHO approved vaccine, unless the UNHCR Medical Service approves an exemption from this requirement on medical grounds.
• Maintain close contact and cooperation with partners to facilitate the economic inclusion of refugees, such as line ministries, private sector and development actors in accordance with UNHCR Global and Country level policies, priorities, and strategies, in particular the Global Compact on Refugees. This includes advocating with public and private sector services providers to include UNHCR POC in supporting services (business development, micro-finance, training, saving accounts, poverty alleviation and social protection, etc.).
• Work with the multi-functional team, more specifically with the Protection Unit, to assess the legal framework for the right to work and rights at work and recommend/implement advocacy initiatives and policy reforms to improve UNHCR POC’s economic inclusion, rights and access to work.
• Build on UNHCR databases to support regular information sharing and coordination among different humanitarian, developmental and governmental stakeholders. This includes supporting the implementation of socioeconomic and wealth ranking surveys utilising community-based strategies to inform targeting, monitoring and facilitation of development programmes.
• Conduct necessary assessments in collaboration with relevant private and public stakeholders, including impact assessments on local economies and surveys that help to identify investment and funding opportunities that enhance the economic inclusion of UNHCR POC.
• In case UNHCR is implementing specific livelihoods activities, strengthen, guide and monitor the livelihoods interventions to help ensure they are market-based, and that the role of UNHCR has been strategically determined in consideration of its comparative advantage vis-à-vis other partners.
As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
• Effective support is provided to the needs assessment and needs analysis of POC in the country in a participatory manner using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective to form a firm basis for planning and in due consideration to the centrality of protection and do-no-harm.
• Support in ensuring that relevant operational partnerships are built and project partnership agreements are established in a timely manner, regularly monitored and reported on in compliance with established guidelines and procedures.
• Effective and timely support is provided to the formulation and implementation of a clear and coherent livelihood and economic inclusion strategy, which incorporates a thorough age, gender and diversity (AGD) analysis, do-no-harm approach, while reflecting the Organization’s global, regional and country level priorities.
• The participation of POC is assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory, rights and community-based approaches.
• Obstacles towards refugee inclusion in labor markets and business identified and strategies to overcome these obstacles developed in partnership with government entities and development actors.
• 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 peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed;