ABOUT THE COMPANY:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, is mandated to protect and assist men, women and children forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict or persecution. UNHCR is dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced and stateless people. The Agency provides protection, shelter, food, water, medical care and other life-saving assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. The dream of most refugees is to return home. If and where possible, UNHCR helps refugees make this dream a reality. When refugees cannot go back home, we work to find solutions for them, to rebuild their lives in another country. Since its formation by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950, UNHCR has helped millions of refugees restart their lives and has received the Nobel Peace Prize twice.

 
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 safe-guard 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 re-turn home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).te

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 conflict in Tigray which broke out in November 2020 between Tigray People’s Liberal Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (EDNF) has had widespread ramifications on the lives of the people in the region and in Shire in particular. The conflict forced the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people to various Woredas in North-western and Central Zones of Tigray. Following the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that was signed in Pretoria in November 2022, 144,000 individuals returned voluntarily facilitated by humanitarian agencies, and 1.5 million individuals spontaneously returned. As per DTM (November – December 2023), there still are about 840,815 IDPs in Tigray. Also, there are 3,100 refugees and asylum seekers in urban setting within Shire area of responsibility in need of different protection interventions.

Field Office Shire, under the management of Sub Office Mekelle in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia, is responsible for 35 IDP sites and urban refugees and asylum seeker in Shire, Sheraro, Axum and Adwa. The refugees and asylum seekers in the urban settings are mainly from Eritrea. The operation is mainly IDP response in cluster approach with few refugees and asylum seekers in Urban settings following closure of refugee camps and relocation of refugees to Alemwach camp in Amhara region. Registration of asylum seekers was suspended in 2020 following the Tigray conflict. It is however anticipated to resume in the near future.

Shire area of responsibility hosts around 500,000 IDPs and more than 3,000. The incumbent is expected to provide functional protection guidance to UNHCR and partner staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. S/he 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 position requires the incumbent to have a demonstrated ability to work in and out of camp setting. Given that the incumbent is expected to be the most senior protection staff on ground in the coming month, S/he is expected to have a strong inter-agency competency. Prior demonstrated experience in community engagement in line with the Field Office strategy to strengthen IDP community self-management is an added advantage. The Associate Protection Officer should have a track record of developing a strong two-way communication with staff, partners, and forced displaced persons.

Task description
Under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
*Through relationships with persons of concern, authorities and network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to senior management.

*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;

*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 other persons with specific needs.

•Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and also IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection;

*Coordinate the implementation and monitoring of programmes ensuring that identified protection needs, including an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach, are adequately addressed;

*Provide policy guidance and operational support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues;

*Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interlocutors; 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);

*Monitor, and assist with the intervention in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners;

*Assist in the coordinated implementation and oversight of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities;

*Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement are sought and provided to the largest possible number of persons of concern;

*Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the necessary resources are allocated to enable protection activities to identify and address protection and assistance gaps;

*Support a consultative process with government counterparts at local levels, partners and persons of concern to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education and SGBV, and solutions approaches;

*Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among populations of concern, authorities and host communities;

*Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities and partners. In operations applying the humanitarian cluster system, 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;

*Contribute to the Protection team’s information management component which: provide disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary;

*Ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are included in, strategies and plans in the country operation;

*Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.

Eligibility criteria
Age
18 – 80

Nationality
Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.

Requirements
Required experience
3 years of experience in refugees and/or other people of concern in a protection capacity required.

• Field experiences is desirable.
• Commitment to help persons of concern and willingness to cooperate with counterparts.
• Knowledge of UN policies and procedures.
• Good analytical skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting.
• Ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential.
• Excellent computer skills.
• Good knowledge of UNHCR’s programmes Demonstrated operational protection field experience in diverse contexts and especially protracted refugee situations.
• Demonstrated experience in protection delivery particularly in community-based protection, Child protection and GBV.
• Experience in durable solutions/comprehensive solutions strategies implementation, stakeholder management and coordination with partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate)
are added advantage.
• Strong interpersonal, advocacy, communication, and change management skills
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national
personnel.

Area(s) of expertise
Crisis and emergency response, Security and protection

Driving license
–

Languages
English, Level: Fluent, Required

Required education level
Bachelor degree or equivalent in Law, International Law, International Relations, Social Sciences, Political Sciences or related field.

Competencies and values
• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNHCR; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNHCR procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;
• Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNHCR in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority;
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues;
• 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;
• 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; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
• Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary;
• Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNHCR’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.