Grade

GS4

General Service

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

A (least hardship)

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2024-04-01

2024-12-31

March 4, 2024

Standard Job Description

Protection Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Protection Assistant normally reports to a more senior Protection colleague. The incumbent provides functional and administrative support to the protection unit on protection related liaison, correspondence, monitoring, case management and reporting activities.

The Protection Assistant also supports the protection unit in designing a comprehensive protection strategy and in providing quality, timely and effective protection responses to persons of concern (PoC). S/he may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on correspondence and/or protection issues as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Assistant also facilitates the involvement of PoC in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

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
– Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
– Observe and respect protection related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
– Provide functional and administrative support in all protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
– Provide functional and administrative support in implementing participatory approaches, needs assessments, monitoring, reporting and case management.
– Support assessments on durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
– Facilitate liaison with competent authorities for the issuance of personal and other relevant documents.
– Assist in drafting reports, routine correspondence, updating relevant databases and compiling statistics within the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
– Select PoC for preliminary interviews and decide which relevant information to share.
– Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners.

– 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 G4 – 1 year relevant experience with High School Diploma; or Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses
Protection
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential: Not specified.
Desirable: Not specified.

Functional Skills
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
IT-Computer Literacy
(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.

Colombia is the country most impacted by the outflow of over 7.7 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants, hosting over 2.8 million Venezuelans, the majority of whom in the process of regularization. In addition, and despite the 2016 Peace Agreement, conflict and armed violence continue to uproot Colombians (an estimated 1 million people newly displaced by the internal conflict since November 2016) and, in a growing and worrying trend, also Venezuelans and other nationalities. Afro-Colombians and indigenous people continue to be disproportionally affected by large-group displacement events and confinements, particularly in the Pacific Coast. UNHCR and partners work to strengthen preventive actions as well as to respond to emergencies, providing protection and solutions for the people with and for whom UNHCR works.

Over 2.4 million Venezuelans who live in Colombia have registered to benefit from the Temporary Protection Status (TPS), issued by the Government of Colombia in February 2021. The TPS provides a 10-year protection status and access to a full range of rights including healthcare, education, formal employment, and financial inclusion. More than 1.8 million permits have been delivered, however challenges remain in terms of access to rights and services. Xenophobia against Venezuelans persists, as misinformation and the perceptions that Venezuelans will take away job opportunities from Colombians, fuel general discontent. UNHCR supports the TPS roll-out and believes it is a promising pathway for addressing the vulnerable situation of Venezuelan refugees and migrants and continues to work towards durable solutions.

Mixed movements of refugees and migrants continue to increase in the region, including more than 500,000 people transiting through the Darien into Panama and towards Central and North America in 2023; a similar trend is estimated for 2024. UNHCR continues to advocate for the expansion of lawful pathways, including resettlement, that avoid the risk of irregular, dangerous journeys, while, at the same time, preserving the fundamental human right to seek asylum.
Since July 2023, with the support of the Government of the United States, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are co-leading the ‘Safe Mobility’ initiative which opens an alternative for eligible refugees and migrants to be considered for humanitarian and other regular pathways to the United States or other countries that may offer such opportunities.

UNHCR is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, socio-economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization. Furthermore, UNHCR Colombia strongly encourages persons living with disabilities to apply to this position.

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

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Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

Education

Certifications

HCR Learning Program – UNHCR, HCR Protection Induction Prog – UNHCR, HCR Protection Learning Program Statelessness – UNHCR, HCR Protection Learning Program – UNHCR, HCR Thematic Protection Learning Program – UNHCR

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales