Protection Associate

E (most hardship)

Non Family

Non FamilyDanger Pay

GS6

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

No

2024-01-18

February 4, 2024

Protection Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Protection Associate normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.

The Protection Associate is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC) and identify opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards in operational responses in all sectors. S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and liaises externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Associate also ensures that PoC are involved 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
– Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
– Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
– Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.
– Provide advice on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
– Assist in conducting eligibility and status determination for PoC.
– Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
– Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
– Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
– Monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
– Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
– Assist in identifying durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
– Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
– Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on PoC and their problems.
– Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
– Assist the supervisor in prioritizing PoC for interview, counselling and propose protection support for individual cases.
– Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of local implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
– Assit the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
– Submit individual payments request for PoC for approval.

– 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

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G6 – 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law, Political Science
or other related field
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified

Desirable
Protection Learning Programme

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

1. Demonstrated working experience with persons in displacement settings with a particular focus on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) within an Interagency humanitarian architecture
2. Proven competencies in preparation of and delivering presentations and training facilitation skills
3. Demonstrated competencies on adequate integration of gender analysis, planning and actions to ensure needs, priorities and capacities of women, girls, men and boys are considered in humanitarian planning, programming and response
4. Proven experience in coordination with multiple stakeholders including with government counterparts and other relevant authorities in a humanitarian inter-agency context.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to sit for an elementary written test, and only the candidates who pass the test will be called for the oral interview. Scores of the written test will not be combined with the overall scoring.
When completing the application, candidates are required to list all their language skills – including their mother tongue. The three broad levels are A1/A2 (“Basic User”), B1/B2 (“Independent User”), and C1/C2 (“Proficient User”).

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

Nature of Position:

UNHCR Sub Office Homs covers Homs and Hama governorates, as well as part of southern Idleb, and delivers protection assistance and services through community-based protection activities aimed to enhance prevention of and response to protection risks and identify appropriate entry points for supporting community-based mechanisms.  Through community centers run by NGO partners, UNHCR provides a range of integrated protection services, including legal aid, support for civil documentation and HLP issues, PSS, education, child protection services, GBV prevention and response, primary health care and livelihoods, among others. In addition, UNHCR is the lead agency of the Protection Sector inter-agency coordination mechanisms.

The Protection Associate works under direct supervision of the Assistant Protection Officer and undertakes regular field visits to provide support on capacity building initiatives, including on GBV case management, safe disclosure, referrals, and compliance with all protection standard operating procedures for GBV including the coordination of quality prevention and risk mitigation interventions as well as safe and ethical data collection and analysis of GBV trends.  Furthermore, the incumbent will represent the Sub Office in coordination meetings of the GBV working group, actively contributing to and following up on UNHCR’s commitments within the GBV working group chaired by UNFPA. Acting as a focal point for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), the Protection Associate operationalizes related policies in the operational context. This entails offering dedicated technical assistance to partners, designing, and conducting targeted capacity building activities for UNHCR staff, and other stakeholders, including government entities. The role extends to producing and disseminating pertinent technical guidance, tools, and resources.  To accomplish these tasks effectively, the incumbent must establish and maintain effective interfaces with the with the people for whom UNHCR works, local authorities, and protection and assistance partners within the overall objective of ensuring a comprehensive and impactful approach to protection initiatives in the Sub Office’s operational area.

Living and Working Conditions:

 

Additional Qualifications

Skills

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

Certifications

International Law – Other, Political Science – Other

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

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

Compendium

Additional Information

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance