Protection Associate

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is a global organization protecting people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. We work in over 130 countries, helping millions of people with life-saving support, safeguarding fundamental human rights, and helping them build a better future (see www.unhcr.org).

Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, over 2.8 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Bulgaria and until the end of February 2024, the Government of Bulgaria has granted Temporary Protection to more than 197,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine, of whom the majority are women and children. The Council of Ministers has formed a Task Force for the Ukrainian Refugee Response, focusing on inter-ministerial coordination.

UNHCR under its mandate leads and coordinates the Inter-Agency refugee response for the Ukraine Situation, in alignment with the Regional Refugee Response Plan for the Ukraine Situation (RRP) – co-leading with and in support of the Government. Under the Refugee Coordination Mechanism, UNHCR has established the national refugee coordination forum – along with an inter-agency Cash Working Group (led by UNHCR), an Education Working Group (led by UNICEF), a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Technical Working Group (led by WHO), a Protection and Inclusion Working Group (led by UNHCR), a Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) network (co-led by UNHCR, UNICEF and a local organization) which fall under the inter-agency refugee coordination mechanism. There are currently 19 partners involved in the Refugee Response Plan for 2024.

Additionally, Bulgaria as an external EU border, plays a strategic role in refugee protection within Europe. In 2024, Bulgaria’s State Agency for Refugees (SAR) registered over 9,000 asylum seekers as of September, most from Syria and Afghanistan, which have exceeded the asylum application numbers from 2022. SAR operates six reception centers for the registration, Refugee Status Determination procedures and accommodation of asylum seekers. Amid an increase in arrivals of Afghan and Syrian asylum seekers since 2022, UNHCR supports Bulgaria’s Government to ensure policies and legislation are in line with international and EU standards, and promotes a comprehensive refugee response, grounded in a multi-stakeholder, whole-of-society approach.

UNHCR supports government-led efforts to provide key protection – including legal assistance, information on services, education and psychosocial support – reception and accommodation, as well as the delivery of core relief items for winterization and cash assistance for the most vulnerable groups. UNHCR’s priority protection interventions include access to territory and asylum procedures, inclusion of refugees in state-led programs, Child Protection and Gender Based Violence prevention, risk mitigation and response, support to persons with specific needs, and mitigation of the risks relating to trafficking and other forms of abuse and exploitation.

This UNV assignment is part of UNHCR’s core protection initiative to assess and support the national implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Among other provisions of the Asylum and Migration Pact files, Article 6 of the Asylum Procedures Regulation provides for UNHCR’s access to asylum-seekers and refugees in reception centres and detention and at the borders and transit zones, among other places where they may be. It refers that UNHCR should “have access to information on individual applications for international protection, on the course of the procedure and on the decisions taken, subject to the consent of the applicant; and should be able to present its views, in the exercise of its supervisory responsibilities to any competent authorities regarding individual applications for international protection at any stage of the procedure”. This refers to broader supervisory responsibilities of UNHCR, as contained in its Statute and in Article 35 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and in Article II of the 1967 Protocol, with regards to the protection of refugees, that entails, among others, supporting the Governments to provide protection and solutions for international protection applicants and beneficiaries in line with international law, including as evolved under the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU.

The main tasks and responsibilities of the UN Volunteer will be as follows:

• Stay abreast of the domestic legal issues and pertinent laws regarding forcibly displaced and stateless populations in Bulgaria and assist the Office accordingly.
• Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Provide advice and guidance on protection issues to forcibly displaced and stateless persons; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• 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.
• Assist the supervisor in implementing and monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
• Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and assist the supervisor with intervening in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)-based programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on forcibly displaced and stateless persons and their problems.
• Assist the supervisor with intervening with authorities on protection issues.
• May act as interpreter during meetings with authorities, if required.
• Participate in meetings within UNHCR and with external counterparts at the relevant level.
• Assist in the development of project proposals and project implementation.
• Perform other related duties as required.