Assistant Field Officer – UNHCR

Job Description

Organization	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Job Title	Assistant Field Officer
Location	El Obeid, Sudan
Hardship Level	E
Job ID	33043
Salary Grade	NA
Family Location Type	Family
Closing Date	02/02/2022

Eligible Applicants

This Job Opening is available to eligible UNHCR staff members and external applicants.

Procedures and Eligibility

Interested applicants should consult the Administrative Instruction on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS). Applicants must be nationals of, and be locally recruited within the country of their employment.

Duties and Qualifications

Assistant Field Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Assistant Field Officer is normally supervised by the Senior Field Coordinator or Field Officer or Head of Sub-Office/Field Office depending on the structure of the Office. S/he may receive indirect guidance from other sections and units relevant to the country/regional programme(s). UNHCR Manual, programme and protection objectives, Operations Plans, UN and UNHCR financial/budgetary rules and regulations will guide the work of the incumbent.

The incumbent does not normally have any direct supervisory role. S/he has daily contacts with staff in the various field offices and with the functional units at the Country/Regional Office. S/he also has close liaison with a range of local civilian and military authorities and counterparts in NGOs and UN agencies to discuss matters of common interest.

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

• Assess the needs of persons of concern in the AoR and formulate project submissions in collaboration with district authorities and implementing partners.
• Promote and monitor the implementation of assistance projects.
• Report regularly on rate of flow of new arrivals and estimate expected influx based on interviews with persons of concern.
• In co-ordination with implementing partners, assist with the reception, registration and provision of assistance to persons of concern to UNHCR.
• Keep track of cases of detention; register applicants for voluntary repatriation and family reunion.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly sectoral reports and submit material for preparation of periodic project monitoring reports and year-end reports.
• Submit recommendation for protection interventions to the designated officer.
• Negotiate with local authority counterparts, partners and populations of concern.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P1/NOA – 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Law Political Sciences or other relevant field.
(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Certificates and/or Licenses

UNHCR Protection Learning Programme
UNHCR Operations Management Learning Programme
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential:

Not specified

Desirable:

Field experience.
Knowledge of refugee law.
Good knowledge of UNHCR¿s programmes.

Functional Skills

• PG-UNHCR’s Programmes
• PG-Stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate)
• PG-Resource planning
• IT-Computer Literacy
• BU-PeopleSoft EPM/Budget
• FI-ERP Financial Management (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Workday and other)
• PG-Programme Management (programme cycles and reporting standards)
• PG-Results-Based Management

(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.

See below for this postion’s Operational Context

ASSISTANT FIELD OFFICER (PROTECTION)
EL OBEID, NORTH KORDOFAN
Operational Context

The ongoing challenges in the Kordofans include effects of deepening economic stagnation, increased inter-communal conflicts, tensions between refugees and hosting communities and new displacements in South and West Kordofan States (SKS, WKS) in particular, which has spilled over to North Kordofan State (NKS). The humanitarian situation in the Kordofans involves a complex mix of asylum-seekers/refugees from South Sudan, and protracted/newly internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Kordofans host an estimated 115,559 South Sudanese refugees, and 336,678 IDPs.  NKS hosts over 10,000 refugees from South Sudan and 41,000 IDPs all living in quasi-urban and out-of-camp locations settings.

The UNHCR Field Unit, located in El Obeid town (capital of NKS), was established in March 2020 to closely monitor the provision of assistance and protection to refugees and IDPs living in the State, and act as a Supply hub for the entire country. The Assistant Field Officer (Protection) reports to the Head of Sub-Office in Kadugli. S/he leads the EL Obeid field team in relation to all protection, assistance, programme, security, administration/office and staff management activities.

As the most senior UNHCR staff member in NKS, s/he is required to liaise with all relevant senior government officials, security organs, the heads of various non-governmental organizations, civilian/tribal leaders/elders, local opinion makers and local media, etc. S/he must also be an effective advocate and assistant to the local authorities in implementing their convention responsibilities in favour of more than 10,000 South Sudanese Refugees, all in out of camp situation scattered in all the 4 localities, as well as in support of IDPs, Returnees, Asylum Seekers and Stateless Persons.

Accordingly, s/he should demonstrate: experience in managing an office in a complex emergency context; a solid protection background and strong skills in negotiation and stakeholder management; proven knowledge of programme management, and familiarity with Supply, HR, Admin and safety/security rules; experience working in mixed IDP, refugee and returnee operations; experience in training, capacity building and coordination; cultural/political sensitivity and an ability to build strong relations with the host community, as well as with different government entities, law enforcement/security apparatuses and service providers; an ability to live and work in isolated areas with an unpredictable security context.

Closing Date

The Closing date for this JO is Feb 2, 2022.