Assistant Protection Officer (El Fasher) – UNHCR

Job Description

Organization	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Job Title	Assistant Protection Officer
Location	El Fasher, Sudan
Hardship Level	E (most hardship)
Job ID	JR2329442
Family Location Type	Non Family with Residential Location
Closing Date	19/11/2023

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Assistant Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection, registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

The Assistant Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC), ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that PoC are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of them. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

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 legal advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
• Promote and 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.
• Provide inputs for the development of protection policies and standards within the AoR.
• Implement and 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.
• Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
• Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other PoC.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
• Assist capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
• Assist the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
• Assist the supervisor in enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
• Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
• 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, International Law, Political Sciences
or other relevant field.
(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Certificates and/or Licenses

Not specified;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles

Desirable

Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme.

Functional Skills

• *PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
• *PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
• MG-Project Management
• PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
• PR-International Humanitarian Law
• PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation
• PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
• CO-Drafting and Documentation
• PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
• (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.

Nature of Position:

Sudan has experienced sustained and destructive conflict since 15 April 2023, characterized by wide ranging breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) and large scale displacement. Darfur has been particularly negatively impacted by the escalation of conflict, which has intersected with and exacerbated pre-existing intercommunal tensions.As a result, the already considerable humanitarian needs across Darfur have dramatically increased.Darfur hosts approximately 1,8 million people newly displaced [340,000 in North Darfur] as a result of the ongoing conflict, alongside a significant protracted IDP caseload, often displaced multiple times over the years.The Darfur region also hosts some 185,000 refugees [ 24,000 in North Darfur], mainly from South Sudan, Chad and CAR. They are hosted in camps and (urban) settlements in 4 out of 5 Darfur States. Conflict has impacted on their protection and assistance situation, compelling refugees to displace to safer areas or cross borders. Further displacement in Darfur is anticipated as the security context remains highly volatile and dynamic.

The Assistant Protection Officer (APO) will lead UNHCR’s mandate function for the protection of refugees and the implementation of the IDP footprint, while also supporting the protection officer (based in WD) with the coordination of protection activities for all persons we serve. The focus of the APO will be on registration, legal protection, protection monitoring and contributions to advocacy products in North Darfur working alongside the CBP team and the sector coordination team. In exercising its duties, the APO will support the coordination of the integrated refugee and IDP protection WG, will represent UNHCR in meetings with partners including COR, local authorities, refugee communities. The APO will also back up the Head of Officer or OIC North Darfur and assume representational responsibilities as required.

The APO may represent UNHCR in external fora, and is required to demonstrate good knowledge of UNHCR operations in Darfur. APO will be OIC in the absence of the Protection Officer and/or OIC in the absence of the OIC Head of Sub Office El Fasher. This means that beyond protection, the incumbent is required to represent UNHCR’s mandate and IASC responsibilities.

Living and Working Conditions:

All five Darfur states were under evacuation/self-relocation status for the six months following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023.Static UN presence has not yet been re-established in Darfur, due to the ongoing conflict.The Assistant Protection Officer may be required to work from North Darfur (security context permitting), remotely from other parts of Sudan, or, be requested to back up the mission to eastern Chad to support and participate in cross-border missions into North Darfur.When working remotely, the incumbent must ensure adequate communication and internet access at all hours in order to perform his/her duties.