Associate Protection Officer – UNHCR

Job Description

Organization	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Job Title	Associate Protection Officer
Location	Khartoum, Sudan
Hardship Level	C
Job ID	32743
Salary Grade	NB
Family Location Type	Family
Closing Date	06/01/2022

Eligible Applicants

This position is advertised open to Group 1, Group 2, if applicable,  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

Associate Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Associate 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 Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, 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 persons of concern 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 persons of concern. 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.
• Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations.
• Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to persons of concern.
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern 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 to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach.
• Contribute to a country-level education plan.
• Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures.
• Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
• Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of persons of concern 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 persons of concern.
• Participate in the organisation and implementation of participatory assessments and methodologies throughout the operations management cycle and promote AGD sensitive programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
• Promote and integrate community-based approaches to protection and contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Support activities in the area of risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, fraud, case-processing, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level.
• Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
• Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
• Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
• Enforce 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 P2/NOB – 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant 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

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

Relevant Job Experience

Essential:

Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.

Desirable:

Field experience, including in working directly with communities. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills

*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
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
(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

The political context in Sudan remains complex, diverse, and fast-changing necessitating high levels of political sensitivity and solid coordination and communication skills. The operations in Sudan includes emergency response, regular refugee programmes, IDP support (emergency, durable solutions), voluntary repatriation, statelessness, mixed movements, and special projects such as for example peacebuilding support funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund. UNHCR Representation in Sudan has presence in five main regions of Darfur, Kordofan, East Sudan, White Nile, Blue Nile and Khartoum. The Representation Office in Khartoum provides the overall strategic guidance and implementation of the operations, security, policies, and liaison with key Government stakeholders, donor communities, UNAMID/UNITAMS, UNCT/HCT and NGO partners. The Representation Office in Khartoum provides an oversight of activities in Sudan being supported by 15 offices; four Sub Offices, eight Field Offices and three Field Units.

Under the direct supervision of the Snr Protection Officer, and in close coordination and cooperation with field offices across Sudan, the incumbent will be based in Khartoum and will fulfil UNHCRs mandate and associated obligations. The Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, provide legal advice and draft guidance on issues of concern, including in the field of RSD, statelessness, solutions (legal stay, access to work, documentation etc), ensure that operational responses in all sectors are in line with global policies and guidelines. The incumbent will contribute 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 persons of concern 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 persons of concern. 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.

The incumbent is expected to have a pro-active mature attitude and be able to perform well under stress. The Sudan operation is in a state of humanitarian emergency in some areas, while a more solutions-oriented approach is being pursued in the context of the humanitarian-development nexus. The operational environment therefore requires a mature level of cultural awareness and sensitivity.

The incumbent should demonstrate:

Experience in complex emergency operations with a multitude of actors.
Experience in protection programs development and implementation
Versed in drafting of legal analysis and policy guidance, including sound research and analytical skills
Knowledge of refugee protection principles and framework.
Good knowledge of the UN system, its operational procedures and exposure to provision of support services in an International Organization.
Integrity and zero tolerance to SEA/SH.

Living and Working Conditions (Khartoum) 2500 characters

Khartoum is classified as C family duty station. Khartoum features a desert climate (at times very hot and dusty), with only the months of July and August seeing significant precipitation.  Its average annual temperature is about 37.1 °C (99 °F). Particularly, staff with allergy may be affected by the dust. Medical and leisure facilities are limited.  It is possible to find decent houses and apartments with stable water and electricity supply. There are two international schools in Khartoum preferred by UN community which meet the language, cultural, curricula requirements.
Security Level 2 pertains in Khartoum state, however due to the current political situation. Staff sensitivity to Sudanese culture and dress code is very important. Assigned staff needs to have completed the BSAFE module and produce copies of certification in order to obtain UN identification card in Sudan and update the TRIP profile. Driving and traffic in Khartoum poses the greatest threat to staff safety and staff should avoid the use of Tuk-Tuk taxies. Criminality is low in Khartoum but expat accommodation is being targeted. Accordingly, international staff must ensure that their accommodation is Residential Security Measures (RSM) compliant and, if recommended by security assessment, be guarded.

Additional Languages
English Essential
Arabic Essential

Additional Relevant Certificates

Closing Date

The closing is 06 January 2022.