Job Opportunity at UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, established in December 1950, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees and other persons of concern. UNHCR has helped over 60 million people to restart their lives and works in 130 countries to care for the world’s millions of refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons.
Background
The Senior Protection Associate reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. The position may entail supervisory responsibilities for protection staff including community services, registration, resettlement and education depending on the structure of the Office. 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 Senior 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. The incumbent contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Office externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.
S/he 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.
The Senior Protection Associate reports to the Senior Statelessness Officer. The Statelessness Unit is located within the Protection Operational Support Section of the Regional Bureau’s Protection Pillar. The Statelessness Unit is pursuing the Regional Bureau’s activities relating to nationality, the reduction and prevention of statelessness, the protection of persons who are stateless or of undetermined nationality, and the civil registration and legal identity documentation among all of UNHCR’s persons of concern. In countries of the region without UNHCR presence, the Statelessness Unit is directly responsible for the implementation of UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness and the Global Strategy and Implementation Plan on Statelessness.
As a primary responsibility, the incumbent assists in responding to requests by Country Operations and Multi Country Offices in the region for operational support with regard to the activities indicated above.
In addition, he/she follows up on the daily communications with external partners in all matters relating to areas of activities indicated above. He/she assists in communicating with HQ, in particular the DIP Statelessness Section, to ensure the timely and effective response to HQ’s requests and the regional implementation of global statelessness strategies and implementation plans. In cooperation with the Regional Bureau’s Communications Staff, he/she collects the information for #IBelong campaign updates and transmits the edited input to HQ. He/she facilitates the co-operation with ASEAN’s committees and commissions (in particular AICHR and ACWC) in the areas indicated above. He/she assists with identifying participants for statelessness training activities by UNHCR’s external statelessness partners, and with processing their participation. To achieve his/her objectives, the incumbent cooperates with all relevant units across all three Pillars of the Regional Bureau.
Position Available
Senior Protection Associate (Temporary Appointment)
Job description
- 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 and guidance 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 in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
- 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. – 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.
- 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 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 with intervening with authorities on protection issues.
- Provide assistance to the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
- Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases.
- Perform other related duties as required.
Requirement
Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G7 – 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law; Political Science; or other relevant field.
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified.
Desirable
RSD-Resettlement LP and/or Protection Learning Programme
Functional Skills
IT-Computer literacy
CL-Protection & Solutions Awareness
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
Language Requirements
Fluent in English and Thai
Core Competencies:
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies
Judgement and Decision Making
Empowering and Building Trust
Cross-Functional Competencies
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness
Stakeholder Management