Protection Associate at UNHCR

Grade

GS6

 

General Service

 

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

 

B

 

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2024-08-01

 

2024-12-31

 

July 15, 2024

 

Standard Job Description

Protection Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Protection Associate normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. 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 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. S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and liaises externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Associate 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.

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 advice 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.
– 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.
– 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.
– 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.
– 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 in prioritizing PoC for interview, counselling and propose protection support for individual cases.
– Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of local implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
– Assit the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
– Submit individual payments request for PoC for approval.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G6 – 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law, Political Science
or other related field
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified

Desirable
Protection Learning Programme

Functional Skills
IT-Computer Literacy
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
(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.

 

Operational Context
UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

In Zambia, UNHCR supports the Government of Zambia to provide an enabling protection environment that allows asylum seekers, refugees and former refugees to be protected, be self-reliant and achieve durable solutions.
Zambia has adopted a comprehensive refugee response approach as envisioned by the New York Declaration of 2016 and the Global Compact on refugees of 2018, which guide the country’s refugee and asylum response. The framework envisages an all-of-society approach with solid investment and support from the international community to meet both immediate life-saving humanitarian needs and long-term solutions through development action.
As of end of June 2024, Zambia hosts some 102,654 Forcibly displaced persons (75,980 Refugees; 9,008 Asylum seekers and 17,666 Former refugees – Others of Concerns) in three refugee settlements (Mayukwayukwa, Meheba and Mantapala) and other urban areas including Lusaka. The vast majority of them live in the three refugee settlements, namely Mayukwayukwa (26,174), Meheba (41,922), the newly established settlement in Mantapala (8,333), and in urban locations (25,725).

The Government of Zambia (GRZ) coordinates the asylum and refugee management through the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees (COR) in close collaboration with other government departments and the inter-governmental steering committee established for this purpose, with the direct support of UNHCR.

UNHCR in Zambia has two field offices (one in Solwezi and one in Kawambwa) and one Representational Office in Lusaka.

Desired Candidate Profile
The Protection Associate should preferably hold a university degree in a relevant field such as Social Sciences, Political Science or International Law. Excellent English language proficiency and drafting skills are essential.
The incumbent should have demonstrated coordination skills, time efficiency, ability and readiness to work in a fast-paced work environment and meet deadlines. He or she will preferably have experience of organising and leading initiatives that integrate protection safeguards tailored to the needs of forcibly displaced populations or other vulnerable groups. The incumbent must have demonstrated experience in liaison with external authorities, including governmental and non-governmental partners, communities of concern, local authorities and both protection and assistance partners to understand, advocate and negotiate on behalf of UNHCR and the populations it serves. Candidates with prior experience working with refugees and an understanding of refugee concerns and challenges are preferred.
The incumbent should demonstrate capacity to analyse and interpret complex legal and policy documents related to international protection and human rights and ability to apply these analyses in the field context.
As to core competencies, the incumbent should demonstrate the ability to make timely and sound decisions in rapidly changing situations, the ability to uphold the ethical standards of UNHCR, and to exhibit a high level of sensitization towards cultural diversity and the ability to work effectively in a multi-cultural and multiethnic environment.

Nature of Position
The Protection Associate is a critical member of the Protection Unit at UNHCR’s Lusaka Branch Office, reporting to the Protection Officer and under the overall guidance of the Senior Protection Officer who leads the Unit. The Protection Associate assists the office in implementing all aspects of UNHCR’s protection mandate, engaging in prevention and response to protection issues, providing advice, and liaising with competent authorities to ensure compliance with protection mandates regarding forcibly displaced people and those at risk of statelessness.

The Protection Associate will engage in various operational activities, including vulnerability and protection needs assessments, facilitating protection panels with partners, supporting detention monitoring, influencing law and policy, conducting eligibility and status determination interviews, and intervening in cases of refoulement, expulsion, and other protection incidents. The Protection Associate will play a vital role in identifying protection gaps and needs, conducting vulnerability assessments, identifying those refugees with specific needs and recommending tailored protection interventions in collaboration with government authorities. In addition to supporting child protection efforts, conducting Best Interest Assessments (BIAs) for children, and participating in initiatives to strengthen national protection legislation and procedures, a key aspect of the role involves identifying and recommending durable solutions for individuals, whether through return to their country of origin, local integration in the country of asylum, or a third country solution. The Protection Associate will be instrumental in facilitating these processes, ensuring that refugees are central to decision-making processes affecting their lives and future possibilities.

The incumbent will also lead efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and support the strengthening of Accountability to Affected People (AAP) including through training for staff and partners. Following the participatory assessment conducted by UNHCR in 2023, and based on feedback from refugees, the Protection Associate will support efforts to further enhance outreach counselling initiatives. These initiatives aim to identify vulnerable individuals and explore durable solutions, increase proactive case identification for possible resettlement needs, and maintain established outreach centers and a transit center as accessible points for community members to voice concerns, seek assistance, and provide feedback directly to UNHCR representatives.

The role demands coordination of quality, timely, and effective protection responses to the needs of forcibly displaced populations but also the integration of protection safeguards across all operational sectors. The Protection Associate is expected to monitor and elevate protection standards, operational procedures, and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards. The Protection Associate will contribute significantly to the implementation of the operation’s protection strategy and actively liaise with external authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.

 

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

 

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Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

Education

Certifications

International Law – Other, Political Science – Other

 

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Candidates will be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview