Associate Child Protection Officer, JPO, Jijiga

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
UNHCR is committed to the effective protection to children of concern, with children representing more than half of the persons falling under its mandate. UNHCR adopts a rights and community-based approach to address the protection needs of children, with a strong emphasis on inclusion within national child protection, child friendly procedures and working with other sectors to protect children including education. Child protection is recognized as global organizational priority for UNHCR. Dedicated child protection positions are needed to provide technical support to improve UNHCR’s operational capacity to deliver effective protection to children, adolescents and youth of concern.
The Associate Child Protection Officer is a member of the protection team in a Country or Sub-Office, under the direct supervision of a Child Protection Officer or a Protection Officer. The incumbent has direct supervisory responsibility for child protection staff. S/he provides functional child protection oversight to information management and programme staff. The incumbent works directly with communities and children of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The Associate Child Protection Officer will be primarily responsible for supporting the strengthening of the child protection services through technical support, capacity building and strategic planning in line with UNHCR child protection policies and standards. S/he may also provide functional supervision to UNHCR staff implementing best interests procedures.

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
Needs Identification, Strategy and Advocacy
– Contribute, under the overall guidance of the supervisor, to the formulation of child protection key considerations in multi-sectoral and protection specific assessments and monitoring.
– Provide effective and timely support to the formulation and monitoring of a clear and coherent child protection strategy as part of the operation’s broader Protection and Solutions Strategy.
– Ensure compliance with UNHCR’s child protection policy, priorities and commitments, as well as other aligned policies on age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP), GBV, gender equality, disability and youth empowerment.
– Contribute to assessment of the capacity of national child protection system and services, the inclusion of children of concern into national child protection laws, policies and services and strengthening the capacity of the national child protection system to provide quality support to children of concern.
– Support child protection data collection, analysis and dissemination within UNHCR and partners.
– Assist in defining context-appropriate approaches for a meaningful participation of children, adolescents and youth in the development and implementation of strategies that address key child protection priorities.
– Support the supervisor in evidence-based advocacy with UNHCR senior management, authorities and other actors on child protection.

Programme planning and implementation
– Contribute to the design and implementation of child protection programmes, including multi-sectoral activities based on identified needs and in line with Child Protection Strategy and UNHCR’s global, regional and national policies and standards.
– Contribute to the effective implementation of Best Interests Procedure by UNHCR and partners for timely support for children at heightened risk including supervision of UNHCR case management staff in line with UNHCR Best Interests Procedures Guidelines.
– Contribute to the development/update and implementation of Child Protection Standard Operating Procedures in collaboration with partners and other sectors, particularly GBV, Education, Cash-based Interventions and MHPSS.
– Support implementation of child protection information management systems in accordance with UNHCR’s Policy and procedures and interagency child protection information management standards and agreements.
– Support community-based child protection programmes based on thorough understanding of the community structures, capacity and needs and in collaboration with Community-Based Protection colleagues.
– Assist in monitoring the implementation of UNHCR and partners’ child protection programme and recommend corrective actions, if required.
– Provide technical support to UNHCR colleagues to effectively mainstream child protection in UNHCR’s overall response
– Make recommendations for planning, programming, and monitoring of human and financial resources for child protection activities.
– Provide functional guidance to UNHCR and partner staff involved in child protection activities.
– In collaboration with UNHCR colleagues, contribute to ensuring that UNHCR procedures, including registration, refugee status determination, solutions and accountability mechanisms are child-friendly and are in line with AGD approach.

Partnership and coordination
– Assist in establishing and/or strengthening strategic and innovative partnerships for Child Protection with community-based, local, national, and international organizations, with a focus on ensuring continuity and sustainability.
– Support UNHCR staff responsible for leading or participating in the coordination of child protection.
– Contribute to mainstreaming and integrating child protection considerations into other sectors.
– Contribute to interagency monitoring and reporting on child protection issues and programmes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
– Assist in identifying training needs of UNHCR, Government and partner staff in the area of child protection, and development of learning plans.
– Participate in initiatives to build capacity of authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
– Assist in providing functional guidance to UNHCR and partner staff involved in child protection activities
– Identify and document lessons learnt and good practices.

– 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

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
International Law, Human Rights, International Development,
International Relations, Anthropology, Social Work,
Gender Studies, Political Science, Social Science
or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
– At least 1 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of protection of children, broader protection or social work involving children and youth, with knowledge of issues relating to child protection, education, gender, humanitarian and development issues, and GBV prevention and response.
– Applied experience in child protection prevention and response. Demonstrated knowledge of and implementation of multi-sectorial child protection prevention and response programming.
– Knowledge of protection in forced displacement settings and knowledge and demonstrated use of UNHCR and Interagency child protection tools and guidance.
– Skills and experience in interviewing and working with children and families including on case management of at risk children.

Desirable
– Knowledge of the international legal and policy framework governing refugees, asylum seekers and returnees and IDPs.
– Knowledge and good understanding of the UNHCR Best Interests Procedures Guidelines.
– Experience in working with children, adolescents and youth and participatory child friendly approaches.
– Excellent interviewing, counselling, drafting and analytical skills.
– Experience implementing child protection case management and/or implementation of best interests procedures.
– Experience working with partners.
– Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of position and/or interagency child protection learning programme.

Functional Skills
*PR-Child Protection Prevention and Response Programming
CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
CO-Cross-cultural communication
IT-Computer Literacy
PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Child Protection Case Management and Best Interests Procedures
PR-Child Protection Information Management System
TR-Training – Virtual and face to face
(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.

Desired Candidate Profile

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, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) 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.

Accountability
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.

Responsibility
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 SGBV 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.

Authority
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.

Education required:
Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field.

Work experience required:
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.

Skills required:
-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
International Refugee Law
Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Coordination
Projects management
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
International Humanitarian Law
Protection and mixed-movements
Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Operations & IDPs Status/Rights/Obligation
Climate change and disaster related displacement
Community-based Protection
Drafting, Documentation, Data Presentation

This job is advertised in the frame of the JPO Programme and reserved exclusively to candidates with nationality of the United States of America.

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

English

,

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

Nature of Position:

Living and Working Conditions:

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community, CO-Cross-cultural communication, IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Child Protection Case Management and Best Interests Procedures, PR-Child Protection Information Management System, PR-Child Protection Prevention and Response Programming, TR-Training – Virtual and face to face

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Anthropology, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Gender Studies, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Human Rights, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Development, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Relations, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Social Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Social Work

Certifications

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

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

Compendium

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance