Information, Counselling and Legal assistance (ICLA) Officer

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

1. Background

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) supports displacement-affected individuals and communities following the crisis in Ukraine, and advocates for their rights in the neighbouring countries.

The NRC Information, Counselling and Legal assistance (ICLA) program in Romania and Rep. Moldova one of NRC’s programmatic areas for its Ukraine response.

The ICLA programme in Romania/Rep. Moldova is focused on the provision of information, counselling and legal assistance services on civil documentation, legal residency, refugee status determination, housing, and employment rights, conducts capacity building activities for relevant stakeholders and advocacy actions, on legal protection aspects.

NRC’s ICLA programme for Romania and Rep. Moldova would also like to capitalize on gains and expertise resulting from its digital transformation journey. ICLA understands that information and communication technology (ICT) should play an increasingly important role in the provision of legal services to beneficiaries. New digital modalities of service provision and interaction with beneficiaries have the potential to increase the reach of the NRC ICLA program, enhance its ability to deliver and overcome access barriers and improve the quality and timeliness of its services. These new service delivery modalities will contribute to NRC’s Global Strategy, and particularly to NRC’s global ambition to “become a leader in using data and technology to deliver better results.”

1. Roleand responsibilities

The role of ICLA Officer is to deliver high quality information, counselling, and legal assistance services within delegated thematic and geographical portfolio.

Generic responsibilities:

1. Ensure compliance with NRC policies, guidelines, standards and donor requirements
2. Ensure compliance with ICLA strategy, tools, handbooks, guidelines and standards
3. ICLA specific technical responsibility for the implementation, quality control, monitoring, project documentation and tracking of financial expenditures for technical activities of ICLA projects and partnerships
4. Provide specific technical support and capacity building towards implementing partners
5. Provide capacity building to relevant humanitarian stakeholders, such as: local institutions, immigration authorities, local and international service providers working on legal aid
6. Provide specific technical analysis and feedback to NRC representatives in coordination forums – replace them in these, upon request
7. Ensure that projects target beneficiaries most in need, and explore and asses new and better ways to assist
8. Supervise and mentor ICLA focal points within partner organisations
9. Contribute to specific protection risks and needs analyses
10. Contribute to designing of protection response to identified risks and needs.

Specific responsibilities

• Facilitate provision of basic information, individual and group counselling about the rights and entitlements of beneficiaries
• Support and mobilise beneficiaries for enabling them to address their legal issues independently
• Provide follow up and direct legal assistance on the issues which cannot be addressed by beneficiaries independently
• Networking with local authorities, NGOs and volunteer organisations
• Introduce ICLA programme through outreach activities
• Identify, analyse and document violations of the rights, propose and advocate remedies
• Contribute to the monitoring and profiling exercises organized and/or participated by NRC
• Cooperate with relevant NRC core competences and support units to develop integrated response to the beneficiaries needs
• Compile narrative and statistical reports in the respective formats
• Ensure proper filing of documents
• Perform any other tasks as requested by ICLA Coordinator or ICLA Programme Development Manager.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A CANDIDATE WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPETENCIES:

1. Competencies

Competencies are important for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

1. Professional competencies

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

• Generic professional competencies:

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

• Proficiency in web-based skills like programming, layout, and content development.
• Legal background or exposure and passion for migration and asylum law and refugee rights
• Fluency in written and spoken English, Romanian, and Russian
• Previous experience in working in complex and high-paced environments
• Familiarity with content development, web design, graphic design, innovation processes cloud-based technologies, digital transformation and digital platforms.
• Understanding and experience in conducting and applying human-centered design processes, using Design Thinking methodologies for the strategic development of solutions, working in collaboration with teams, relevant entities and beneficiaries.
• Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:
• Expertise on legal and administrative frameworks in Rep. Moldova regulating the asylum process, migration matters, access to employment, and others.
• Experience in management and publication of legal content in a manner suitable for online platform and social media.
• Experience in organizing online campaigns and marketing efforts to introduce the platform to the target population.
• Comfortable working remotely within a geographically distributed team.
• Ability to present ideas, concepts and products to internal and external stakeholders.
• Advanced analytical skills and problem-solving attitude.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Behavioral competencies

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioral competencies and the following are essential for this position:

• Strategic thinking: Demonstrates future orientation and long-term vision; thinks methodically and on a global scale; sets a high standard for solutions.
• Planning and delivering results: Takes initiatives and sees things through to completion; anticipates problems and solves them, can operate with little to no direction.
• Coping with change: Adopts a flexible and responsive mindset; comfortable with uncertainty; can adapt plans quickly.
• Working with people: A team player by nature; able to build bridges across silos; defaults to sharing and supports colleagues in achieving their goals; focuses on solutions rather than obstacles.