Project Coordinator for the Advancing Refugee Protection and Rights in SEA through Legal Empowerment (ARPR)

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Project Coordinator for the Advancing Refugee Protection and Rights in SEA through Legal Empowerment (ARPR)

About Asylum Access

We are human rights advocates who support forcibly displaced individuals and communities as they reclaim their rights, agency and power.

Our unique combination of legal empowerment, policy advocacy and global systems change creates conditions in which refugees can live safely, move freely, work legally and go to school. Our work transforms the traditional approach of endless humanitarian handouts to a sustainable solution that honors refugees’ freedom, dignity and autonomy, and equips them to make choices about their own lives.

Asylum Access’ global team and family of local civil society organizations advocate to make human rights a reality for refugees throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our national organizations are led and staffed primarily by community members in those countries, and there is strong mutual trust and respect between us and our clients. On the international stage, we work with established institutions to shift the global system to better uphold and promote refugees’ human rights. We can help catalyze and lead systemic transformation because, uniquely among NGOs in the refugee response sector, we focus exclusively on rights and governance.

Project Description

Advancing Refugee Protection and Rights in SEA through Legal Empowerment (ARPR) Project is a three-year project which entails to contribute to greater recognition of and respect for the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in Thailand, Indonesia and the region, through action-oriented analysis of the effectiveness of legal empowerment programs and recommendations for legal and policy reform.

The specific objectives of the Project are as follows:

1. Analyze the existing laws and legal mechanisms available to, and the baseline of legal empowerment among, refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, with a view to informing law, policy and legal empowerment programs.
2. Analyze the effectiveness of legal empowerment programs targeted at refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in improving legal literacy, facilitating community mobilization, and strengthening refugee-led advocacy to access justice and protection, in particular for women, girls and other marginalized groups.
3. Conduct a comparative analysis of the legal empowerment programming outcomes in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in facilitating access to justice and protection for refugees and asylum seekers, in particular for women, girls, and other marginalized groups, with a view to developing and disseminating recommendations for strengthening legal empowerment programs in the region.

Position Description

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for the overall implementation, coordination and management of the ARPR Project, ensuring program implementation with quality and cost effectiveness. The Project Coordinator will ensure that the project can deliver key activities on time and meet targets and objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Project Management (70%)

• Manage the implementation and development of the technical and administrative aspects of the project;
• Oversee project expenditure and hold budget management responsibility for the project, including monitoring budget vs expenditure, ensuring that costs are allocated correctly and expenditure is happening in line with the plan;
• Lead on developing and revising the project management tools on timely basis;
• Ensure that internal and external reporting requirements are met, including donor reports, in line with the required format and with review and input from relevant staff and Grant Manager ;
• Ensure that project progress is effectively monitored through the regular collection and analysis of key indicators and ensure that processes and results are proper documented;
• Work closely with the Executive Director and Director of Program to ensure quality implementation.
• Ensure that lessons learnt and success stories from the project are effectively documented and shared;
• Work closely with the Protection Program Coordinator and Community Engagement Coordinator and operational support departments (HR, Operations, Finance) to ensure that key project inputs are understood and delivered in a timely manner;
• Input into the development of future funding proposals and identify opportunities for programming that may develop locally;
• Be the point of contact for the Project with project partners in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Work closely with Policy Advocacy and Communication Coordinator on policy advocacy and public campaign for law reform.
• Ensure appropriate and effective Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability mechanisms and practices for the project.

Partnership Management and Support (15%)

• Support, ensure capacity sharing of and coordinate closely with AAT’s paralegal and refugee leadership team implementing key components of this project;
• Plan and organize regular meetings with the local partners to draw lessons, share experiences and monitor progress of the project, supporting partners to collate good practices and evidence for showcasing at regional and global forum;
• Coordinate with project partners from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia at regional level

Representation and coordination (internal and external) (15%)

• Ensure effective coordination and collaboration with key stakeholders and partners which includes civil society organizations, community groups, UN agencies and government counterparts at national and regional level;
• Participate in coordination and technical meetings at national and regional level;
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate in regular AAT Team meetings providing inputs into overall AAT strategy development, program implementation

Reports to: AAT Director of Program

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree on social science, human rights law or relevant area
• 3-5-year experience in project management.
• Good understanding on refugee situation in Thailand with sound knowledge of international standard of refugee conventions and human rights
• Sound knowledge of office practices, procedures and administrative systems including filing systems. Competent in use of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Google.
• Ability to track and monitor a budget.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with an eye for detail and fluent in English

Preferred Qualifications

• Work experience in one or more of the following issues would be an asset: refugee empowerment, law reform, legal empowerment, research work, capacity sharing
• Experience in a similar role, preferably within the NGO sector
• Experience in project coordination, in particular experience in ensuring key deliverables are produced on time
• Experience in project design and development
• Sound judgment and an ability to effectively prioritize multiple tasks in a constantly changing environment.
• Ability to adopt a pro-active approach and offer solutions as appropriate.
• Experience of planning and organising meetings and events, with a strong attention to detail.
• Proven ability to work effectively at country and regional level gaining trust and confidence with both internal and external stakeholders, and in particular senior stakeholder management in a highly political environment.
• Ability to liaise and communicate effectively with a broad range of people at all levels, across different cultures and to act with credibility, discretion, tact and diplomacy both within and without the organisation.
• Maintain a calm disposition and positive outlook particularly when working under pressure.
• Strong team player.
• Self- motivated with ability to work autonomously.
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of Asylum Access.

Salary and Benefits

The ARPR Project Coordinator will receive a monthly payment of THB 50,000 per month.

Hours and Location of Work

The ARPR Project Coordinator is a three-year contract to be renewed on an annual basis. The position is based in our offices in Bangkok, Thailand, working 40 hours per week. Candidates should be aware that some flexibility regarding working hours is required in order to take off-hour calls and meetings with colleagues at HQ, clients, and different networks.

Asylum Access is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We value the expertise of those who have experienced displacement, and encourage people with such lived experience to apply.

For more information about our organization, visit www.asylumaccess.org.