Protection Adviser-Syria Response Office

Background:

In the Middle East, NRC has over 3,000 staff dedicated to assisting people affected by conflict in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine. Its humanitarian interventions are based upon its programming expertise in the Core Competencies of Shelter, Education, Water and Sanitation Hygiene, Food Security, along with Information Counselling and legal Assistance (ICLA) to forcibly displaced people. The Syrian Crisis is entering it’s eleventh year and humanitarian and protection needs continue to grow inside Syria as a result of the ongoing complex emergency situation in which displacement is both massive and widespread.

NRC’s programming in Syria has a strong protection and resilience focus that ensures integrated programme responses that meet diverse needs of vulnerable populations. In this complex, challenging operating environment in Syria NRC focuses on strengthening the effectiveness of its directly implemented activities and those enabled through partnership with local actors.

NRC Syria Response Office (SRO) requires an experienced Protection Adviser based in Amman, Jordan to ensure that minimum protection standards and core humanitarian principles are mainstreamed, institutionalized and integrated within all programme, support and partner-implemented activities, using the NRC’s Safe and Inclusive Programming Approach. The successful candidate will be a university graduate with at least 5 years’ experience working in the field of protection or human rights, ideally in a complex and volatile humanitarian or recovery context.

Role and responsibilities:

The Protection Adviser is a key part of the Country Office Programme Unit and works closely with the programmes, advocacy, area offices, and field teams. The Adviser will provide advice on humanitarian principles and protection issues in relation to NRC SRO’s current and planned areas of activity in Syria. S/He will support project teams to identify, monitor and reduce protection risks faced by beneficiaries and staff in relation to NRC’s humanitarian programming in Syria by supporting the roll out of NRC’ Safe and Inclusive Programming (SIP, also known as protection monitoring) toolkit. S/He will develop key guidance, tools and deliver training for NRC to address needs and mitigate protection risks. At the same time the Protection Adviser will be responsible for moving forward the NRC SRO protection strategy, increasingly focusing on protection analysis and exploring potential future options for integration in programmes.

Whilst the position is not a member of the NRC SRO Country Management Group (CMG), s/he will be responsible for advising the CMG in principled decision making as required.

Generic responsibilities:

• Adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
• Contribute to Protection strategy development, project proposals and provide input on needs and gaps
• Ensure that projects target beneficiaries most in need of protection, explore and asses new and better ways to assist
• Technically support in the implementation of delegated portfolio of Protection projects (activities, budget and project documentation) as delegated in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements, and ensure high technical quality
• Promote and share ideas for improvement and necessary changes in the activities
• Liaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities and other key stakeholders
• Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy

Specific responsibilities:

• Context Analysis. Provide analysis and advice regarding key humanitarian protection trends and risks and monitor how they interact with NRC’s current and planned activities in Syria,
• Support regular context analysis, including key protection trends on weekly and monthly basis.
• Institutionalise and further develop needed systems, guidance and tools that identify and address safe and inclusive programming risks and needs. Including following up on their implementation with the Head of Programme, the CC implementing teams and other members of the Programme Unit.
• Support the training, capacity building and mentoring of staff on minimum safe and inclusive programming standards and other key protection approaches including primarily: safety, dignity, ‘do no harm’, meaningful access, participation and empowerment, community engagement, conflict sensitivity, inclusion, child safeguarding, PSEA and responsiveness to diverse needs and accountability to affected populations. Ensure capacity building plans are developed and maintained at field, area and country office level to ensure both programme and support staff receive necessary protection trainings and inductions.
• Develop policies and tools and provide technical advice in relation to identifying ‘red lines’ and supporting application of humanitarian principles and protection standards in programme development and implementation.
• Review and contribute to proposals and budgets to ensure that protection mainstreaming is included within programme design and there is adherence to humanitarian principles.
• Humanitarian Principles. Provide guidance and support use of tools to monitor ongoing adherence to humanitarian principles. Advise the NRC SRO Country Management Group (CMG) in relevant decision making fora, as required.
• Strategy Development. Contribute to the development of programme and advocacy strategy and ensure the sufficient consideration of protection trends, risks and mitigation measures at Area Office and Country Office level. Roll out of SRO’s 2022-2025 Protection Strategy.
• Programme Quality. Provide technical advice to the programme and support teams throughout the programme-cycle through review of SIP checklists, PDMs/PSMs and recommendations on bridging identified gaps. This is to ensure adherence to the relevant standards during planning, implementation and monitoring of NRC’s programming. Ensure complementarity of protection with further initiatives aimed at ensuring programme quality.
• Integrated Programming. Support the development of relevant integrated protection programming based on needs whenever possible. Provide guidance and support on people centered approach throughout SRO’s integrated programs (e.g. Al-Hol annex, Dignifying shelter, etc). Including advice on project design, resource mobilization, and outcome monitoring.
• Safe & Inclusive Programming and Protection approaches. The Protection Advisor will continue to support safe and inclusive programming within NRC SRO, through the roll out of toolkits and trainings.
• Grant Processes. Review and provide protection inputs to project/grant processes, including: concept notes, proposals, grant agreements, reports
• Reporting. Contribute to reports, including: situation reports (sitreps), assessments, background/briefing papers, talking points, information memos, and other relevant protection-specific documents relating to NRC’s programmes as required by the Country Director or Head of Programmes.
• PSEA and child safeguarding. Support the roll out of Head Office guidance and capacity building in relation to Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
• Strategy. Ensure the protection strategy is followed and rolled out in SRO, with set reviews of progress and direction conducted with teams during the annual strategic planning process
• Representation. As delegated by the Country Director and/or Head of Programmes, represent NRC in relevant external meetings and coordination fora.
• Line Management and technical line. Direct line management of Country Office Protection Coordinator and technical support to Area level Protection Coordinator and Technical Protection Officers.

Critical interfaces

• Head of Programme;
• Programme Unit members;
• Project implementation teams,
• Country Director;
• Area Managers and Area Programme Managers;
• Field-based Protection Staff
• Advocacy and Policy Advisor
• Middle East Regional Office (MERO) Programme Staff
• Head Office Protection Advisor

Competencies:

Competencies are important in order 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:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in related programming in conflict / post-conflict environments.
• Master’s degree in related field (desirable).
• Strong knowledge and experience of leading protection mainstreaming activities and community engagement approaches
• Knowledge of global protection standards and relevant bodies of international law (international human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law).
• Strong communication skills and ability to build trust and confidently navigate both internally and externally at different levels.
• Ability to think strategically and constructively and to apply these skills in developing policy frameworks and guidelines to support institutionalization of protection mainstreaming.
• Experience in developing and delivering high quality protection-related training and tools to support practical implementation of protection standards
• Experience in working with partners and supporting development of their organisational and programmatic protection capacities.

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of the Syria conflict and the Middle East regional context.

• Willingness to travel, including in insecure environment

• Behavioural 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:

• Working with people
• Analysing
• Empowering and building trust
• Managing performance and development
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Handling insecure environments

Performance Management:

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• The Work and Development Plan
• The NRC Competency Framework

What we can Offer

• Contract period: 12 months (Renewable based on funding and performance).
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC’s salary scale and terms and conditions
• The position has accompanied benefits.
• Duty station: Amman, Jordan.
• The position is open to both National and International Candidates.
• Travel : 20% (Regional Travels)