Protection Associate

D

Family Type

Non Family with Residential Location

Family Type

Non Family with Residential Location

Residential location (if applicable)

Accra, Ghana

Grade

GS6

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Remote work accepted

No

Target Start Date

2024-04-01

Job Posting End Date

December 24, 2023

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.

Desired Candidate Profile

UNHCR experience and working in the field is desirable for this position.

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

,

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position

The incumbent individual would be required to provide support to Field Offices and Filed Units under the Sub Office and would support multi-functional teams in other sectors implementing UNHCR’s interventions. act as back-up in the absence of the Senior Protection Officer.

The position will primarily support the Cameroonian response and occasionally the IDP humanitarian response in Benue which is under the Sub Office. S/he will work with the support of two key Nigeria government agencies, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and protection partners: Caritas Nigeria in Cross River State, Foundation for Justice Development and Peace (FJDP) in Benue and Akwa Ibom States, and JRS in Taraba State.

As UNHCR executes its core protection mandate in an out-of-camp and settlement approach the position will entail frequent travels to remote locations along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon

Living and Working Conditions

Ogoja is a duty station with very basic infrastructure as well as leisure and recreational facilities. Only limited health facilities are available locally; Malaria & typhoid diseases are common in the region; temperatures are high for most of the year. Most national staff rent accommodation within the Ogoja town and commute to the office. Staff frequently go on mission travel to the deep Field locations. High stressful work context, therefore capacity for self-care is critical. Ogoja is not connected to most internet services providers making it difficult to communicate domestically and internationally. There are days where there is no network. UN office have a WIFI. There is no functioning courier service which are available only in Calabar or Enugu.

Skills

Additional Qualifications

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Accountability to Affected People – Principles and Framework, PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Asylum related law, policy and procedures, PR-Identification of Special Needs cases among Persons of Concern, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Community Development, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Social Science

Certifications

International Law – Other, Political Science – Other

Work Experience

Competencies

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

UNHCR Salary Calculator

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

Compendium

Additional Information

A written test may be conducted for this position which will be followed by a competency-based interview. Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment processes.

Functional clearance

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance