Protection Cluster Co-Coordinator

The Danish Refugee Council is a leading protection agency pursuing our mandate to protect and promote durable solutions to displacement and conflict affected populations based on humanitarian principles and human rights. In Latin America, DRC has a regional approach to respond to the protection crisis in Latin America with regional interventions and country operations in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. DRC is present in Venezuela since 2020 and currently provides protection and humanitarian assistance in Zulia, Apure, and Sucre. Focused both on generalized violence and mixed population movements, DRC provides assistance in key three sectors: Protection, Economic recovery (including food security and livelihood) and Emergency response.

About the job

The Protection Cluster Co­-coordinator will work in collaboration with the UNHCR-appointed Coordinator – as the lead agency responsible for the overall implementation of the cluster coordination role in accordance with IASC guidelines on cluster leadership and accountability to: a) strengthen effective management of the cluster; b) improve the representation of NGOs and other key stakeholders, including civil society organizations; and, c) reinforce the accountability of the humanitarian response towards the cluster’s people of concern.

The Co­-coordinator will support the Protection Cluster Coordinator to with the overall coordination of the Venezuela Protection Cluster in line with its ToRs and Strategy and alongside Areas of Responsibilities (AoRs). The Cluster co-coordinator will ensure that the coordination efforts translate into a more efficient protection response that leads to concrete improvements on the lives of the most vulnerable Venezuelans.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordination of the Protection Cluster and related working groups
• Support and promote the participation of the partners by engaging them bilaterally and multilaterally
• Liaise with and coordinate with GBV and Child Protection AoRs regarding all processes and activities under the Cluster
• Actively contribute to the proper coordination of all working groups under the Protection Cluster (WGTiP, WGAD, ADWG)
• Support the establishment and maintenance of effective coordination mechanisms and tools, including for the purpose of information and data management in close collaboration with, among others, the Cluster staff
• Impulse qualitative protection analysis through the correct implementation of the Protection Analysis Framework and Legal Aid Analysis Framework
• Support the compilation of information and draft reports and briefs on protection concerns for sharing with partners, the HCT, the Global Protection Cluster (GPC), and donors
• Ensure that cluster analysis and priorities are adequately reflected in humanitarian country strategies and plans, e.g. Humanitarian needs overview (HNO) and the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP)
• Ensure strong cluster participation, including of international and national NGOs, in the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund (VHF) pooled funding process

Accountability to Affected Populations

• Based on assessed protection vulnerabilities, needs and gaps, develop or update agreed upon response strategies and action plans for the Cluster and ensure that these are adequately reflected in overall country strategies
• Ensure that Cluster participants are aware of relevant policy guidelines, technical standards and relevant commitments under international humanitarian and human rights law;
• Promotion of protection mainstreaming
• Ensure the integration of protection considerations in sectorial needs assessments, analysis, planning, monitoring and response; ensure genders sensitive programming and promote gender equality;
• Ensure that the needs, contributions and capacities of women, girls, men, and boys of all background are reflected in partners’ programming.
• Support the development and/or harmonization of protection risk criteria for targeted assistance.
• Support the GBV AoR with respect to its participation in the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Network.

Training and capacity building

• Promote and support training of humanitarian partners and other cluster members to improve the quality of protection response as well as the mainstreaming of protection into multi-sectorial responses.
• Together with the Cluster Coordinator, identify gaps in current cluster member capacities and opportunities for the roll-out of targeted capacity building activities. To that end, design, facilitate and/or deliver protection trainings, including tools and methodology for protection mainstreaming in emergency response and protection needs assessment, to Protection partners and across sectors, to ensure adherence to relevant standards and guidelines.
• Support the elaboration of SoPs and technical guidelines to improve quality in the response of protection partners.
• Alongside the Coordinator and the Cluster and AoR’s IM teams, support proper reporting on the protection activities and functioning of information management system for the protection cluster (5W).
• Coordinate efforts to harmonize protection monitoring tools at country level among protection monitoring actors.
• Support the harmonization of protection assessment formats in consultation with cluster member organizations and impulse joint protection assessment for the regular protection analysis.
• Support adequate reporting and effective information sharing, with due regard for age, gender and diversity (AGD) disaggregation.
• Streamline methods to share information including reports with partners, as well as to be submitted to OCHA and UNHCR (including weekly updates, bulletin, website, etc.).

Advocacy and resource mobilization

• Identify core advocacy concerns for the Protection Cluster through consultative processes, including resource requirements.
• Contribute to the development of key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HCT and other relevant actors and support local interventions when violations of international standards and principles occur.
• Ensure the Protection Cluster’s adherence to international humanitarian and international human rights laws and instruments, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and other relevant instruments.

Experience and Technical Skills

• At least 5 years proven experience working on protection or rule of law related issues in humanitarian environments, including provision of technical advice to field teams. Previous experience working within the cluster system, preferably in crisis contexts.
• Excellent understanding of protection issues in emergency situations and detailed knowledge of protection and humanitarian principles, guidelines and laws, as well as the humanitarian architecture.
• Excellent leadership, coordination, communication, capacity building, planning and analytical skills.
• Excellent advocacy and representation skills including the development of strong interpersonal relationships to facilitate communication within the cluster.
• Self-­motivated and excellent understanding of protection issues in the country;
• Fluency in Spanish and English (spoken and written) is a must.
• Experience in development of policy, strategies, and humanitarian responses in protection sector.
• Proven experience with protection monitoring, as well as legal identity documentation
• Experience in analysis of protection information, preferably within the cluster system

Required education

• Master’s degree in Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Forced Migration, Refugee Law, or any other relevant field.

We offer:

• Designation of Duty Station: Caracas
• Non family duty station and non-accompanied (Expat Contract) – National contracts allign the local law
• Accommodation: Individual Housing Allowance (Expat Contract) – National contracts allign the local law
• Start date: February 2024
• Contract Length: 12 months renewable depending on funding and performance (Expat Contract) – National contracts allign the local law
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment: Level F – Non manager.

Application process: Applications must be submitted through this page by clicking Apply button. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than two 2 pages) in English. No application sent by email will be accepted. For information about the position, please contact DRC Country Director [email protected] – or DRC HR Team Leader [email protected].

Closing date for applications: January 21th, 2024. Please note that the applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.