Protection Officer

Only candidates who are not nationals of the country of assignment are eligible to apply to this position

Hardship Level

E (most hardship)

Family Type

Non Family with Residential Location

Residential location (if applicable)

Nairobi (CO), Kenya

Grade

PR3

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

Professional

• Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff member’s country of nationality.

In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Remote work accepted

No

Target Start Date

2024-01-01

Job Posting End Date

December 21, 2023

Standard Job Description

Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

In the Bureaux, the Protection Officer works under the direct supervision of the Senior Protection Coordinator or Senior Protection Officer. In the Field, the incumbent normally reports to the Representative, Deputy or Assistant Representative (Protection), Head of Sub Office or Senior Protection Officer as appropriate. The incumbent may have direct supervisory responsibility for protection staff whose work may include RSD, community-based protection, registration, resettlement, complementary pathways, internal displacement and education, among other areas. In HQ, the incumbent may report to a Senior Protection Officer, Chief of Section or Deputy Director and may supervise other protection staff.

The incumbent acts as an advisor to senior management in, when not responsible for, designing a comprehensive protection strategy under the area of responsibility (AoR). S/he represents the Organization to authorities, UN sister agencies, partners and other stakeholders on protection policy and doctrine.

The Protection Officer coordinates quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern under the AoR. S/he ensures that persons of concern of all age, gender and diversity groups are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying and implementing appropriate solutions to their problems. To undertake this role effectively, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with other relevant teams within the operation or the Bureau (including programme; PI and external relations; IM) and with DIP, communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection and achieving solutions.

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

• Provide technical guidance and support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues.
• Stay abreast of and report as relevant on legal political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Engage relevant national authorities and structures in identifying and expanding opportunities in view of developing or strengthening national asylum/RSD systems.
• Facilitate a consultative process with government counterparts, partners and persons of concern to develop and implement a comprehensive protection and solutions strategy addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientation and/or gender identities (LGBTI persons), persons living with HIV/AIDS; gender equality and Gender Based Violence (GBV) priorities with regard to these persons.
• In operations applying the Cluster Approach, seek to ensure the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in a strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations.
• Support senior management to ensure the protection strategy is fully integrated into the Country Operations Plan, the UN Development and Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the Humanitarian Country Team’s common humanitarian response plan where applicable, as well as with the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and the Three Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.
• Promote relevant International, Regional and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct and ensure that all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations fulfil their responsibilities in mainstreaming protection.
• Promote the implementation of the AGD policy, including UNHCR’s updated commitments to women and girls, and, design, deliver I and monitor programmes on an AGD basis to address identified protection needs.
• Develop, implement and monitor community-based protection strategies and ensure systematic application and integration of participatory and community-based approaches in protection and solutions planning, programming and strategies.
• Support the establishment of feedback and response systems and the incorporation of feedback received from persons of concern into programme design and adaptation.
• Support the operation to develop and implement robust prevention, identification, and responses to fraud within protection processes and procedures, including registration, RSD, resettlement and complementary pathways, ensuring the integrity of interventions across all protection activities.
• Assist UNHCR management at country level to comply with polices and commitment on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse measures.
• Oversee and manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection.
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interlocutors; ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (including women and others in need of civil documentation, in particular birth certificates).
• As designated Data Protection Focal Point, assist the data controller in carrying out his or her responsibilities regarding the Data Protection Policy (7.2 DPP).
• Oversee and undertake eligibility and status determination within the AoR ensuring compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
• Promote and implement effective strategies and measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness within the AoR.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of an education plan as part of protection strategy within the AoR as relevant.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of a child protection plan as part of the protection strategy within the AoR ensuring programmes use a child protection systems approach.
• Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
• Work to safeguard the rights of persons of concern in the context of mixed movements as relevant.
• Coordinate the preparation of, implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
• Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement and complementary pathways are sought and provided to the largest possible number of persons of concern, including undertaking and/or overseeing resettlement and complementary pathways activities.
• Contribute to the coordination of the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Ensure that the Protection Sector or Cluster has an effective information management component which: provides disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery.
• Build the protection capacity of national and local government, partners and civil society to assume their responsibilities vis-à-vis all persons of concern through protection training, mainstreaming and related activities.
• Coordinate capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Advise and capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and civil society to strengthen legislation and status determination procedures and mechanisms.
• 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.

For positions in Bureaux

• Support the Regional Bureau and Country Operations to reflect the protection and solution angle in support of persons of concern within regional processes.
• Support Country Operations in the development of strategies to build and further develop national asylum/RSD systems with a view to ensuring their fairness, efficiency, adaptability and integrity, favourable protection environment and solutions.
• Assist UNHCR management at regional and country level to comply with polices and commitment on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse measures.
• Support Country Operations and ensure they meet their complementary pathways objectives and resettlement quotas.
• In close collaboration with DIP, (a) contribute to the development of background and general normative, policy, and legal positions, in compliance with UNHCR’s global protection policies and standards; (b) contribute to the development of strategies at the regional and country level on the usage of law and policy approaches, including legislative and judicial engagement and UN human rights mechanisms – and/or regional ones – and other protection frameworks, and integrated human rights standards in protection strategies and advocacy; and (c) support coordination and review of UNHCR’s country reports to the UN human rights mechanisms.
• Engage in relevant international and regional fora and contribute to forging regional partnerships to advocate for key protection and mandate issues, and engage in cross-cutting protection-related matters, including mixed movement, internal displacement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses, as well as Statelessness, in cooperation with DIP and where relevant RSD.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P3/NOC – 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Law; International Law; International Refugee Law;

International Human Rights Law; International Humanitarian Law;

Refugee and Forced Migration Studies; Political Sciences

or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Protection Learning Programme

RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Minimum 4 years of relevant professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law, including experience in working directly with Field Offices. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles. Excellent legal research, analytical skills and drafting.

Desirable

Diverse field experience. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills

• PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
• PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)

PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards

PR-International Humanitarian Law

PR-Comprehensive Solutions Framework

LE-Judicial Engagement

PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation

PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement

PR-Accountability to Affected People – Principles and Framework

PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination

(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

He/she should be highly qualified in the social sciences, with extensive experience in the operationalization of protection in the field, including the management of individual protection cases, the search for and implementation of durable solutions (voluntary repatriation, resettlement, local integration), the elaboration of strategic documents, the AGDM process, protection monitoring, CCCM and the ability to ensure the transversality of protection in the humanitarian sectors being implemented in the South Kivu Operation. The ideal candidate should also have good coordination, leadership and technical supervision skills for the entire protection team in South Kivu province. He/she should have experience in emergency operations, as well as in deep field operations. Fluency in French is essential.

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

French

,

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational health and safety considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel.

Nature of Position

The security context in Bukavu remains dominated by widespread crime deemed high by the United Nations, including cases of home intrusions, armed robberies and kidnappings.

House fires are also recurrent in the city of Bukavu, mainly during the dry season.

The city of Bukavu is currently experiencing mobilizations of political actors, including those of the ruling class and the opposition for the next elections of December 2023. Although still moderate at the current stage, this process is likely to create rallies in the city, especially in public places for speeches and election campaigns and could influence the level of crime and civil unrest. These activities may also from time to time paralyze traffic by vehicles for the United Nations in Bukavu.

There is currently a relative calm in terms of civil unrest and anti-UN sentiment that is dormant in the city of Bukavu. However, in the surrounding areas in Uvira and in the city of Goma, protests have been announced and organized, not directly targeting the United Nations but have indirect impacts on the conduct of United Nations activities. Some members of civil society in the neighboring province of North Kivu criticize civil society activists in Bukavu, whom they describe as accomplices and without action against the United Nations in Bukavu, during the period that these last banned the circulation of UN vehicles in the cities, this behavior is a form of anti-UN sentiment intoxication.

The United Nations Agencies, in particular the UNHCR in Bukavu, have in their mandate the international protection, with the refugee populations of the neighboring countries. Diplomatic and security relations between the DRC and Rwanda continue to deteriorate under criticism from the population and civil society activists. The resumption of the M23 violences in North Kivu sparked protests in Bukavu town in early 2023, although this did not directly affect people under UNHCR mandate in Bukavu town, it remains a concern in terms of protection and security of persons under UNHCR mandate in Bukavu.

The office works in a mixed operational context in which there are several population groups of concern to UNHCR, including: asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons, and spontaneous returnees.

The office organizes activities in the city of Bukavu and in the field in different territories where protection needs are identified.

There are refugees who live in rural areas, in urban areas and others in the camps/sites.

Most displaced persons live with local communities (host family or spontaneous site). Repeated displacements are frequent due to the volatility of the security situation and the absence and/or weak presence of law enforcement and security forces to ensure the protection of the civilian population.

The presence of displaced populations leads to demographic pressure on communities that do not have sufficient resources to meet their own needs, and which share already insufficient resources with new arrivals, which exacerbates their vulnerability.

Furthermore, the security conditions and the impassability of the access roads enclave a large part of the province which remains inaccessible to humanitarian actors, which leads to gaps in the assessment of needs and even when assessments are carried out, the path for the response is limited by these constraints.

In addition, access and movements of humanitarian workers are limited due to clashes between the Congolese army and armed groups, and armed groups among themselves. There is a high incidence of human rights violations in the various areas affected by armed conflicts and the displacement of the population.

Living and Working Conditions

Bukavu is the capital city of the South-Kivu province. Situated on the border with Rwanda and occupying a geostrategic position in the eyes of Kinshasa, the city has been marked by a long war and the activities of armed groups active in the province since 1996.

Moreover, since roughly 3 decades, the number of inhabitants has increased significantly due to immigration from rural areas, business opportunities, and spatial planning problems in the surrounding areas of the city where people have no access to water, electricity and roads. According to current estimates, Bukavu has more than one million residents and it is one of the most populated cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The above-mentioned demographic explosion was not accompanied by the enlargement of the city and therefore resulted to poor and insecure housing and infrastructure, problems related to housing conditions and tenure insecurity in the city.

However, medical facilities are available in Bukavu, but urgent medical conditions are mostly referred to the neibouring city of Goma (North Kivu). Therefore, candidates with conditions requiring regular treatment or medical supervision should be appropriately advised. As a general advice, applicants for the post should be psychologically prepared for the aforementioned context. The Office is of the view that, all things being equal, the two-year SAL should be upheld to avoid burnout.

Banking facilities are available; there also is an unlimited access to communication means, such as internet, telephone sim cards etc… The Office is also equipped with PAMA.

Bukavu is currently a non-family duty station with a security level 2.

The security-related threats staff may face in the South Kivu are mainly from armed conflict, crime and civil unrest.

The security situation in the South Kivu is precarious and unpredictable due to the heterogenous nature of its ethnic groups which is impacted by ongoing intercommunity violence in the Medium and High plateaus of Minembwe, Mikenge-Itombiand Bijombo. As the armed conflict situation worsens in these remote areas, so too the impact is directly felt by the populations in the entire area, resulting in tensions and general panic.

Criminality activities include ambushes, abductions, killings and looting house robbery, break-ins, etc. UN personnel are not specifically targeted, but criminals focus attacks on those perceived to have money and valuables.

UN personnel should be cautious of large public gatherings, especially political demonstrations. Sometimes events in other parts of the country spark demonstrations, and even anti-UN protests in Uvira.

They must also be aware of the danger from driving in UVIRA/FIZI to guard against road traffic accidents caused by broken bridges, bad road conditions and fast running rivers without bridges.

Skills

Additional Qualifications

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Humanitarian Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Human Rights Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Refugee Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Refugee and Forced Migration Studies

Certifications

HCR Protection Learning Program – UNHCR, HCR Resettlement Learning Program – UNHCR

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

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

Compendium

Add. 2 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 – Part B

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance