Hardship LevelE (most hardship)
Family TypeNon Family with Residential Location
Family TypeNon Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay
Residential location (if applicable)
Addis Ababa,Eth Fed Dem Rep
GradeNOB
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeNational Professional Officer
ReasonRegular > Regular Assignment
Target Start Date2023-05-17
Job Posting End DateJune 11, 2023
Standard Job DescriptionAssociate Protection Officer Organizational Setting and Work Relationships The Associate Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards. The Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that persons of concern are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of persons of concern. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection. 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. - Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct. - Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations. - Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to persons of concern. - Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation. - Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles. - Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness. - Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach. - Contribute to a country-level education plan. - Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures. - Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners. - Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of persons of concern through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement. - Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other persons of concern. - Participate in the organisation and implementation of participatory assessments and methodologies throughout the operations management cycle and promote AGD sensitive 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. - Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems. - Promote and integrate community-based approaches to protection and contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights. - Support activities in the area of risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, fraud, case-processing, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level. - Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures. - Intervene with authorities on protection issues. - Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR. - Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals. - Enforce compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services. - Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures. - Perform other related duties as required. Minimum Qualifications Years of Experience / Degree Level For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree Field(s) of Education Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field (Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential) Certificates and/or Licenses Protection Learning Programme (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential) Relevant Job Experience Essential Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles. Desirable Field experience, including in working directly with communities. Good IT skills including database management skills. Functional Skills *PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators *PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination MG-Project Management PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards PR-International Humanitarian Law PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement CO-Drafting and Documentation (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 • Demonstrated operational protection field experience in diverse contexts and especially protracted refugee situations
• Demonstrated experience in protection delivery particularly in community-based protection and GBV.
• Track record of working with functionally and culturally diverse teams
• Experience in durable solutions/comprehensive solutions strategies implementation, stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate) are added advantage
• Strong interpersonal, advocacy, communication, and change management skills
Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):
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Desired languages
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Operational context
To view occupational health and safety considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
The Associate Protection Officer will report to the Senior Protection Officer. The incumbent will have supervisory responsibility for national protection staff including general protection, legal, community-based protection, and GBV. While ensuring the continuity of essential protection programs and services and emergency preparedness, the incumbent is expected to ensure that protection is central to finding solutions, including initiatives on peaceful co-existence, self-reliance, basic services, and environment interventions. Consequently, the incumbent will need to work collaboratively with the multi-functional teams on solutions and peacebuilding initiatives and programs.
Gambella hosts around 381,000 refugees in the seven refugee camps and one refugee settlement. The incumbent is expected to provide functional protection guidance to UNHCR and partner staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities and has multi-dimensional responsibility to act as the focal point for all program and activities related to field-based protection. S/he is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent will contribute to the design of comprehensive protection strategies and represent the organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the operational and technical supervisors. S/he also ensures that persons of concern are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities, and capacities of persons of concern. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection, and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection and solutions.
Gambella Sub-office is a non-family duty station. Guesthouses for staff are provided based on the waiting list. There are limited banking facilities and limited medical facilities. There are daily commercial flights between Addis Ababa and Gambella. Ethiopia’s topography diversity has resulted in a wide variety of climates in the country. The climate in Gambella is classified as tropical. The hottest season of the region is in March/April; the temperature may rise to 45 °C, followed by a long rainy season. The road network within the region is often affected by heavy rainfall during the rainy season. The average annual temperature in Gambella is 27.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1148 mm. Due to its conditions, Gambella is a malaria-prone area amongst other tropical diseases. Internet and communications networks are available at the UNHCR compound. Remoteness, isolation and lack of entertainment in social life are factors to be considered before applying.
Security Considerations Gambella is classified as security level - 3. The security situation in the Gambella region has seen a significant deterioration in early 2016, with clashes among ethnic groups. These types of tensions remain up to date, the most recent in January 2022 when armed separatist groups fought with government forces in Gambella town and resulted in heavy casualties. Armed bandits operating in border districts bordering South Sudan pose security challenges to the local communities and refugees. In addition to the mentioned threat, the newly emerged armed opposition group called Gambella Liberation Front (GLF) poses a high-security threat to the region. GLF is allied with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF shen) and has perpetrated several attacks in and around Gambella. The rebel group does not target humanitarian workers but poses a high threat as it targets government security forces which always work together with humanitarian organizations, including the UN and NGOs. Therefore, the current security situation in the entire Gambella region remains tense and unpredictable. The increase of criminality in Gambella town linked to unemployment and associated violent crime is a constant factor. Police have been reporting housebreaking, violent street robbery, and incendiarism-related criminal activities. Restrictions of movement are imposed on the movement of the staff members and the activities in the field, depending on the development of the security situation. The security setting is expected to remain the same with no major changes according to the current reading of the situation. Curfew time is from 19:00 to 06:00hrs in Gambella. Road accidents are very common in Ethiopia due to dangerous driving, drivers’ skills, and non-enforcement of traffic laws.
Additional Qualifications
SkillsCO-Drafting and Documentation, MG-Project Management, PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation, PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement, PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination, PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards, PR-International Humanitarian Law, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
EducationBA: International Law (Required), BA: Law (Required), BA: Political Science (Required)
CertificationsHCR Protection Learning Program - UNHCR
Work Experience
CompetenciesAccountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration
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Additional InformationShortlisted candidates may be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member is subject to proof of vaccination against COVID-19
Functional clearanceThis position doesn't require a functional clearance