Eligible Applicants

This position is advertised open to internal and external applicants.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Persons interested in applying for this position must be Panamanian Nationals or must be legally present in Panama at the time of application, recruitment and hire. Non-Panamanian citizens are required to attach a valid work permit to be considered for this vacancy.

Duties and Qualifications

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Community-Based Protection Associate is a member of the Protection Unit and reports to the Community-Based Protection Officer in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the Community-Based Protection Associate works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The incumbent may have direct supervisory responsibility for part of the protection and/or support staff and supports the application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures and practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level. To fulfil this role, the Community-Based Protection Associate is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of PoC. The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with PoC that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming and results, form the core of the work of the incumbent. S/he also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with PoC.
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

  • Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection strategy and operational procedures.
  • Through relationships with PoC and network of partners, stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team. Understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the PoC and advise the protection team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
  • Work with host communities to identify opportunities for national civil society involvement in improving the protection of PoC.
  • Work with implementing and operational partners as well as with displaced and local communities to develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and response to SGBV.
  • Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
  • Support participatory assessments by multifunctional teams and ongoing consultation with PoC.
  • Assist in planning and monitoring of programmes and budgets, with an AGD perspective
  • Build office capacity for community-based protection through training and establishing systems for community mobilization and participation of PoC.
  • Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures.
  • Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response.
  • Act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
  • Contribute to the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR¿s work.
  • Initiate AGD sensitive interventions at the appropriate level on community-based protection issues and to respond to protection concerns and incidents within the office, with external interlocutors, groups and individuals based on agreed parameters.
  • Identify and select which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
  • Intervene with authorities on protection.
  • Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
  • Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases.
  • Perform other related duties as required.
    Minimum Qualifications
    Education & Professional Work Experience
    For G6 - 6 years relevant experience with High school diploma
    Certificates and/or Licenses
    International Development, Cultural Studies, Human Rights,
    International Social Work, Social Science, Political Science,
    Anthropology, International Law
    Desirable
    UNHCR learning programmes (PLP).
    Knowledge of MSRP.
    Functional Skills
    *IT-MS Office Applications
    *IT-Computer Literacy
    IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
    UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
    UN-UN/UNHCR Financial Rules and Regulations and Procedures
    PR-Community-based Protection
    PR-Community-based Protection - Principles and methodologies
    CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
    PG-Experience with coordinating with Implementing Partners (Governmt/INGO/NGO/Corporate)
    TR-Capacity Building
    (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Position Competencies

Core Competencies:
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies:
Judgement and Decision Making
Managing Performance
Cross-Functional Competencies:
Stakeholder Management
Planning and Organizing
Political Awareness

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Spanish.

Additional Information

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and might be requested to sit for a test. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. No late applications will be accepted. Female candidates are encouraged to apply. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).

OPERATIONAL CONTEXT

Nature of the Position

  • Knowledge of UNHCR policies, strategies and guidelines related to international protection, community-based protection, age, gender and diversity approaches, and accountability to affected populations communicating with communities, among others.
  • Demonstrated ability to support the organization and facilitation of regional or national trainings, workshops and meetings.
  • Demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including refugees, migrants and host communities, UN agencies, international NGOs, government officials, among others.
  • Knowledge or practical experience on UNHCR reporting, protection, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
    Operation Scope
    The complex situation in different countries in the Americas has led to the largest movement of persons in the history of the region in the past years. With the Venezuela Situation, there are approximately 4.5 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela in the world and 3.7 million in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to the unprecedented number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela settling throughout the region, the flow of nationals from North of Central America (NCA) countries continues increasing, pushed by a mix of socio-economic fragilities, poverty, abuses and violence. Moreover, other countries in the continent also receive significant numbers of refugees and migrants from within the region as well as from extra-continental countries.
    The magnitude of the current outflows in the region poses complex challenges to national protection systems, leaving national capacities overstretched and host communities saturated. As a result, the quality and quantity of services is often inadequate to meet the magnitude of needs. On-going increase of asylum claims continue to put asylum systems at strain in the Americas and has led national asylum systems being overwhelmed. Along with the implementation of some restrictive policies in some countries, access to territory, asylum and migratory legal procedures and effective protection processes have been jeopardized. Like in other situations of high human mobility and displacement, persons with specific needs, in particular women, girls, boys, LGBTI+ persons, persons with disabilities, older persons, afro-descendants, and indigenous communities are particularly at risk to different forms of abuse, violence and exploitation. Other major protection risks include sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking and smuggling, child recruitment by armed forces/illegal armed groups, early pregnancy, survival sex, statelessness, detention and limited access to basic goods and services, including access to information, access to documentation or regularization, among others, which further exacerbates protection risks.
    In 2020, the follow-up to the Global Forum on Refugees (GFR), held in December 2019, along with regional processes and events will present a unique opportunity to build momentum on the implementation and seek greater commitment from States and relevant stakeholders in the Americas and move forward the refugee agenda. At the regional level, UNHCR continues to advocate for the strengthening of reception, information and orientation points, documentation, as well as, community participation, engagement, and outreach, capacity building, accountability to affected populations, implementation of an age, gender and diversity approach, two-way communication, among others, to ensure the protection space and respond to the needs of persons of concern and those at heightened risk.

This vacancy is archived.

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