Title Post: Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant
Category/Grade: Equivalent to G5
Location: Choluteca, Honduras
Type of Contract: LICA UNOPS
Effective date of
Assignment: 1 Novembre 2020
Date of Issue: 25 September 2020
Closing Date: 1 October 2020
Operational Context:
The Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant 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 Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern (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.
The situation of violence in the Honduras caused by gangs, organized crime and human rights violations has different manifestations and affects many segments of the population in the region. Honduras has seen increasing patterns of forced displacement provoked by transnational organized criminal groups or by other situations of violence (i.e. forced recruitment, persecution and extortion by criminal gangs). The Government of Honduras, with the support of UNHCR has recognized this phenomenon of internal displacement, with a updated profiling study which puts the number of displaced persons at 247,090 between 2004-2018.In addition, as of December 2019 there were almost 92,392 Hondurans refugees and asylum seekers who have fled the country and requested international protection, and a record of 109,185 deported from Mexico and the United States of America. Due to conflict in the neighboring country Nicaragua, Honduras also receives people with international protection needs; having a significant increase in the number of people who seek asylum in 2018. While the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees are not parallel to what is seen in other countries, there are protection and security challenges particularly in border towns to ensure effective protection for refugees.
Bordering El Salvador and Nicaragua, the Choluteca Department in Honduras is a reception zone and also a transit area for mixed movements of refugees and migrants were the vast majority enter Honduras to later reach the United States of America. UNHCR has been responding to the situation through local partners and is now further scaling up its direct presence in Choluteca. Being a border area, there is a prevalence of having new arrivals of refugees from Nicaragua as well as receiving a high number of people in transit.
Notwithstanding, the situation of violence in Honduras has also affected this area and can present cases of forced displacement.
UNHCR and its partners are supporting Persons of Concern by implementing multi-sectorial activities including information gathering and analysis, provision of shelter, humanitarian, and legal assistance through partner Centro de Desarrollo Humano, establishment of identification mechanisms and referral pathways for people with international protection needs and a border monitoring network through community leaders in border zones. CwC and community outreach with the various communities residing along the border areas is seen as an important continuation of the activities in order to establish community plans that supports the identification of persons with protection needs and coordination of response.**
Functional Statement:
Purpose and Scope
The Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is a member of the Protection Unit and may report to the Protection Officer, or another more senior staff member 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 Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities.
Duties
Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection strategy.
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.
Assist in initiatives with host communities to involve national civil society groups in the protection of PoC.
Support implementing and operational partners as well as 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.
Support efforts to build the office capacity for community-based protection.
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.
Collect data for monitoring of programmes and budgets from an AGD perspective.
Draft and type routine correspondence, documents and reports and maintain up-to-date filing systems.
Act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
Assist in 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 and with persons and communities of concern based on agreed parameters.
Identify and recommend which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
Assist in border monitoring activities and community engagement in border areas in coordination with counterparts and local communities. Support with CwC activities, information dissemination and protection/referral pathways with the local communities.
Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
Assist in the engagement and active coordination with local government entities and the civil society in the assigned working area.
Perform other related duties as required.**
Authority **
Monitoring and Progress Control
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.
Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
Desirable Qualifications & Competencies:
2 years of relevant professional experience;
Experience in social work or working with protection related issues desirable.
Experience with refugees or other vulnerable groups.
Experience with UNHCR or the UN system desirable.
Experience working in border zones desirable.
Required Competencies:
Core Competencies
-Accountability
-Communication
-Organizational Awareness
-Teamwork & Collaboration
-Commitment to Continuous Learning
-Client & Result Orientation
Cross-Functional Competencies
-Analytical Thinking
-Political Awareness
-Stakeholder Management
Candidates must meet the essential minimum requirements of the position and candidates not citizens of the country must comply with all eligibility requirements for employment in line with the prevailing legislative prerequisites in the country.[1]**
This vacancy is archived.