The Ugandan Jobline

 

Job Title:    Protection Officer

Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR)

Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda

 

About US:

The Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by
the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR’s mandate under the Statute of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and
co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent
solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and
well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness,
as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness.

 

Job Summary:  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.

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

·       
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 Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV)
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 SGBV 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.

·       
Perform
other related duties as required.

·       
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.

 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       
The
ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR Protection Officer job placement
should have; 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,
Political Sciences or other relevant field.

·       
Certificates
and/or Licenses

·       
Protection
Learning Programme

·       
RSD-
Resettlement Learning Programme

·       
At least
four 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.

·       
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.

 

Desirable:

·       
Diverse
field experience.

·       
Good IT
skills including database management skills.

 

Functional Skills

·       
Protection-related
guidelines, standards and indicators;

·       
International
Refugee Law;

·       
Age,
Gender and Diversity (AGD);

·       
Sexual
and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Coordination and Projects management;

·       
Comprehensive
Solutions Framework;

·       
Human
Rights Doctrine/Standards

·       
International
Humanitarian Law;

·       
Judicial
engagement;

·       
Protection
and mixed-movements;

·       
Internal
displacement;

·       
Climate
change and disaster-related displacement;

·       
Community-based
Protection

·       
Accountability
to affected people

 

How to Apply:

All interested
Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to click on the
link below and follow the application instructions after reviewing the job
details.

 

Click
Here

 

Deadline: 2^nd February 2021

 

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