Job Title: Associate Child Protection Officer (UN Volunteer Jobs)
Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
About Organisation:
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 will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of UNHCR’s protection mandate for refugees in Obongi and Moyo districts, with special focus on those hosted in Palorinya refugee settlement. The role will require, among others, expertise and skills in crisis and emergency response, protection, displacement, legal, and human rights. The incumbent will especially be expected to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders with a view to promoting the well-being and rights of refugees.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
Protection and Assistance Delivery
- Ensure the consistent application of UNHCR protection policies and standards to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and other populations of concern.
- Work with relevant partners to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are received into the settlement in safety and dignity.
- Monitor protection risks, trends, and incidents within the settlement.
- Conduct regular field visits and assessments to gather information on the protection environment.
- Provide leadership in the identification and provision of requisite interventions for per-sons with specific needs.
- Oversee case management for persons with specific needs (PSNs).
- Ensure timely referrals to appropriate services (e.g., legal aid, psychosocial support, health).
- Follow up on individual cases and ensure protection responses are appropriate and effective.
- Promote community participation in protection planning and response.
- Work with partners and stakeholders to ensure child protection and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) services are accessible and survivor-centered.
- Support safe spaces for women and children.
- Facilitate awareness-raising and capacity-building activities on rights and protection is-sues.
- Regularly prepare written reports on protection delivery and trends in the Settlement.
External Relations and Partnerships
- Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at Settlement level, local government authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders to advance the protection of refugees.
- Foster collaborative partnerships that enhance the effectiveness of protection pro-grams.
- Coordinate with partners to ensure a unified approach to refugee protection and assistance.
- Coordinate with refugees, their representatives and refugee led organisations to enhance their protection and management.
Leadership
- Provide leadership to the Protection team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
- Set clear goals and expectations, and empower staff to achieve them through guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
- Promote a participatory approach that values the contributions of all team members and stakeholders.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:
- Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
- Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
- Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
- Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
- Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
- Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- Age
- 18 – 80
Required experience
- 3 years
- Donor priorities
- –
Nationality
- Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.
Additional eligibility criteria
- This assignment is funded by the Government of Japan. Therefore, only Japanese nationals who were accepted to the Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD) will be eligible. HRD assignments are considered as assignments without family.
Assignment requirements
- Relevant experience
- 3 years
Languages
- English, Level: Fluent, Required
Required education level
- Bachelor’s degree in Bachelor’s degree in law, International Relations or Human Rights.
Competencies and values
- Accountability
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Building Trust
- Client Orientation
- Commitment and Motivation
- Commitment to Continuous Learning
- Communication
- Empowering Others
- Ethics and Values
- Integrity
- Judgement and Decision-making
- Leadership
- Managing Performance
- Planning and Organizing
- Professionalism
- Respect for Diversity
- Self-Management
- Technological Awareness
- Working in Teams
Skills and experience
- At least 3 years of experience in delivery of activities and/or projects involving protection or humanitarian assistance.
- Computer literacy.
- Good command of spoken and written English.
- Knowledge of community communication and engagement approaches.
- Understanding of and demonstrated competencies in forced displacement and protection, particularly GBV prevention and response, child protection, education, gender equality, and the application of the Age, Gender and Diversity Policy.
- Area(s) of expertise
- Legal affairs, Security and protection, Development programmes
- Driving license
- –
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should apply online at the link below
Deadline: 26th November 2025
For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline