Access to Justice Programme Officer Jobs – Global Refugee Initiatives (GRI)

Job Title: Access to Justice Programme Officer

Organisation: Global Refugee Initiatives (GRI)

Duty Station: Kiryandongo, Uganda

About Organisation:

Global Refugee Initiatives (GRI) is a humanitarian Non-Governmental Organization registered in Uganda. GRI works alongside refugees and host communities to develop practical, locally grounded responses to challenges affecting their wellbeing, protection and self-reliance.

Job Summary: GRI is seeking an Access to Justice Programme Officer to lead the establishment and implementation of the Access to Justice Programme in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement.

The Programme Officer will lead the designing and conducting the 2026 Needs Assessment, translating findings into the Justice First pilot, and driving implementation through to results. The role requires a strong understanding of legal and/or protection issues affecting refugees, experience working with communities and stakeholders, and the ability to translate evidence from the field into practical programme interventions.

The Programme Officer will work closely with community structures, government authorities, justice and rotection actors, humanitarian partners and GRI staff. The Officer will supervise the Access to Justice Associate and is the primary point of accountability for programme implementation, quality, and results in Kiryandongo.

The role is for a practitioner who works independently, exercises sound judgment, and delivers without requiring close oversight. The Officer must be self-directed and capable of making decisions without prompting and solving problems.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Map the full justice and beneficiary ecosystem in Kiryandongo: including government actors, legal aid providers, humanitarian agencies, community structures and informal justice actors.
• Alongside the system map, document the full demographic profile of the beneficiary population: refugees and host communities.
• Lead the design of the 2026 Access to Justice Needs Assessment methodology and the full suite of data collection instruments.
• Coordinate and lead all field data collection across respondent categories: refugees, host community members, GBV survivors, RWC leaders, police & judicial officers, legal aid providers, detention officials, and health and psychosocial actors.
• Apply rigorous ethical and safeguarding protocols throughout data collection, including informed consent procedures, confidentiality safeguards, survivor-centered, GBV data collection approaches, and referral protocols for protection risks identified in the field
• Analyse assessment findings, produce a comprehensive assessment report, and facilitate validation of findings with communities and key stakeholders.
• Use assessment findings to refine and guide implementation of the Justice First pilot, ensuring interventions are directly responsive to what field data reveals.
• Lead community legal literacy activities, including the development of information materials in relevant languages, training workshops, and community awareness campaigns.
• Build the capacity of Refugee Welfare Council leaders and relevant community actors on legal literacy, available services and safe referral practices.
• Document case-level justice pathways, with particular attention to criminal defence processes,
• GBV reporting and referral chains, and barriers faced.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date service mapping and referral pathway documentation across justice, legal, BV, medical and protection services.
• Facilitate safe and appropriate referrals for individuals requiring specialised legal, justice or protection services, in strict compliance with GRI’s confidentiality and safeguarding procedures.
• Establish and maintain professional working relationships with OPM, Uganda Police, court officials, legal aid providers, UNHCR, and other humanitarian and community actors in Kiryandongo.
• Monitor programme implementation and results, track referrals, contribute to donor reporting, and identify emerging needs or challenges requiring programme adaptation.
• Identify emerging access-to-justice needs, implementation challenges and lessons to inform programme improvement.
• Supervise and support the Access to Justice Associate and any short-term community mobilisers, interpreters or volunteers engaged by the programme.
• Ensure that programme activities uphold confidentiality, safeguarding, survivor-centered approaches, non-discrimination and the principle of do no harm.
• Perform other related duties necessary for the effective implementation of GRI’s Access to Justice Programme.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law or another relevant field. A postgraduate qualification in law, human rights, refugee studies, international development or a related area would be an advantage.
• Minimum three years of relevant professional experience in access to justice, legal aid, legal research, protection, human rights programming, or GBV in humanitarian or development settings.
• Demonstrated experience designing conducting assessments, community consultations, legal/protection research or similar field-based work.
• Sound knowledge of Uganda’s criminal justice system, refugee legal framework and the legal aid and protection landscape in Ugandan refugee settlements
• Experience working with refugee communities, vulnerable populations or in humanitarian/community-based settings is highly desirable.
• Experience in GBV programming or case management and a strong working knowledge of survivor-centred approaches and ethical data collection standards in GBV contexts is desirable.
• Practical experience working with or navigating state justice actors, including police, court officials, and ability to manage institutional sensitivities professionally.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination skills, including ability to work with government, community structures and humanitarian/service providers.
• Strong analytical skills: the ability to translate complex, multi-source field data into a clear, actionable assessment report, and strong report-writing and documentation
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of languages spoken within Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, including Arabic and/or relevant local languages, is a significant advantage
• Ability to handle sensitive information professionally and maintain confidentiality.
• Strong commitment to human rights, safeguarding, inclusion and community-based approaches.
• Proven ability to work independently, manage a field programme with minimal day-to-day supervision, and make sound decisions in a remote-management context.
• Ability and willingness to work regularly within refugee and host communities in Kiryandongo

NOTE

• Applicants must have no history of child abuse, sexual exploitation or abuse, harassment, or other conduct incompatible with GRI’s safeguarding standards.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV/resume and letter of motivation, along with the names and working contact details of two referees by 18th September 2026. Please note that offers of employment are conditional on satisfactory referee verification.

Candidates are encouraged to submit applications in their own words. Applications that appear to have been substantially generated by artificial intelligence tools may be disqualified, as GRI is looking for genuine expression of your experience, motivation and fit for this role.

Email to: Apply by Email

Deadline: 18th September 2026

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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Level of Education: bachelor degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 36