Job Summary:

The consultancy aims to build an action guide based on the community protection approach and humanitarian principles that shows step by step and in a practical way its implementation as a way of working within the framework of the management of the Support Spaces. The document should consider the provisions of the Support Spaces Toolkit, the pillars of accountability to affected populations, as well as the contexts in transit and destination countries. In addition, it should map the interventions that UNHCR and its partners have made with respect to indigenous populations, including at least the normative frameworks for protection, recognition of indigenous groups, access to services, approach applied to work with this population, and recommendations.

As part of the construction of the guide, it is expected that it will be piloted in a Support Space for validation. During this process, aspects in need of adjustment will be identified through direct feedback from the community and staff involved. This may include the proposed content and methods, ensuring that the guide is accessible, relevant, and applicable in different contexts.

General Background of Project or Assignment, Operational Context:
By the end of 2023, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 117.3 million people had been forced to flee their homes, of which 43.3 million have refugee status . According to the Response Platform for Venezuela (R4V), more than 7 million Venezuelans have been displaced within and outside the region with significant increases in other displaced nationalities in the region, such as Haitians, Colombians, Central Americans, and Ecuadorians, as well as people from outside the continent who use the region as a humanitarian corridor. In addition to these figures, there is the presence of historically marginalized population groups, with differentiated barriers to protection and integration.

Indigenous people constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in the region and according to data compiled by UNHCR, they are predominantly found in: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Riva, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It is estimated that, as of December 2023, at least 6,000 Venezuelan indigenous people have been identified by UNHCR in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago belonging to the Warao, Pemon Taurepang, E’ñepa, Kariña, Bari, Yukpa, Jivi and Wayuu ethnic groups.

Conflict, persecution, violence, political and economic instability, limited access to fundamental rights, as well as poverty and the consequences of the impact of climate change and disasters, place refugees and migrants in vulnerable conditions and exacerbate the risks to which they are exposed.

In the specific case of indigenous people, according to the ILO, 52% of indigenous people have migrated to urban centers either in search of better opportunities and higher incomes or because they have been dispossessed of their lands or because climate change, ecological deterioration, conflicts, violence, political persecution or by armed groups, They face a variety of challenges ranging from cultural and language barriers to lack of access to rights, including nationality, socioeconomic, civil and cultural rights, and access to asylum and other protection procedures, including legal stay arrangements.
In the process of departure, transit and destination, the lack of reliable information on access to rights and services hinders their access to protection mechanisms, documentation, health, nutrition, education, housing, livelihoods, among many others. This has a direct impact on their effective integration, exacerbating the protection risks to which they are exposed, including human trafficking and smuggling, forced recruitment, crimes, extortion, robbery, gender-based violence, child labor, labor exploitation, survival sex, among many others.
This situation also increases the levels of xenophobia and discrimination resulting in a deterioration of their physical, emotional, and psychological health.

The Support Spaces (EA) are a regional initiative promoted by the R4V Platform, within the Regional Protection Sector, born in 2018, which seeks to promote in a coordinated and joint manner, a network of spaces where information, guidance and quality services that respond to the most urgent needs of refugees, migrants and host communities in situations of greater vulnerability in the different countries of the region are provided.

There are currently 190 Support Spaces (AS) in various countries such as: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, other support spaces have been established in El Salvador and other spaces with similar characteristics. These spaces work in an articulated, networked manner and coordinate with other existing structures in each locality. They are governed by internationally established minimum standards and principles, through care guidelines for the identification and safe referral of people with specific needs and at high risk, seeking to prevent and mitigate protection risks.

Through Support Spaces, care is provided with a differentiated approach to specific population groups, based on age, gender and diversity. Indigenous people can benefit from these spaces and the community approach allows strengthening the attention to this population, generating processes of collective construction, and focused on their needs.

Initially they responded to refugees and migrants at border or entry points for initial care, evolving to be implemented in host community spaces supporting local integration processes. The sustainability in the displacement of people makes it necessary to work on guidelines that allow, through the Support Spaces, to implement actions to strengthen communities and their protection mechanisms based on the participation of refugees and migrants with differentiated approaches on age, gender, and diversity, as well as strengthening accountability to affected populations through their pillars. This combined with the identification of areas of attention to indigenous people, gaps, and opportunities, strengthening the approach to care for them through the various care structures.

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations
To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
Specific Occupational Safety and Health Considerations to this assignment (if applicable):N/A

Purpose and Scope of Assignment:

Concise and detailed description of activities, including measurable outputs and delivery dates, impact indicators (what qualitative and quantitative results would be achieved upon completion of individual contract), performance indicators (timelines, value of the service rendered in relation to the cost, timeliness) and work plan:

In order to meet the objective of strengthening the community protection approach within the Support Spaces, with emphasis on the work with indigenous people, the development of two products is proposed:

Product 1: Generate a practical guide for the implementation of the community-based protection approach to be applicable to the various Support Spaces implemented in the region: The construction of a practical guidance is expected to enable the coordinators of support structures to promote a community-based protection approach in their interventions. This seeks to strengthen spaces for integration and peaceful coexistence in the communities where they are located, allowing the generation of spaces for participation, differentiated attention, and strengthening of the age, gender and diversity approach (AGD) and accountability to the affected populations (AAP). To develop this guide, it is required that its first version be tested through a pilot intervention, to be carried out in a support space identified at a later date. The findings obtained from the test, which should include feedback from the community, will feed into the final document that will be shared at the regional level as an implementation document.

From the results of this product it is expected:
1. to have a practical guide, which will allow the personnel in charge to carry out activities within the framework of the services offered by the space.
2. Strengthen the existing protection mechanisms in the community, with the Support Space as a catalyst.
3. Strengthen communication processes with communities and participation of refugees and migrants.
As an indicator of the product, the following is established:
# of activities carried out to pilot the guide.
Guidance document prepared.

Product 2: Elaborate a mapping of actions and implementations with a differentiated approach to Venezuelan indigenous populations in Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil: Through this mapping, it is expected to identify the various levels of implementation being carried out by UNHCR and its partners in the countries of Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil, in order to determine the various regulatory frameworks and consider the protective opportunities or existing gaps, the recognition of cross-border indigenous peoples, their access to services and the approach to work in various aspects, generating a series of recommendations that will open a dialogue with other organizations in the field and with indigenous experts. This will strengthen UNHCR’s work in the region and the attention given to indigenous people in the Support Spaces.

From the results of this product it is expected:
1. Mapping of good practices and implementations of initiatives towards Venezuelan indigenous people
2. Increased knowledge about the impact of actions taken by UNHCR and its partners and lessons learned.
3. Regional recommendations that allow the strengthening of the response in attention and programming on indigenous.
4. Increase the spaces of visibility and impact of indigenous populations in the protection response and solutions.
As an indicator of the product, the following is established:
Mapping document prepared.

CANDIDATE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS, SELECTION CRITERIA

Required qualifications, language(s) and work experience:
Degree: Higher university degree (master’s degree) in social sciences, international development cooperation or related human mobility, protection.

Required/mandatory:
• Practical work experience in Latin America and the Caribbean with a minimum of 5 years in international protection and migration issues.
• Demonstrated excellent skills in researching and systematizing information for reports.
• Proven experience in developing community methodologies for diverse and displaced populations.
• Knowledge of the Response platform for Venezuela (R4V) and the Support Spaces initiative.

Desirable:
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Spanish and English.
• Demonstrated ability to work virtually and establish virtual working relationships with numerous partners.
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.

Minimum years of work experience (NOTE: candidates with less years of experience cannot be short-listed or recommended): minimum of 5 years

Language: Required: Spanish Desirable: English

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements