JOB DESCRIPTION

C

Family

Family

NOA

National Professional Officer

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2025-08-01

July 27, 2025

Assistant Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Assistant Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection, registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

The Assistant Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC), ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that PoC are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of them. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

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.

Duties
– Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
– Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
– Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.
– Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
– Conduct eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
– Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
– Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
– Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
– Provide inputs for the development of protection policies and standards within the AoR.
– Implement and monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
– Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
– Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
– Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other PoC.
– Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
– Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
– Contribute to and facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
– Assist capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
– Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
– Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
– Assist the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
– Assist the supervisor in enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
– Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P1/NOA – 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law,

International Law,

Political Sciences
or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified;

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles

Desirable
Not specified.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
MG-Project Management
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
CO-Drafting and Documentation
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

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.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

The ideal candidate for the position of Assistant Protection Officer in Kinshasa should demonstrate a strong commitment to international protection principles and possess a solid understanding of the complex humanitarian and protection environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The candidate should have:
A proven experience in international protection, refugee law, or human rights, with a focus on stateless populations.
Familiarity with National law and policies regulating asylum space in the DRC, as well as with UNHCR core protection strategies and guidance.
Experience in protection monitoring, case management (including GBV and child protection), and community-based protection approaches.
Ability to contribute to the development and implementation of protection strategies, including those related to statelessness prevention, civil documentation, and durable solutions.
Understanding of the NEXUS approach and capacity to engage in multi-sectoral coordination linking humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts.
Experience working in contexts affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, and intercommunal violence.
Strong facilitation and training skills to deliver capacity-building activities on protection, fraud prevention, and integrity to diverse stakeholders, including government counterparts, NGOs, and community leaders.
Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills to engage with authorities, partners, and affected
Ability to work under pressure, adapt to rapidly changing environments, and manage competing priorities.

,

,

French

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational health and safety considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

As of 30 June 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosts over 516,000 refugees and asylum seekers, alongside more than 5.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), primarily located in the provinces of Ituri, Kasai, North and South Kivu, and Tanganyika. UNHCR, as the Protection Cluster lead, plays a central role in supporting the Government of the DRC in implementing a durable solutions strategy to address protracted displacement.

The Assistant Protection Officer in Kinshasa operates within a complex and high-risk protection environment. The operation spans 10 field offices and engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including national authorities, humanitarian and development partners, and forcibly displaced and stateless persons. Given the scale of the operation and the diversity of protection needs, the incumbent is expected to contribute to the design and implementation of comprehensive protection strategies, including those related to legal documentation, statelessness prevention, and durable solutions.

As a strategic protection tool aiming at identifying and responding/referring protection cases, the incumbent will be in charge of coordinating the Protection Monitoring System countrywide. The design and adjustment of the protection strategy as well as the humanitarian response provided by both UN and local actors strongly rely on the findings of the Protection Monitoring. Therefore, a careful supervision of this tool and a strong ability of data analysis of the collected information are crucial to provide an efficient response to people forced to flee.

A key aspect of the role is supporting the research and implementation of durable solutions for refugees as well as contributing to the integration of refugees in the national systems of strategic planing and development. Maintaining a safe and accessible protection environment will be one of the incumbent main activities. DRC has a solid reputation of providing free access to its territory to any asylum seeker requesting international protection. The incumbent will work at reinforcing capacities of both central and local authorities, including border authorities, on international protection principles to maintain this high standard.

The incumbent will also contribute to the mainstreaming of anti-fraud measures across all protection activities. Following the release of the revised 2024 UNHCR Policy on Addressing Fraud Committed by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons, the DRC operation was assessed as high-risk.

The Assistant Protection Officer will work closely with the national Anti-Fraud Focal Point and field-level focal points to ensure the effective implementation of the national anti-fraud strategy and subsequent SOPs. This includes contributing to fraud vulnerability assessments, supporting the integration of fraud and inconsistency cases into proGres and other systems, and ensuring compliance with updated fraud allegation procedures.

The incumbent will also support training and awareness-raising activities for UNHCR and partner staff, as well as for persons of concern, to promote integrity and accountability in protection delivery. The position requires strong coordination, legal analysis, and communication skills, as well as the ability to work across multiple sectors and with diverse partners in a dynamic operational context.

Living and Working Conditions: DRC is the third largest country in Africa, and as a result is quite diverse. Living conditions therefore vary between UNHCR duty stations, with all usual amenities present in the capital Kinshasa, but only very basic conditions in remote duty stations in the provinces, where for instance, there may be no guarantee of public power supply nor running water. Accommodation is very expensive in Kinshasa. There are several Supermarkets in town, but consumer items are generally very expensive. Local markets offer a much cheaper alternative for food items. Kinshasa is considered family duty station effective 1 January 2015, despite the fact that most facilities and amenities are still basic. UN international personnel are only allowed to reside within an established Residential Security Perimeter. The unit of currency is the Congolese Franc. The US dollar is the other preferred currency. It may be impossible to exchange travellers checks away from the capital city. Credit cards are usually accepted in major hotels only in Kinshasa. In larger towns and cities, it is recommended to open US Dollar bank accounts, while in other places, banks may be absent (including ATMs) and payments will be processed in cash. In addition to French, there are four major spoken languages in DRC, namely Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Swahili. Kinshasa is currently a security level 2 duty station. The security situation in Kinshasa is relatively calm. The security related threats staff may face in Kinshasa are mainly from crime and civil unrest. Criminality is prevalent in Kinshasa, including Gombe commune in the city centre. Criminality activities include street and house robbery, vehicle related crimes such as break-ins. UN personnel are not specifically targeted, but criminals focus attacks on those perceived to have money and valuables. Identified crime actors are street children locally called Shegues, organized gangs and unemployed youth called Kulunas, and sometimes uncontrolled elements of the national security forces. Of special concern are armed robberies committed by criminals posing as policemen who target foreigners walking alone. These criminals present what looks like a legitimate ID card of the security forces, get the victim inside a vehicle and rob them of valuables before letting them go. UN personnel must also be aware of the danger from driving in Kinshasa. Road traffic accidents are the most common security incident for the UN in Kinshasa.

 

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Drafting and Documentation, MG-Project Management, PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation, PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement, PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination, PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards, PR-International Humanitarian Law, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

Bachelor of Arts: International Law, Bachelor of Arts: Law, Bachelor of Arts: Political Science

Certifications

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Additional Information

This position doesn”t require a functional clearance