Grade

GS4

General Service

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

H (no hardship)

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2024-07-01

2024-12-31

May 19, 2024

Standard Job Description

Community-Based Protection Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Community-Based Protection Assistant is a member of the Protection Unit and may report to the Protection Officer, Community-Based Protection Officer, or another more senior staff member in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the incumbent works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. S/he supports the application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures and practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level. To fulfil this role, the Community-Based Protection Assistant is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern (PoC). The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with PoC that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming and results, form the core of the work of the incumbent. S/he also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with PoC.

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
– Through relationships with PoC and network of partners, stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team. Understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the PoC and advise the protection team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
– Support implementing and operational partners as well as displaced and local communities to develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and response to GBV.
– Assist in working with host communities to involve national civil society groups in improving the protection of PoC.
– Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
– Support participatory assessments and ongoing consultation with PoC.
– Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures.
– Ensure community understanding of UNHCR’s commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response.
– Collect data for monitoring of programmes and budgets from an AGD perspective.
– Draft and type routine correspondence, documents and reports and maintain up-to-date filing systems.
– Act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
– Assist in the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
– Identify and recommend which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
– Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.

– 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 G4 – 1 year relevant experience with High School Diploma; or Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Development, Human Rights, International Law
Social Work, Social Science, Political Science,
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified.

Desirable
UNHCR learning programmes (PLP). Knowledge of MSRP.

Functional Skills
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
*IT-Computer Literacy
PR-Community-based Protection – Principles and methodologies
CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
(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.

Community-Based Protection Assistant
Category & Level: General Service, G4
UNHCR Austria, Vienna
Effective date: 01 July 2024
Duration: 31 December 2024
(With possibility of extension until 30 June 2025)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Community-Based Protection Assistant will support the Protection Unit and conduct both quality assurance as well as monitoring and advocacy work. The Community-Based Protection Assistant works independently under the supervision of the Senior Protection Associate. The incumbent has no supervisory role.

Duties

 Deal with cases of asylum-seekers and refugees which exceptionally need follow-up on the part of UNHCR.
 Advocate for family reunification for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and follow-up on individual hardship cases with other UNHCR Offices, the asylum authority and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
 Organize and conduct missions to reception and detention centres, including participatory assessments with persons of concern to UNHCR, with special focus on child protection and prevention and response to GBV and draft reports on identified good practices as well as challenges.
 Build and maintain contacts with relevant junior civil servants of federal and provincial authorities, with guardians and legal representatives of unaccompanied and separated asylum-seeking children as well as with NGO representatives and lawyers with the aim to address possible protection concerns, notably in individual cases.
 Through relationships with asylum-seekers and refugees and a network of partners, understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of asylum-seekers and refugees and advise the protection team and external partners accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
 Draft reports and correspondence concerning protection-related issues.
 Assist in the enforcement of participatory age-, gender- and diversity-sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
 As back-up for the Senior Protection Assistant, assess individual cases submitted to UNHCR Austria by the Federal Office of Immigration and Asylum (BFA) in the context of the so-called “airport procedure” – an accelerated procedure for asylum applications filed at the airport – by case-specific legal analysis as well as research concerning the human rights situation in countries of origin on the internet;
 Assist in managing and supervising Protection Unit interns.
 Support the Senior Protection Associate and the Head of Office as required.

Essential
– Relevant Job Experience
– Excellent written and oral command of German and English
– Excellent computer skills, in particular in MS Office applications.
– Excellent communication and intercultural skills.
– Knowledge of international, EU as well as national refugee / asylum law
– Knowledge of the legal, judicial and political system as well as the reception system in Austria
– Excellent drafting skills

Desirable
– Previous work experience with UNHCR (particularly in Austria)
– Demonstrated work in the reception context
– Demonstrated work experience with child and women asylum-seekers

Required languages
German at C2 and English at C1 level

Desired additional languages
Farsi, Arabic or Ukrainian

A) Please upload your CV and Motivation Letter in English to your application.
B) To be considered eligible for this position, foreign candidates must have a temporary or permanent residence in Austria that allows them to carry out work activities in the country.
C) If you wish to be considered for this vacancy, please submit your application according to the following instructions:

CVs WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY EMAIL. ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS SENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM WILL BE CONSIDERED

No late applications will be accepted.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

NOTE

UNHCR is committed to diversity and welcomes applications from qualified candidates regardless of disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).

REMUNERATION

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the International Civil Service Commission at: http://icsc.un.org.
UNHCR Salary Calculator: https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

English

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German

,

,

,

Skills

CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community, IT-Computer Literacy, IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), PR-Community-based Protection – Principles and methodologies, UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures

Education

Certifications

Development Studies – Other, HCR Learning Program – UNHCR, Human Rights – Other, International Law – Other, Political Science – Other, Social Sciences – Other

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