Assistant Protection Officer

Job Summary:

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.

Requirements

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
Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme.

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 Assistant Protection Officer is expected to coordinate protection activities in collaboration with partners and the Government counterparts, OPM, in achieving the strategic protection priorities of the Kiryandongo Field Office and the Uganda Country Operation. These include among others: a) coordinate quality, timely, and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern, ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards; b) promoting peaceful co-existence with the host community; c) implement a community-based strategic approach that builds refugee resilience and strengthens refugee community self-management, and d) find durable solutions through resettlement as a protection tool and facilitate the repatriation of a small group of refugees, and individual protection case management.

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Responsibilities:

– 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.

Nature of Position:

The Field Office in Kiryandongo is directly responsible for the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement hosting a total of 96,860 refugees and asylum seekers i.e., 46,652 males and 50,208 females as of 31 March 2024 majority of them being of South Sudanese origin, and is continuously receiving new refugee arrivals, particularly those who are displaced due to the ongoing war in Sudan. Majority of the refugees in Kiryandongo have been protractedly displaced, yet most of them have remained dependent on humanitarian aid. The Field Office in Kiryandongo is directly responsible for both operational and implementing UNHCR’s refugee protection program in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement together with its government counterpart the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Kiryandongo District Local Government (KDLG), UN agencies, humanitarian actors, and other development partners. Their engagement in protection response makes it imperative and the Assistant Protection Officer needs to build an interface with all in carrying out protection activities. UNHCR leads the protection coordination and assistance to the Forcibly Displaced Persons and Statelessness.

The Assistant Protection Officer (NOA) is a member of the Protection section at Kiryandongo Field Office and reports to the Head of Field Office. The incumbent will have supervisory responsibility for protection staff.

Living and Working Conditions:

Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement is located in Bweyale Town (Sub-County) in Kiryandongo district where a local trading center has recently sprung up with vibrant economic activities that can be attributed as well to its establishment. Power supply might be irregular in some areas hence a generator or backup inverter might be necessary. Medical facilities including hospitals, pharmacies and clinics are available. Food and house supplies are available in supermarkets and markets. No decent public transport is available, and car purchase is an easy option.

The Kiryandongo is considered a family duty station with social amenities – schools, recreation, and health services. Kiryandongo has security level II with no major security threats to staff members although it is not limited to prospects of terrorism hence the heavy security presence of security personnel in both uniform and plain cloth, road traffic accidents, common law crimes and spontaneous outbreaks of water born disease like Typhoid, cholera plus occasional political /civil unrest mostly contained by Government. The security management systems have been put in place for mitigation measures to avert the impact of the threats therein and is also collective responsibility of all staff members.

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 (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): 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

Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member is subject to proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

Required Education: Bachelor’s Degree
Work Hours: 8 Hours a Day
Experience in Months: 12