Associate Protection Officer – Mogadishu, Somalia

Hardship Level: E (most hardship)

Family Type: Non Family with Residential Location

Family Type: Non Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay

Residential location (if applicable): Nairobi (CO), Kenya

Grade: PR2

Staff Member / Affiliate Type: Professional

Reason: Regular > Regular Assignment

Remote work accepted: No

Target Start Date: 2023-03-24

Job Posting End Date: April 20, 2023

Standard Job Description: Associate Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Associate 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 Associate Protection Officer is expected to 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. 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 persons of concern 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 persons of concern. 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.
• Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations.
• Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to persons of concern.
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern 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 to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach.
• Contribute to a country-level education plan.
• Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures.
• Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
• Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of persons of concern 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 persons of concern.
• Participate in the organisation and implementation of participatory assessments and methodologies throughout the operations management cycle and promote AGD sensitive programming with implementing and operational partners.
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
• Promote and integrate community-based approaches to protection and contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Support activities in the area of risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, fraud, case-processing, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level.
• Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
• Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
• Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
• Enforce 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.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P2/NOB – 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field

(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Certificates and/or Licenses

Protection Learning Programme

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.

Desirable

Field experience, including in working directly with communities. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills

*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)

PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination

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

(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.

Desired Candidate Profile: Preferably female candidate with managerial skills given the context which requires staff member to also act as officer-in – charge due to rotations

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):: ,

Desired languages: ,

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

Nature of Position:: The Associate Protection Officer is part of the protection team based in the Representation Office in Mogadishu. The incumbent of the position will report to the Snr. Protection Officer. S/he is broadly responsible for; leading, coordinating and supporting the implementation of the Multi Year, Multi Partner Protection and Solutions Strategy (MYMPSS) and other sectoral/thematic strategies. S/he acts as a critical interface between UNHCR, partners and communities of concern, providing functional protection guidance. Under the guidance of the Deputy Representative (Ops), the incumbent of the position will support the operation to undertake aid diversion reporting activities. S/he serves as the focal point for statelessness related activities. Furthermore, the incumbent will represent UNHCR in different interagency coordination forums ( CCCM, protection cluster and CP AoR Strategic Advisory Group (SAG)), to facilitate inclusion of UNHCR ‘s POCs in HNO/HRP funding appeal process. To achieve this role, the Associate Protection Officer will be required to spend a substantial percentage of his/her time working with and maintaining effective interface with persons of concern, protection and assistance partners to coordinate protection responses, and ensure that operational responses in all sectors mainstream and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent will contribute to the design of key protection documents including strategies, standard operating procedures and guidance notes on child protection, PSEA, AAP and community-based complaints and feedback mechanisms.

Living and Working Conditions::

The security situation in Somalia is well-known for being volatile and unpredictable. The incumbent should therefore have experience in working in stressful conditions, have sound security awareness, and be sensitive to social, cultural and religious norms.

UNHCR has its own accommodation and Office compound within the AMISOM protected area. There are several restaurants and shops within the protected area that staff can find different food and non-food items. There is no banking service but there are several ATM machines within the protected area where staff can withdraw up to 500USD at a time with Visa cards. USD is also commonly used locally in cash during shopping. There is a PX shop within AAIA AMISOM protected area, where basic food, beverage and clothes stuff can be bought. UNSOS has level II hospital in the compound accessible to UN staff on a cost recovery basis through the Office. For recreational activities, the

accommodations as well as UNSOS compound have gym & sport facility that are accessible to UN staff and residents. Also, international staff can walk around certain unrestricted perimeter of the UN compound such the seaside etc. Mogadishu airport called Adan Abdullahi International Airport

located within the AMISOM protected area within few minutes’ drive away from the accommodation. There is reliable telephone and internet service in the compound.

Staff members are provided radio equipment, mobile sim card, laptop and PPE on arrival. Mogadishu is a high-risk non-family E-duty station with 4 weeks R&R cycle. Field missions by international staff requires security escort within a very limited radius of the Town and must be planned in advance in close cooperation with Security Officer.

Staff are required to complete all mandatory trainings including BSAFE before travel, as well as SSAFE is feasible. There is daily UN Flight from Mogadishu to Nairobi. Additionally, there are few airlines with a daily flight from Mogadishu to Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Istanbul.

Additional Qualifications: Skills

Education

BA: International Law (Required), BA: Law (Required), BA: Political Science (Required)Certifications

HCR Protection Learning Program – UNHCRWork Experience

Annual Budget OL in Operation/Office, Number of Persons of Concern Served, Number of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Statelessness, Workforce to Supervise, Working with Persons of Concern: Asylum Seekers, Working with Persons of Concern: Internally Displaced Persons, Working with Persons of Concern: Refugees, Working with Persons of Concern: Returned IDPs, Working with Persons of Concern: Returned RefugeesCompetencies: Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator: https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium: March 2023 Compendium – Part B

Additional Information: Functional clearance: This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

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