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Associate Protection Officer

UNHCR Multi-Country Representation in Canberra

Nature of the Position

The Multi-country Office (MCO) in Canberra covers the bilateral engagement with Australia and New Zealand along with 14 Pacific States (the latter also includes engagement with regional fora).

The Associate Protection Officer works directly with the Senior Durable Solutions Officer and coordinate closely with the Senior Protection Officer. The Associate Protection Officer is responsible of implementing protection strategy for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories as well as asylum and status determination issues for the countries under the MCO Coverage including Australia and New Zealand.

The Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern in the Pacific Countries including PNG and Nauru, 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 organisation 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.

Due to the fast-changing environment and the wide breath of tasks of the Associate Protection Officer, the ideal candidate will be flexible, adaptable, comfortable with working in a fast-paced environment and have the ability to work well with other team members especially under pressure.

Position Scope

Type of Persons of Concern

  • Refugees

  • Asylum Seekers

  • Stateless

  • Others of Concern

Organisational Setting and Work Relationships

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.
  • Enhance collaboration with relevant countries to strengthen RSD procedures
  • 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.
  • Draft, Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures.
  • Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on SGBV 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.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Professional Work Experience

  • 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

Certificates and/or Licenses

  • Protection Learning Programme
  • Relevant Job Experience

Essential:

Professional experience in the area of refugee protection including Refugee Status Determination and Resettlement, 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:

  • Pperational experience, including in working directly with communities and. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Language Requirements

  • Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

Functional Skills

  • PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
  • *LE-International Refugee Law
  • *PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
  • PR-Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Coordination
  • MG-Projects management
  • PR-PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
  • PR-International Humanitarian Law
  • PR-Protection and mixed-movements
  • PR-Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Operations & IDPs Status/Rights/Obligation
  • PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
  • PR-Community-based Protection
  • MS-Drafting, Documentation, Data Presentation
  • (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Core Competencies:

  • Accountability
  • Communication
  • Organisational Awareness
  • Teamwork & Collaboration
  • Commitment to Continuous Learning
  • Client & Result Orientation
  • Managerial Competencies:
  • Judgement and Decision Making
  • Empowering and Building Trust
  • Cross-Functional Competencies:
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
  • Political Awareness

How to apply

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