Assistant Protection Officer -Jijiga, Ethiopia

Job Description

Standard Job Description

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.

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

Certificates and/or Licenses

• Not specified; (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

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.

• Location of Assignment: Bokh
• The incumbent of the position will be based in Bokh not in Jijiga, which is the exact location of the contractual assignment of this position.
• Additional language skills in Somali are a desirable.
• Female applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

  Living and Working Conditions:

  Bokh town is located in Doolo zone of the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia and is the headquarters of the Bokh woreda (District), with an estimated population of 50,000 people. It is situated 170 kms away from Wardher, the Doolo zonal capital, 780km from Jijiga, 80-100 km from the Ethiopia-Somalia border and 1,400 kilometers away from Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa.

  Kebridehar is the nearest big town located on the main asphalt road from Jijiga that has an airport providing air transport from Addis Ababa to the region. However, the distance from Kebridehar to Bokh via Wardher is about 305 kms, but this takes about 7 hours due to the rough nature of the road.

  Bokh and its surrounding areas are characterized by moderate, dusty, and dry weather. The temperature varies from 30–38 degrees Celsius and can rise up to 40 degrees Celsius, thus creating a very hot and uncomfortable environment. The rainy season is normally during the months of June to September and although it reduces the warm temperature, it creates a perfect condition for insects to fertilize, especially mosquitoes.

  The currency used in Doolo zone is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB). There are no banking services in Bokh town. The nearest banking facility if the branch for the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Wardher, the zonal capital. It is recommended to carry cash before arriving at the Bokh UNHCR Satellite Office.

  Services like electricity and water are very limited. Electricity for the town is supplied for a few hours a day from a big generator and some residents have invested in solar power. Water is provided from two main boreholes whose capacity does not satisfy the entire town population, with proposed rehabilitation and construction of new boreholes by the district authorities.

  Network coverage is unreliable in Bokh. In commercial hotel accommodations, there is no access to the internet at all. Sometimes staff use mobile phone data to check their emails. Connection to wireless networks and other ICT needs is under preparation by UNHCR ICT colleagues. VSAT equipment are being prepared for installation in Bokh and some ICT emergency kits have recently been delivered in Bokh to facilitate staff office activities.

  Currently, accommodations are being provided by two private commercial hotels (Shobane and Rambo) with the price varying between ETB 500-600 per night. UNHCR is planning to rent a property for staff accommodation which will then provide a standard accommodation rate in accordance with the Policy on UNHCR-Provided Accommodation in the Field. However, due to the numbers of humanitarian workers arriving in Bokh, accommodation has recently been scarce. UNHCR has dispatched some 50 tents and mattresses to set up a tented camp for staff accommodation to complement available hotel spaces.

  Most accommodations do not have private bathrooms, air-conditioning, closets, or other additional house furniture.

  Upon arrival at the UNHCR Satellite Office in Bokh, a security briefing is required. Official working hours are Monday through Thursday: 08:30 – 17:30 hours, with a one-hour lunch break from 12:30 to 13:30 hours; while on Friday: 08:30 – 14:00 hours, with no lunch break.

• This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

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

Education

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

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