Assistant Protection Officer(N)

A (least hardship)FamilyFamily NOANational Professional Officer

Reason

Regular > Regular AssignmentNo2024-04-01March 31, 2024

Assistant Protection Officer

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.

- 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 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 incumbent must have excellent command of English and Arabic languages, both oral and written. The incumbent must also have excellent IT and database management skills, including proGres and RAIS tools.
- Experience in liaison with the national authorities and building the capacity of the national authorities and, or the refugee community on issues related to International Human Rights or International Refugee Law;
- A legal degree is an added value.

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

The majority of Egypt is at Security Level 2 (Low) except for the Western Desert (Security Level 3, Moderate) and the North Sinai (Security Level 5, High). UNHCR currently operates only in Low to Moderate security level areas. The security situation is relatively stable; however there have been a number of attacks on security (police and military) forces and on rare occasions religious and tourism sites.  Civil unrest since 2015 is low, there are very rarely large demonstrations or public disorder incidents.  The crime rate in the country is moderate with some incidents particularly in the crowded neighborhoods of large cities (Cairo and Alexandria) such as thefts, burglary and robbery (e.g. bag snatchers especially against females). Sexual harassment against women and girls is high in the country targeting both Egyptian and foreigners. Hazards are the most challenging safety issue.  Road accidents are common in Egypt, due to poor road conditions, dangerous driving and non-enforcement of traffic laws. Fires in apartments are a hazard, with electricity standards low causing electrical fires. Vulnerability to staff is exacerbated by disregard of safety advisories, such as installing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their residences.

Nature of Position:

The Arab Republic of Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol and the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention governing specific aspects of refugee issues in Africa. In the absence of a national asylum legislation and system, the functional responsibilities for all aspects of registration, documentation, and refugee status determination (RSD) of asylum-seekers and refugees have been delegated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), under a 1954 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Government of Egypt (GoE). The Government grants refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR a six-month renewable residence permit pursuant to the Law of Foreign Nationals No. 89 of 1960, amended by Law No. 88 of 2005, which regulates the legal stay and entry of foreigners in Egypt, including asylum-seekers and refugees. UNHCR in Egypt has Offices in Greater Cairo (6th October City and Zamalek district) as well as a Field Office in Alexandria. 

Egypt hosts over 501,498 registered asylum-seekers and refugees from 55 countries. The majority are from Sudan, followed by Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Somalia UNHCR  now assist the largest number of registered refugees and asylum-seekers in history in Egypt. In response to the needs of the large influx, UNHCR set up a field office in Alexandria in December 2013. At the same time, conflicts in Sudan, Syria and political instability in East Africa, and the Horn of Africa as well as the unrest in Iraq and Yemen, have driven thousands of Sudanese, Syrians, South Sudanese, Ethiopian, Iraqi, and Yemeni individuals to seek refuge in Egypt.

Under the Protection Service in UNHCR Egypt, the Legal and Physical Protection Unit plays an important role in attending to the legal needs of refugees, asylum seekers, and others needing international protection in Egypt. The protection aspects managed by the Legal and Physical Protection Unit include access to territory in a mixed-movement context, detention, legal aid, and counseling; regularization of stay/residency; and civil documentation/birth registration procedures. The incumbent will report to the Protection Officer responsible for the Legal and Physical Protection Unit.  The incumbent plays a senior role within the Legal and Physical Unit and s/he will have a supervisory role. Therefore, s/he should have experience at a senior level in identifying legal and protection needs and designing solutions thereto, experience in UNHCR results-based management, and experience at a managerial level.

In addition to the duties listed in the job description, The incumbent will be undertaking the following duties:

•  Monitoring protection standards, operational procedures, and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and providing functional protection support to information management and program staff,

• Coordinating quality, timely, and effective protection responses to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers,

• Identifying opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies, and integrating protection safeguards in operational responses in all sectors,

• Contributing to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and liaising externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor,

• Ensuring that refugees and asylum seekers are involved in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems,

• Assisting in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to refugees and asylum seekers,

• Providing advice on protection issues to refugees and asylum seekers,

• Providing counseling to refugees and on protection and legal issues and ensuring proper feedback to them is provided,

• Conducting interviews and drafting protection assessments of legal and physical protection concerns facing asylum seekers and refugees.,

• Drafting routine correspondence relating to individual cases,

• Drafting correspondence to national authorities on different protection issues,

• Compiling and entering the statistical data into the UNHCR database for protection,

• Assisting in the provision of capacity-building activities for external interlocutors. 

• Producing daily, weekly, monthly, and annual reports,

Living and Working Conditions:

Cairo is a family, category A duty station, has good residential areas and offers multiple touristic sites and locations to visit and enjoy. Cairo also offers excellent and frequent air connections to a wide range of international destinations. When it comes to accommodation, food, furniture and clothing, there is variety of choice withs the costs depending on the preferences of the incumbent. International banks and a wide variety of private health facilities are available.  Heavy traffic, air & noise pollution, and long commuting hours are often mentioned as challenging aspects of living in Cairo.

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 indicatorsBachelor 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

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Compendium

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance