Senior Community-based Protection Assistant

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

U (unclassified)No designationUNOPS LICA52025-01-01November 22, 20241. General Background

The UNHCR Representation in Venezuela is comprised of the Country Office in Caracas, two Field Offices located on the border with Colombia (San Cristobal and Maracaibo), as well as three Field Units, one in Caracas, the capital district; Carupano (Sucre) in the border with Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana; and Santa Elena de Uairen in the border with Brazil.

UNHCR's Santa Elena de Uairen Field Unit covers the municipality of Gran Sabana and occasionally they will cover other municipalities in Bolivar State. This Field Unit supports essential services and community-based interventions to strengthen self-management of protection risks. It also implements, directly and with partners, community mobilization activities with community leaders and volunteers, focusing on awareness-raising, prevention/mitigation, and response pathways. It also supports community spaces and infrastructure as complementary interventions to facilitate community-based activities, including solidarity initiatives, and the use of sport as a protection tool in vulnerable communities.

The operational context in Venezuela remains challenging, affecting both refugees and asylum seekers and the Venezuelan population in humanitarian crisis, including displaced persons, returnees, and people on-the-move. Since the first quarter of 2022, an increase in returns and a high need for protection has been observed.

The Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is a member of the Protection Unit and may report to the Protection Officer, Community-Based Protection Officer, or another more senior staff member in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families, and communities.

The incumbent supports the application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures, and practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level. To fulfil this role, the Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern (PoC). The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with PoC that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming, and results, form the core of the work of the incumbent. S/he also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with PoC.
     
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.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

i. Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection strategy.
ii. Through relationships with the people we serve and network of partners, stay abreast of political, social, economic, and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team.
iii. Conduct regular monitoring of UNHCR's work with communities on protection issues, in addition to providing the Protection Unit and Head of Field Unit with context updates and emerging situations in communities as they arise.
iv. Understand the perspectives, specific capacities, needs and resources of the people we serve including boys, girls, women and men of different ages, gender, origin and any other diversity considerations and advise the protection team, accordingly.
v. Support implementing and operational partners as well as displaced and local communities to develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and response to GBV.
vi. Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
vii. Support participatory assessments by multifunctional teams and ongoing consultation with PoC.
viii. Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Field Unit for community-based protection.
ix. Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures.
x. Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response.
xi. Collect data for monitoring of programmes and budgets from an AGD perspective.
xii. Draft and type routine correspondence, documents and reports and maintain up-to-date filing systems.
xiii. Contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries, in addition to preparing documents related to briefings, to highlight community activities of specific interest, including infographics, brochures, flyers, etc.
xiv. Assist in the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
xv. Identify and recommend which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
xvi. Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
xvii. Support functional units and the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) in integrating participatory and community-based approaches into the overall protection strategy, including the cross-cutting justification of infrastructure or shelter interventions related to CBP initiatives.
xviii. Support capacity building of community committees and other community networks to promote community participation in decision making and implementation of solutions.
xix. Contribute to the design of a training plan for community structures and provide training and technical support to community structures and local partners to strengthen their capacity in project management and activity implementation.
xx. Monitor the implementation of programme activities to ensure that they are carried out as planned and achieve the expected results, including the activities of local partners.
xxi. Perform other related duties as required.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
  
i. At the beginning of the contract, a work plan will be developed between the incumbent, the supervisor, and the Head of Field Unit to define objectives, key activities, and timelines of the project to ensure the efficient delivery of expected results and outputs, in line with the multiyear strategy of the operation.
ii. The incumbent will be required to regularly visit priority communities within the Area of Responsibility (AoR), including Indigenous populations, to fulfil their responsibilities. It is essential for the incumbent to stay informed about the contextual and operational challenges affecting communities as well as the cultural particularities and specific needs of Indigenous communities, to ensure that interventions are culturally appropriate and effective.
iii. The incumbent will receive guidance from the Associate Protection and the Head of the Field Unit. They may also receive indirect guidance from other relevant departments and units within the country program. The incumbent is expected to stay informed about the challenges posed by the operational context, including Indigenous communities.

4. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education
A university degree in Development Studies, Human Rights, Community Development, Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, Social Science, Political Science, International Law, or a related field.

b. Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level

At least 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1-year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher.

Essential:
i. Demonstrated experience in community-based protection, and related processes and proven experience working in field and community-level settings.
ii. Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills, and excellent interpersonal abilities; culturally and socially sensitive. Capable of working collaboratively with diverse partners, including grassroots community members, organizations, and authorities.
iii. Experience in implementing needs and/or participatory assessments at the community level and design and implementation of community capacity-building projects.
iv. Adaptability and willingness to work in remote communities and navigate precarious routes with appropriate safety measures.
v. Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously, while respecting deadlines.
vi. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (excellent in Word; good in Excel and PowerPoint) and internet browsing. Experience in project management, database, and information management.

Desirable:
i. Knowledge of UN policies and procedures.
ii. Familiarity with UNHCR Protection Learning Programs (PLP) and administrative systems.
iii. Experience with NGOs is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization.
iv. Experience of working with indigenous communities and an understanding of indigenous history, culture and cosmovision is highly recommended.

c. Key Competencies
Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Respect for diversity
Integrity and professionalism

Cross-Functional Competencies
Stakeholder Management
Planning and Organizing
Political Awareness
Analytical Thinking

d. Language requirements

Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English is desirable.

e. Functional Skills

*IT-MS Office Applications
*IT-Computer Literacy
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
UN-UN/UNHCR Financial Rules and Regulations and Procedures
PR-Community-based Protection
PR-Community-based Protection - Principles and methodologies
CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

f. Travel requirements

Contractor may be required to travel 20% of the time to locations other than their assigned work location.

 

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

Spanish

,

,

Desired Languages

English

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No