Field Assistant

Our primary purpose at UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. We also strive to secure lasting solutions.

For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes. We had three years to complete our work and then disband.

Today, over 70 years later, our organization is still hard at work, protecting and assisting refugees around the world.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, over 6 million people have fled their homes. As of October 20, 2024, Romania has provided temporary protection to 181,736 refugees, with Constanta County hosting the second largest population of Ukrainian refugees, 12% of the 94,492 living in the country.

The Romanian government, along with civil society, the private sector, national, and international organizations, has been actively supporting both Ukrainian refugees and over 4,849 other refugees and asylum seekers from various countries. In eastern Romania, most refugees live in urban areas and have benefited from three government programs aimed at covering accommodation costs, promoting employment and education, and providing emergency assistance.

UN agencies and NGOs support the national response through the Refugee Response Plan (RRP) and the Refugee Coordination Forum (RCF). The 2024 Romania RRP is aligned with the Government National Plan of Measures (NPM) for the protection and socio-economic inclusion of refugees from Ukraine.

UNHCR leads an inter-agency platform with 37 partners, coordinating humanitarian activities and fostering collaboration among local authorities, NGOs, and national working groups. At the local level in Constanta and eastern Romania, UNHCR collaborates with various stakeholders, including government agencies, UN agencies, and community organizations. Since December 2022, UNHCR has led the Refugee Support Network coordination in Constanta and actively participates in regional coordination groups at the Prefecture level.

Within the delegated authority and under the overall supervision of the Head of Constanta Field Office or his/her designated mandated representative(s), and under the direct supervision of the Field Associate in Constanta, the UNV Field Assistant will:

• Collect data and other information relevant to UNHCR and report to the supervisor accordingly.
• Assist in drafting reports and routine correspondence within the Area of Responsibility (AoR) in both Romanian and English as required.
• Act as interpreter in the exchange of routine information with local actors, as well as contribute to Field staff duties on related liaison activities.
• Support on needs identification on refugee and host community in vulnerable situation, contributing to planning activities.
• Support on the logistics and delivery of assistance items.
• In collaboration with protection staff, support to ongoing service mapping, updating the active tools.
• Support on protection monitoring in diverse spaces including Border crossing points, collective shelters, and reception centers.
• Support the preparation and implementation of monitoring activities of UNHCR programmes in the AoR, including post-distribution monitoring exercises.
• Assist on area based, site and needs assessments implementation.
• Support the identification of risks in the AoR, raising risks, issues and concerns to the supervisor accordingly.
• Perform other related duties as required.