Associate Resettlement  & Complementary Pathways Officer

This vacancy is opened in the context of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) scheme sponsored by the Government of the USA and is addressed exclusively to candidates WITH THE US NATIONALITY The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Political and social tensions triggered several episodes of violence in Nicaragua in April 2018, leading to a large influx of people, mainly into Costa Rica, but also to the North of Central America and Panama. UNHCR¿s regional response plan for the Nicaragua situation focused on strengthening reception capacities in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras.

In addition, the unfolding crisis in Venezuela has led to Venezuelans seeking safety in the region and beyond. The main asylum systems in the region, principally Belize, Costa Rica and Panama, have been challenged by increasing arrivals of asylum-seekers from NCA, Nicaragua and Venezuela. During the first half of 2018, a total of 10,700 new asylum claims were registered in these three countries, six times higher than the 1,800 applications observed in the first half of 2015. Since April 2018, over 20,000 asylum claims from Nicaragua were registered in Panama and Costa Rica alone, and approximately 10,000 more waiting to formalize their asylum claim in Costa Rica.

In response to the increase in forced displacement in the region, UNHCR expanded its presence and operational capacity to strengthen protection alternatives and encourage solutions for those affected, promoted mechanisms to prevent and address situations of forced displacement and, together with other UN agencies, assisted States to address the root causes of flight and promote a secure environment free from persecution.

UNHCR¿s Regional Office in Panama ensures the overall coordination of the Regional Protection and Solutions Strategy for the North of Central America (NCA) situation and supports the implementation of the regional application of the CRRF. UNHCR now has fully-fledged national offices in Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and maintains a small presence in Cuba for protection activities. The Regional Office in Panama also has oversight over offices in Costa Rica and covers also Nicaragua where it has no operational presence.

The growing trend of forced displacement from and within El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras continues unabated, with almost 310,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from the NCA registered by mid-2018, an increase of 54 per cent compared to the same period last year and a tenfold increase over the past five years.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT.

Accountability
¿ Cases are referred for resettlement in accordance with existing SOPs;
¿ Participation at office meetings to discuss cases identified for possible resettlement con-sideration;
¿ Resettlement events in ProGres database are properly updated and cases are tracked;
¿ Resettlement country missions and refugee departures from (country) are facilitated;
¿ Resettlement counseling is provided to refugees;

Responsibility
¿ Conduct casework by interviewing identified refugees for resettlement. Assess the reset-tlement needs and   complete RRF (Resettlement Registration Forms) and refer cases for review to the Resettlement Officer;
¿ Research country of origin information to support and strengthen resettlement cases;
¿ Support and assist in the preparation of and facilitation of resettlement country missions;
¿ Assist Resettlement Officer with the organizing of training workshops and seminars on resettlement related issues for UNHCR staff;
¿ Regularly liaise with Protection, Community Services and other relevant Units to individu-al case processing within the Office;
¿ Regularly update ProGres database with resettlement events and maintain own statistical data for reporting purposes;
¿ Participate at the Resettlement Unit, Protection Section and Office meetings when re-quested;
¿ Undertake support resettlement missions to the field when required.


Authority
The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
¿ Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
¿ Manage in a fair manner refugees¿ resettlement expectations through information sharing, outreach and counselling;

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.

EDUCATION/QUALIFICATION: Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s) in Law, International Law, International Relations, Political/Social Sciences or related field. Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) may also be accepted. The degree must have been obtained in an accredited institution listed under www.whed.net.

WORK EXPERIENCE: Minimum 2 years of relevant experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s), 3 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) and 1 year with a PhD, preferably with refugees and/or other displaced people and especially in conducting RSD (Refugee Status Determination) and resettlement interviews

SKILLS: ¿ Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting;
¿ Ability to complete tasks within a set time frame;
¿ Good analytical skills;
¿ Ability to work effectively and with minimum supervision.

General computer literacy (word, email, internet) and good knowledge of the basic data-management programs; Excel, Access, ProGres (asset).

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES. 
¿ Knowledge of UN policies and procedures;
¿ Field experience;
¿ Flexibility and ability to provide support and oversight to numerous projects at once and willingness to undertake some related administrative tasks; REQUIRED COMPETENCIES, which illustrate behaviours that are essential to achieving deliverables described above, and that are critical to successful performance. All jobs require the staff to abide to the Values and Core competencies of UNHCR. 

Code Managerial Competencies              

M001: Empowering and Building Trust
M002: Managing Performance
M003: Judgement and Decision Making

Code       Cross-Functional Competencies

X005: Planning and Organizing
X007: Political Awareness
X009: Change Capability and Adaptability LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE

- Essential: English, Spanish
- Desirable: Any other UN language. SUPERVISION: The JPO will be under the direct supervision of the manager indicated under `Supervisor title and position number¿.  The supervisor will be responsible for the performance evaluation of the JPO. The manager will also ensure that the JPO is provided a thorough induction and orientation briefing, followed by on-the-job training as well as continuous guidance for training/learning opportunities throughout the assignment. In support to the manager, the JPO Unit provides the Supervisory Guidelines upon recruitment/reassignment of the JPO. TRAINING COMPONENTS AND LEARNING ELEMENTS

TRAINING COMPONENTS:
- Mandatory training courses:
1. Basic Security in the Field (NB: needs to be retaken every 3 years)
2. Advanced Security in the Field  (NB: needs to be retaken every 3 years)
3. Protection Induction Programme (PIP)
4. UN Course on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority
5.    Orientation to IPSAS

- Recommended training courses
Resettlement Learning Programme
Managing an Effective Resettlement Operation


LEARNING ELEMENTS
How to effectively manage a resettlement operation LIVING CONDITIONS AT THE DUTY STATION

Housing/accommodation: Available

Health care: Several medical facilities are available in the city, as well as accredited UN doctors. Make sure you are up-to-date on routine vaccines.

Educational facilities: Several international schools available.

Security: A/Family duty station. The current security level for San Salvador is Moderate - 3.There is no information to suggest that UN staff and dependents are specifically targeted by criminals; however, crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country. A security briefing will be available for all staff arriving to El Salvador. 

Other (transports, banks, etc) Do not take street taxis and do not use public buses. Banking services available. Please note that the closing date for this JPO advertisement is Saturday 23 December 2019 (midnight Geneva time).