Protection Associate

This position is advertised open to internal and external applicants. Candidates must be Congoleese Nationals.

Interested staff members should consult the Administrative Instruction on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS, UNHCR/AI/2020/1/Rev.1). If you have questions regarding your eligibility, you may also contact the HR Unit.

In line with the RALS, the below category of candidates are eligible to apply for internally/externally advertised vacancies.

Group 1 candidates: Group 1 comprises current GS staff members holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment who, at the date of the deadline for application, are serving in the country of the vacancy at the grade of the position or one grade below or above.

Group 2 candidates: Group 2 comprises candidates from the below categories after completion of one cumulative or continuous year of service in the country of the vacancy.

I. Currently employed locally recruited UNHCR staff members holding a Temporary Appointment;
II. Former locally recruited UNHCR staff members who held an indefinite or fixed-term appointment (within 2 years of separation for males and 5 years for females);
III. National United Nations Volunteers currently working for UNHCR;
IV. National UNOPS and individual contractors currently working for UNHCR;
V. Current GS staff members holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment applying to a position in the same category two grades above the staff member¿s personal grade;
VI. Current UNHCR staff members in the International Professional category holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment applying to a GS post;
VII. Current UNHCR staff members in the NPO category holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment applying to a GS post;
VIII. Current locally recruited female staff members from other UN system Organizations holding the equivalent of an indefinite or fixed-term appointment.

External candidates are candidates who are not in Group 1 or Group 2. They must meet the essential minimum requirements of the position and candidates not citizens of the country must comply with all eligibility requirements for employment in line with the prevailing legislative prerequisites in the country. Protection Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Protection Associate normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer.  The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.

The Protection Associate is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC) and identify opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards in operational responses in all sectors.  S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and liaises externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Associate also ensures that PoC are involved in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

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 advice on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Assist in conducting eligibility and status determination for PoC.
- 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.
- 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.
- Assist in identifying durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on PoC and their problems.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
- Assist the supervisor in prioritizing PoC for interview, counselling and propose protection support for individual cases.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of local implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Assit the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
- Submit individual payments request for PoC for approval. 
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law, Political Science
or other related field
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential:
Not specified

Desirable:
Protection Learning Programme

Functional Skills
IT-Computer Literacy
CL-Protection & Solutions Awareness
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

. Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies
Judgement and Decision Making

Cross-Functional Competencies
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness
Stakeholder Management For General Service jobs: Knowledge of French and/or UN working language of the duty station if not French. Interested internal candidates (Group 1 and Group 2) need apply through MSRP ¿ Self-Service ¿ Recruiting Activities ¿ Careers (please search by JO number or by Location). Please update your personal profiles with all required information in order to be able to apply. Please consult the attached documents for further guidance on how to update the personal profile.

Interested external applicants need to apply online and complete the mandatory motivation letter.  For technical issues with logging in to the MSRP External Portal, or with online applications, please contact the HR Unit well before the deadline to allow sufficient time for any technical problem to be resolved. External vacancies are posted on the external UNHCR website and applicants who do not have internal status must apply through the external UNHCR website.  https://www.unhcr.org/careers.html ¿ Careers ¿ Career opportunities ¿ Other Opportunities ¿ Vacancies ¿ sort by Location or search by Job Opening number. 

Not signed, incomplete and late applications will not be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing or any other fees).

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted based on the information submitted during the application. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications. A test eliminatory will be required.No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

UNHCR strongly encourages qualified female applicants to apply. UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. UNHCR is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms gender, disability, marital or civil partnership status, race, color or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

For any technical problems encountered during the online application, please send an email to the below email address titled ¿Online VA Query-your name and surname¿. Human Resources Kinshasa (Codkivac@unhcr.org)
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
======================================================================================================== The Aru Sub-Office provides protection and assistance to South Sudanese refugees through an integrated services approach aimed at promoting the autonomy of persons of concern and the policy of alternatives to camps. It operates, with the support of the National Commission for Refugees (CNR) and implementing partners, in three refugee sites (Bele, Meri and Biringi). It also pays attention to the thousands of refugees living in host communities along the border who face significant security problems, food insecurity and lack of access to basic social services. A new site, Bele in Haut-Uele, has been identified to accommodate these refugees living at the border and relieve congestion at the Meri site.

The Protection Associate normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer.  The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff. The closing date for submission of applications is 14 september 2021