Senior Protection Associate At UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS LICA7

Job Posting End Date

February 7, 2023

Terms of Reference

**IMPORTANT: ACTUAL DUTY STATION – ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering an individual contractor agreement (ICA) for a Senior Protection Associate in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The position will report to the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific team in Bangkok.

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 130 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

UNHCR’s primary purpose 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. We seek to uphold the basic human rights of uprooted or stateless people in their countries of asylum or habitual residence, ensuring that refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a country where they could face persecution. Longer term, we also help refugees find solutions, by repatriating voluntarily to their homeland, integrating in countries of asylum, or finding solutions in third countries.

In many countries, our staff work alongside other partners in a variety of locations ranging from capital cities to remote camps and border areas. We attempt to promote or provide legal and physical protection and minimize the threat of violence – including sexual assault – which many refugees are subject to, even in countries of asylum. We also seek to ensure those in need have access to at least a minimum of shelter, food, water and medical care in the immediate aftermath of any refugee exodus.

Mongolia is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. There is no national asylum legislation or institution. Refugees are generally permitted to remain temporarily in the country, pending the achievement of a durable solution, but those with irregular immigration status may be subject to arrest, detention, and deportation.

In the absence of an asylum system administered and managed by the Government of Mongolia, UNHCR may document and register refugee claims and conducting refugee status determination. UNHCR may also provide financial assistance to refugees with specific needs on a case by case basis.

The individual contractor will follow up on UNHCR’s protection activities in Mongolia and will be the first point of contact for persons of concern (POC), government authorities, the Resident Coordinator’s Office, and other partners in Mongolia, reporting to and in close consultation with the Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok.

Under the supervision of the Senior Protection Officer and with technical guidance from concerned staff at the Asia Bureau, the incumbent will assume the duties outlined in Responsibilities section.

Location
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Standard Job Description

Senior Protection Associate Organizational Setting and Work Relationships The Senior Protection Associate reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. The position may entail supervisory responsibilities for protection staff including community services, registration, resettlement and education depending on the structure of the Office. 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 Senior 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. The incumbent contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Office externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he 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 and guidance 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 in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles. – 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. – Assist the supervisor in implementing and monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities. – Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and assist the supervisor with intervening 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. – Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster 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 with intervening with authorities on protection issues. – Provide assistance to the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals. – Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services. – Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures. – Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases. – Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level For G7 – 4 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 relevant field. (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential) Relevant Job Experience Essential Not specified.

Desirable RSD-Resettlement LP and/or Protection Learning Programme Functional Skills IT-Computer Literacy PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework (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.

Required Languages

Mongolian

,

Desired Languages

English

,

Russian

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

BA: International Law, BA: Political Science

Certifications

International Law – Other, Political Science – Other

Work Experience

Other information

The actual duty station is in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Due to the system issue, we can only select Bangkok RB, Thailand for a purpose of creating JR.This position doesn’t require a functional clearance