National Protection Officer
Organizational Context
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a UN-affiliated agency promoting humane and orderly migration. The National Protection Officer role is based in Caracas, Venezuela, supporting the IOM Country Office's protection interventions. This position operates under the Chief of Mission and Protection Officer, coordinating with regional and headquarters protection divisions.
Job Purpose
The National Protection Officer is responsible for supporting the coordination and implementation of IOM Venezuela's protection activities, with a focus on areas such as trafficking in persons and gender-based violence. This role involves promoting collaboration with existing protection programs and ensuring protection is mainstreamed across all human mobility initiatives within IOM Venezuela. The officer will contribute to the overall goal of safeguarding individuals on the move and facilitating safe migration pathways, working in an integrated manner with other program areas. The position requires travel to field offices as needed to support these objectives.
Responsibilities
Key responsibilities include assisting in the coordination and monitoring of protection interventions, encompassing general protection, specialized services (GBV, child protection), counter-trafficking, and nexus initiatives. The role involves contributing to project proposals, concept notes, and planning documents, aligning with the IOM Venezuela protection strategy and supporting resource mobilization. The officer will also help develop and adjust work plans, budgets, and M&E tools, identifying gaps and suggesting improvements. Coordination with implementing partners, collection and analysis of protection data, and maintenance of information management systems are crucial. Reporting to donors and stakeholders, liaising with UN agencies and local authorities, and contributing to capacity-building activities are also key duties. The role requires attending relevant meetings and undertaking duty travel for project monitoring and assessments.
Work Experience
Required experience includes work in migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and protection. Experience supporting protection programming, including GBV and human trafficking, is essential. The role also benefits from experience supervising teams, delivering training, working with international agencies, and in humanitarian contexts. Project management, monitoring, and evaluation experience, along with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, are also important.
Skills
Essential skills include knowledge of protection programming and mainstreaming, project development, and reporting. The ability to manage a varied workload under pressure, meet deadlines, and strong writing, communication, and negotiation skills are vital. Excellent organization, analytical, and creative thinking abilities are also required.