Assistant Community-Based Protection Officer

Organizational Context

The Assistant Community-Based Protection Officer is part of the Protection Unit in a Country Operation, reporting to a senior staff member. The role involves working directly with communities of concern to identify risks and leverage their capacities for protection, often requiring significant time spent outside the office building community networks.

Job Purpose

The Assistant Community-Based Protection Officer's primary purpose is to work directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families, and communities. This involves spending a substantial amount of time outside the office, building and maintaining networks within these communities. The core of the work focuses on developing and maintaining constructive relationships with persons of concern (PoC) to measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming, and results. The incumbent also supports the design of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring it is based on consultation with PoC, thereby ensuring their perspectives, capacities, needs, and resources are reflected in protection strategies and operational plans.

Responsibilities

The Assistant Community-Based Protection Officer is responsible for staying fully informed about community structures and the protection and security situation of persons of concern (PoC), developing strong links with diverse community members using an Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) approach. They must stay abreast of developments impacting the protection environment and advise senior management. A key responsibility is ensuring PoC perspectives are integrated into protection strategies and operational plans, addressing specific needs of various demographic groups. The role involves supporting consultative processes with government, partners, and PoC to develop and implement integrated strategies for key protection priorities like child protection, GBV, and solutions. Providing technical guidance and overseeing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on community-based protection issues is crucial. The incumbent supports the design, implementation, and evaluation of protection-centred programming with partners, ensuring community-owned activities are integrated. They also promote confidence-building and conflict resolution, maintain protection presence through field missions, and contribute to the Protection Cluster strategy and the integration of protection into country operations plans. Information management, supporting community participation, and contributing to project submissions and budget design are also key duties. Intervening with authorities and negotiating with counterparts are essential, alongside managing risks and seizing opportunities impacting their area of responsibility.

Work Experience

Some professional working experience in community services, social work (e.g., gender, GBV programs, women's empowerment and protection, work with refugees), or human rights-related tasks within a government, NGO, or international organization.

Skills

Community services Social work Human rights Gender equality GBV prevention and response Child protection Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) Policy Communication skills Community communication and engagement Forced displacement and protection Database Management Coordination in Forced Displacement situations

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