Senior Protection Assistant

Organizational Context

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people. This role is based in Guerada, Chad, contributing to UNHCR's mission in a challenging operational environment.

Job Purpose

The Senior Protection Assistant plays a crucial role in ensuring the protection of persons of concern (PoC) by monitoring protection standards and operational procedures in line with international norms. The incumbent provides essential functional protection support to information management and programme teams, ensuring that protection methodologies and safeguards are integrated into all operational responses. A key aspect of this role is to contribute to the development of a comprehensive protection strategy and to foster effective external relationships with local authorities and partners on protection matters. The position also emphasizes the importance of empowering PoC by involving them in decisions that affect their lives, promoting their rights and facilitating solutions to their problems through strong community engagement and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Responsibilities

The Senior Protection Assistant is responsible for consistently applying International and National Law, as well as applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policies, standards, and codes of conduct. This includes providing direct counseling on protection issues to PoC and liaising with competent authorities to facilitate the issuance of necessary documentation. The role involves supporting protection-related activities, particularly those based on Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD), in collaboration with implementing and operational partners. The incumbent will conduct preliminary information gathering and interviews to support eligibility assessments, status determination, durable solutions, and social needs assessments. A significant duty is to contribute to measures aimed at identifying, preventing, and reducing statelessness, as well as contributing to country-level child protection and education plans as integral parts of the overall protection strategy. Monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection and solutions activities is essential, as is participating in individual protection case management, including cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and child protection. The assistant will monitor and report on protection incidents such as refoulement and expulsion, and assist in identifying durable solutions for PoC, including voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement. Drafting reports, routine correspondence, updating databases, and compiling statistics within the Area of Responsibility are also key tasks. Furthermore, the role involves contributing to initiatives that enhance national and local protection capacities, selecting PoC for preliminary interviews, and ensuring the integrity of protection services delivered by local implementing partners. Risk management and opportunity identification within the area of responsibility are also expected.

Work Experience

2 years of relevant experience with a High School Diploma, or 1 year of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree or higher.

Skills

IT-Computer Literacy PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

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