Protection Associate

Organizational Context

The Protection Associate reports to the Protection Officer or Senior Protection Officer, monitoring protection standards and providing functional support to information management and programme staff. The role involves coordinating protection responses for populations of concern, integrating protection safeguards across sectors, and contributing to a comprehensive protection strategy. External liaison with authorities and partners on protection policy is also a key aspect.

Job Purpose

The Protection Associate is responsible for coordinating timely and effective protection responses to meet the needs of populations of concern (PoC). This involves identifying opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards into all operational responses across various sectors. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and liaises with external authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy, as guided by their supervisor. A crucial aspect of the role is ensuring PoC are involved in decision-making processes that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or finding solutions to their problems. To facilitate this, the Protection Associate must build and maintain effective relationships with communities of concern, local authorities, and protection and assistance partners, ensuring their voices are heard and considered in all protection-related activities.

Responsibilities

The Protection Associate is expected to stay informed about political, social, economic, and cultural developments impacting the protection environment. They must consistently apply International and National Law, along with applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policies, standards, and codes of conduct. This includes assisting in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC and offering advice on protection issues. The role involves liaising with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation for PoC and assisting in eligibility and status determination processes. Contributing to measures to identify, prevent, and reduce statelessness, as well as contributing to country-level child protection and education plans as part of the broader protection strategy, are also key duties. The incumbent will monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection and solutions activities, manage individual protection cases (including GBV and child protection), and monitor/intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion, and other protection incidents. Assisting in identifying durable solutions for PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement is also required. The role involves contributing to the design, implementation, and evaluation of AGD-based protection programming with partners, facilitating effective information management through disaggregated data, and participating in initiatives to capacitate authorities and NGOs on protection legislation and procedures. The Protection Associate will assist the supervisor in prioritizing PoC for interviews and counselling, proposing protection support, and enforcing compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and SOPs. Submitting individual payment requests for PoC and supporting risk management are also part of the responsibilities.

Work Experience

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

Skills

International Law Political Science IT-Computer Literacy PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

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