Mission and objectivesThe Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org). In line with this mandate UNHCR supports the Republic of Uganda in protecting individuals who seeks asylum in the country as well as those in the country at risk of being stateless or who already are considered stateless. UNHCR also provides direct assistance through implementing partners to refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda. UNHCR puts strong effort into identifying durable solutions for all refugees in Uganda and to reduce the risk of persons in the country becoming stateless.
ContextUganda currently hosts more than 1.9 million refugees around the country making it Af-ricaโs largest refugee hosting country and one of the five largest refugee hosting coun-tries in the world. The refugee protection environment in Uganda is progressive and provides refugees with freedom of movement, the right to work and establish busi-nesses, the right to documentation, access to social services, and allocation of plots of land for shelter and agricultural production. The UNHCR FO Kyangwali manages ref-ugee operations in a refugee settlement in Kyangwali (Kikube District) that hosts 151,690 refugees and asylum seekers 97% of the overall population is of Congolese Nationality from DRC, followed by South Sudanese (2.7%); other nationalities include Rwandese, Sudanese, Burundian, and Kenyan. The population comprises of 53% fe-male, 47% male, and 3% elderly. The FO provides technical guidance to partners in Kyangwali settlement. The Kyangwali refugee settlement has 43 partners (4 UN part-ners, OPM, 6 UNHCR IPs, 6 RLOs, 26 OPs) operating in the settlement providing pro-tection and assistance services. Kyangwali is a receiving settlement with 4,375 indi-viduals received as of 25th June 2025. The FO had 24 staff until 30th June 2025 coordi-nating the refugee response and providing technical guidance.With the staffing review, effective 1st July 2025, the office will remain with 14 staff to coordinate the refugee re-sponse. The Protection sector has been greatly affected by the reduction with the dis-continuation of 4 positions including the Protection leadership (Protection Officer), thereby creating a gap in Protection leadership and guidance. The Protection unit coor-dinates all protection interventions in the settlement collaborating with both imple-menting and Operational partners. There are 10 protection Operational partners in the settlement which require strong coordination and leadership in order to realize effi-ciency in the operation and to mobilize resources effectively. An oversight role in en-suring integrity in protection delivery (Fraud, PSEA) in the absence of a protection Of-ficer is also required. The Associate Protection Officer position is required to coordi-nate the Protection response in the settlement, provide technical support and guid-ance to partners and maintain effective interfaces with the forcibly displaced popula-tion and other stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.
Task DescriptionUnder the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - Through relationships with persons of concern, authorities and network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to senior management. - Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concerns are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS; - Utilize the IDPs footprint during the planning process; - Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and also IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection; - Coordinate the implementation and monitoring of programmes ensuring that identified protection needs, including an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach, are adequately addressed; - Provide policy guidance and operational support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues; - Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interlocutors; ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (civil documentation, in particular birth certificates); - Monitor, and assist with the intervention in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners; - Assist in the coordinated implementation and oversight of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities; - Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement are sought and provided to the largest possible number of persons of concern; - Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the necessary resources are allocated to enable protection activities to identify and address protection and assistance gaps; - Support a consultative process with government counterparts at local levels, partners and persons of concern to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education and SGBV, and solutions approaches; - Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among populations of concern, authorities and host communities; - Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities and partners. In operations applying the humanitarian cluster system, contribute to ensuring that the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in an AGD-compliant strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations; - Contribute to the Protection team's information management component which: provide disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary; - Ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are included in, strategies and plans in the country operation; - Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.
Competencies and valuesโข Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNHCR; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNHCR procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; โข Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNHCR in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organizationโs interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; โข Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; โข Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. โข Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; โข Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; โข Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; โข Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNHCRโs mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.
Living conditions and remarksKyangwali is a Family Duty Station with a minimum offer of facilities. There is a guest house located in the settlement. The office is also located in the settlement: Weather: There are two seasons during the year with the driest spell experienced during the months of Dec-Jan exceedingly up to the end of February. The weather is relatively cool but sunny and dusty during the dry season. Water Provision: For domestic use water is pumped from the main motorized pump, both the guesthouse and Office have piped system connections. Housing Facilities: There being no decent rental housing facilities, all UNHCR staff are accommodated in the designated guest/staff houses inclusive of partners staffs. Health Facilities: The biggest Health facility is Kituti Health Centre IV which is accessed by both refugees and the host community and run by UNHCR implementing partners and the government. Most times, staff access medical care outside Kyangwali but Kituti is the first phase of staff medical intervention. Shopping: The nearest decent shopping, markets, and restaurants are found in Hoima town which is 90 Km away. There are mini shops run by refugees with basic items and 2 days (Tuesday and Saturday) are officially designated as a market day. Banking: There are no Banking or credit card institutions/Foreign exchange bureaus within Kyangwali. The nearest services are in Hoima town. Postal services: The nearest Postal services are found in Hoima town. Mobile Phone services: Mobile phone service providers occasionally visit Kyangwali but have retail services for the sale of airtime. Internet Services: Internet services are dependent on the strength of boosters installed with intermittent disruptions based on weather conditions. However, we have Wi-Fi in both offices and accommodations. Radio and television services: Mostly local frequencies for radios are accessible and televi-sion services are dependent on subscription services with the nearest point of accessibility being Hoima for subscription payment and through Mobile money. News Papers and Magazines are obtainable from Hoima as the nearest point. They can also be picked when drivers travel to Hoima. Road Condition: Road conditions are fair during the dry spell and periodically unfair during the rainy season, especially on the marram roads but with alternative routes to use which may take relatively longer hours on rainy days. However, to Hoima the road is tarmac save for a 10 km stretch-Murram to Butole. Public Transport: Public transports are easily accessible but with serious overloading of pas-sengers and most vehicles are in bad mechanical condition with speedy drivers. There is a daily bus that sets off from Kasonga center at 6:00 am Via Hoima to Kampala. Bicycles and motorbikes: There are motorbikes (locally known as Boda-bodas) available as transport for short-distance movements but not bicycles.