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 resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org). UNHCR's Community-based protection (CBP) approach empowers communities to obtain their rights safely and with dignity. By applying an age, gender and diversity (AGD) approach and communityยญbased protection, people affected by forced displacement and statelessness can work together to better identify a community's most serious protection risks and explore causes and effects. It also enables the participation of communities in deciding on the best ways of responding to and preventing protection risks, thus increasing the impact and results of humanitarian interventions. Over the years, UNHCR has developed guidance and tools to support this work both globally and at the field level and has built an experience in working with communities placing it among the leading organizations on implementing community-based and age, gender and diversity approaches. Community-based approaches are increasingly applied across the humanitarian world and have expanded through innovative approaches and use of technology. The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly critical in showcasing how community engagement can adapt to new realities. For UNHCR to be able to effectively implement CBP, UNHCR staff and partners need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills that facilitate their interaction with communities and supports the integration of their voices into humanitarian programming. This learning can be facilitated through the exchange of experiences, lessons learned and best practices among practitioners across operations and regions.
Context- This assignment is open only for the application of refugees; who are recognized as Refugees by the competent authorities responsible for granting of Refugee status in the Country of residence/refuge, or person has been recognized as a Refugee in accordance with UNHCR mandate and has right to reside legally in the country of refuge. - Official document as a proof of refugee status is mandatory to submit. The applicant with abovementioned refugee status should submit the official document as a proof of refugee status before and/or during the interview. The applications without the respective document will not be considered for this assignment. - Duty Station and Entitlements: The selected candidateโs contracting duty station & entitlements will be where the candidate is recognized with a refugee status in the country of current residency. There will be no re-location to Geneva. For entitlement details, please check : https://app.unv.org/calculator
Task DescriptionWithin the delegated authority and under the supervision of Community-Based Protection Officer, the Community-Based Protection Assistant support the CBP team to foster impactful community-based protection (CBP) programming across diverse operational contexts. This includes facilitating knowledge sharing, supporting learning opportunities, contributing to research and analysis, and providing administrative support to ensure effective collaboration across HQ, regional bureaux, and country operations. The incumbent is expected to take initiative, propose creative solutions, and contribute to the overall objectives of the CBP Unit. Key responsibilities include: โข Promoting relevant content, good practices, and new resources on CBP and related areas (e.g., community engagement, Age Gender & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Accountability Affected People) to facilitate knowledge sharing and interaction between relevant colleagues globally. โข Support the design and delivery of learning opportunities (e.g., webinars, trainings, workshops) to strengthen impactful CBP field practice and cross-fertilization. โข Contribute to research, analysis, and reporting to inform CBP priorities and activities. โข Monitor and report on trends, questions, and emerging needs raised by colleagues through different platforms and channels and provide inputs for CBP tools and guidance. โข Maintain and regularly update online resources and spaces (SharePoint, webpages, filing systems), ensuring they remain accessible and user-friendly. โข Provide organizational and administrative support to meetings, workshops, and unit initiatives as needed. โข Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: โข Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); โข Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; โข Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. โข Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; โข Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers โข Promote and utilize the UNV Online Volunteering service providing themselves and their organizations with flexible, free of charge, Online Volunteer capacity to support their efforts. โข As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to DIPS CBP Unit and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: o Relevant and timely content, resources, and good practices on Community-Based Protection (CBP) and related areas (e.g. community engagement, Age, Gender and Diversity, Gender Equality, and Accountability to Affected People) are identified and actively promoted to support learning and peer exchange across UNHCR operations, drawing on the incumbentโs unique lived experience and community insights. o Contributions are made to the design, coordination, and delivery of learning activities (e.g. webinars, workshops, trainings), resulting in strengthened CBP knowledge and capacities among field colleagues. o Effective administrative and logistical support is provided for meetings, events, and initiatives of the CBP Unit, contributing to smooth coordination and implementation, informed by the incumbentโs familiarity with displacement contexts, contributing to smooth coordination and inclusive implementation. o The incumbent actively contributes to a positive and inclusive team environment, demonstrates initiative, and proposes creative and practical ideasโgrounded in refugee realitiesโto strengthen CBP efforts globally. Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment โข A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in, capacities developed, and ways in which the refugee perspective enriched global CBP efforts
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 remarksThe legal framework of the modality is governed by UNVโs Conditions of Service, which provides the refugee volunteers with the same entitlement package as that of National UN Volunteer Specialists. This assignment is under remote arrangement(telecommuting) and a full-time role with working hours starting from 09.00 am to 17:00 CET from Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). As this is an assignment under the remote work arrangement(telecommuting) of UNHCR, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging their housing and other living essentials. This assignment is for candidates with recognized refugee status in the country of current residency and the duty station will be revised according to the current residency of the selected candidate. The candidate will be selected from any location in the world, except for Headquarters (H) duty stations and locations where there are no United Nations developmental or humanitarian activities or locations which are in countries which are members of the European Union. (H duty stations include the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America) In an effort to ensure consistency and fair treatment of UN Volunteers in the country in terms of benefits, selected candidates will be required to self-declare the humanitarian assistance she/he is in receipt of, which, upon recruitment, will then be assessed and adjusted as needed.