Field Assistant

Details

Mission and objectives

Our primary purpose at UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. We also strive to secure lasting solutions. For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.

Context

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes. We had three years to complete our work and then disband. Today, over 70 years later, our organization is still hard at work, protecting and assisting refugees around the world. Since 24 February 2022, Romania has received nearly 2.472.306 refugees fleeing directly from Ukraine or coming from Moldova. While many refugees are passing through Romania as transit country on their way to Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, or other countries, a growing number (over 109 000 at the beginning of February 2022) are remaining in Romania, and either seeking temporary protection, with over 100 000 temporary protection status provided, or applying for work visas. Romania’s status as both a transit and a destination country necessitate a response premised on three key directions: first, providing immediate, urgently needed protection and assistance to arrivals to Romania; second, ensuring information about and access to legal statuses to which arrivals to Romania may apply, alongside non-discriminatory access to rights and services provided by the government and humanitarian actors, and third, ensure accountability and effective two way communication with the refugee population.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Assistant Field Officer, and in close cooperation with the other relevant Units, the UNV Field Assistant will: • Assist the Timisoara Field Unit in the development and implementation of monitoring plans for activities implemented through partnerships and those under direct implementation. • Contribute to the review and analysis of operations plans, mid-year and year-end reports, ensuring quality assurance and compliance with established policies, guidelines, procedures and standards. • Engage the refugee community in two-way communication, provide support to the implementing partner in smoothly implementing refugees’ feedback trough tailored-made assistance. • Contribute to age, gender and diversity mainstreaming in all of UNHCR Romania’s activities. • Contribute to the planning, monitoring and evaluation of any further community outreach activities with UNHCR’s Partner. • Assist in drafting reports, English and Romanian routine correspondence, updating relevant databases and compiling statistics. • Assist in managing UNHCR's physical inventory at the ETC, as well as in filling and archiving. • 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: • 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); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • 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. Information and promotional material can be found in the onsite kit. Results/expected outputs: • As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: • Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments; • Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; • Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time and quality standards; • 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 and capacities developed.