Associate Protection Officer

The 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.

Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Obongi District was established in December 2016. It hosts just under 140,567 refugees and asylum-seekers as of 30 April 2025. The settlement is cur-rently receiving on average 300 to 400 new arrivals from South Sudan every week. The profile of refugees in Palorinya is characterized by a high proportion of children (56%) and women (26%), and other vulnerable categories of refugees. At-risk children (6%) include orphans, un-accompanied and separated children, teenage mothers, etc. Protection priorities include en-suring access to asylum and documentation; protection from crime and access to justice; reg-istration; child protection; SGBV mainstreaming, prevention and response; mental health and psychosocial support, protection-based support to persons with specific needs; and accounta-bility to affected populations, including community feedback and referrals. In addition, UNHCR maintains simultaneous protection presence at litigation desks at the four food distribution points in Palorinya, to address and resolve the litigation cases.

The Protection Officer will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of UNHCR's protection mandate for refugees in Obongi and Moyo districts, with special focus on those hosted in Palorinya refugee settlement. The role will require, among others, expertise and skills in crisis and emergency response, protection, displacement, legal, and human rights. The incumbent will especially be expected to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders with a view to promoting the well-being and rights of refugees.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Protection and Assistance Delivery
• Ensure the consistent application of UNHCR protection policies and standards to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and other populations of concern.
• Work with relevant partners to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers are received into the settlement in safety and dignity.
• Monitor protection risks, trends, and incidents within the settlement.
• Conduct regular field visits and assessments to gather information on the protection environment.
• Provide leadership in the identification and provision of requisite interventions for per-sons with specific needs.
• Oversee case management for persons with specific needs (PSNs).
• Ensure timely referrals to appropriate services (e.g., legal aid, psychosocial support, health).
• Follow up on individual cases and ensure protection responses are appropriate and effective.
• Promote community participation in protection planning and response.
• Work with partners and stakeholders to ensure child protection and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) services are accessible and survivor-centered.
• Support safe spaces for women and children.
• Facilitate awareness-raising and capacity-building activities on rights and protection is-sues.
• Regularly prepare written reports on protection delivery and trends in the Settlement.

External Relations and Partnerships
Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at Settlement level, local government authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders to advance the protection of refugees.
• Foster collaborative partnerships that enhance the effectiveness of protection pro-grams.
• Coordinate with partners to ensure a unified approach to refugee protection and assistance.
• Coordinate with refugees, their representatives and refugee led organisations to enhance their protection and management.

Leadership
• Provide leadership to the Protection team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
• Set clear goals and expectations, and empower staff to achieve them through guidance, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
• Promote a participatory approach that values the contributions of all team members and stakeholders.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:
• 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 in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
• 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 or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.