Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Associate RSD Officer is a member of the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team.  Under the direct supervision of the RSD Officer (RSD Supervisor), s/he is responsible for conducting RSD interviews to determine eligibility for refugee status, undertaking country of origin (COI) and other research related to the claim, as required, and drafting RSD assessments, including for complex cases.  The incumbent is also responsible for carrying out supervisory responsibilities in the RSD procedure, as delegated by the RSD Officer (RSD Supervisor), which may include responsibilities related to the reception and registration of asylum seekers and refugees, file assignment and scheduling of RSD interviews, coordination of the work of interpreters, reviewing RSD assessments of members of the RSD team and providing legal and procedural guidance and coaching, as required.  The Associate RSD Officer may liaise with Government authorities and other partners about issues related to UNHCR's RSD procedure and relevant UNHCR guidelines and standards related to RSD.  S/he may carry out training for Government authorities and other partners on legal and procedural issues related to RSD and provide technical advice to strengthen national asylum procedures.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability

- UNHCR's RSD procedures are implemented in accordance with relevant UNHCR standards and
policies, including policies related to age, gender, and diversity mainstreaming (AGDM). 
- Persons of concern have fair and transparent access to the RSD procedures.
- Fraud in the RSD process is identified and appropriately addressed.

Responsibility

- Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments which impact on the protection environment, and in particular, on protection delivery through RSD.
- Assist in the development of the RSD strategy of the operation and in the annual planning exercise.
- Contribute to the development and enhancement of regional and global RSD standards and policies.
- Assist in the supervision and oversight of RSD and RSD-related activities to promote full compliance with written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
- Review and endorse RSD decisions and provide appropriate feedback and guidance to RSD staff. 
- Conduct RSD interviews and draft RSD Assessments in accordance with applicable standards and guidelines.
- Maintain accurate and up-to date records and data related to all work on individual cases.
- Provide counselling to asylum seekers and refugees.
- Assist in designing, implementing and revising operation-specific SOPs for all aspects of the
   RSD operation in accordance with applicable standards and policies.
- Assist in preventing and identifying fraud in RSD through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR staff, partners and persons of concern.  
- Assist in monitoring RSD trends and in compiling and analysing RSD statistics related to RSD case processing to identify and respond to developments or issues impacting on the efficiency or quality of RSD decision-making, and to propose remedial measures.
- Conduct research on country of origin information (COI) and legal issues related to RSD and assist in maintaining a local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards accessible to RSD staff in the operation.
- Assist in developing and maintaining processes to ensure that persons of concern, Government authorities and partners have accurate information on the RSD procedures, including UNHCR standards, policy and practice.
- Assist in initiatives to advocate with and support Government authorities and legal partners to establish and strengthen fair and efficient RSD procedures and RSD decision-making.
- Regularly assess training needs of UNHCR staff engaged in RSD and related activities and provide on-going training and coaching on legal and procedural RSD issues.
- Support the development and implementation of RSD training initiatives for Government authorities and legal partners.

Authority

- Approve decisions to accelerate RSD processing for cases meeting established criteria.
- Enforce compliance by UNHCR staff engaged in RSD and related activities with UNHCR standards, policies and operation-specific SOPs for all aspects of the RSD operation.
- Decide and endorse RSD decisions.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED. 

- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in Law, political science, international relations or another related field.
- Minimum 3 years (2 years with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s)) of relevant professional job experience, preferably in the area of refugee protection, human rights or international humanitarian law.
- Minimum 1 year of experience working directly with procedures and principles related to RSD.
- Knowledge of International Refugee Law and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.
- Strong research and analytical skills.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Excellent knowledge of English and working knowledge of another UN language.

(In offices where the working language is not English, excellent knowledge of the UN working language of duty station and working knowledge of English.)

*** For National Officer positions, very good knowledge of the local language and local institutions is essentials.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES. 

- Experience as a decision-maker in UNHCR or Government RSD procedures is highly desirable.
- Experience in counselling asylum seekers or refugees.
- Experience in working with vulnerable or traumatized individuals.
- Completion of UNHCR's RSD Learning Programme, COI Learning Programme, Protection Learning Programme.
- Experience in supervising and in providing training or coaching, guidance or advice to staff.
- Knowledge of another UN language. C001L2 - Accountability Level 2
C002L2 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 2
C003L2 - Communication Level 2
C004L2 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 2
C005L2 - Client & Result Orientation Level 2
C006L2 - Organizational Awareness Level 2
M001L2 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 2
M002L2 - Managing Performance Level 2
M003L2 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 2
X001L2 - Analytical Thinking Level 2
X005L2 - Planning and Organizing Level 2
X008L2 - Stakeholder Management Level 2

Before applying to this position, we strongly encourage colleagues to read the country specific FAQs information leaflets which can be found  on the Intranet under Staff Resources > Duty of Care. The information leaflets are specifically designed to answer some of the key questions potential applicants might have before deciding to apply. 

The incumbent of the position is expected to have demonstrated experience and knowledge of applying exclusion clauses in RSD and excellent training skills. The incumbent will be expected to focus on capacity development within different RSD sub-units on exclusion and complex credibility-related cases and also other units (such as registration, resettlement, protection). This will also include development of tools to assist in identifying exclusion triggers and collect relevant information to allow for detailed processing at RSD. - With more than 726,000 registered refugees, including over 90% from Syria, Jordan is among UNHCR¿s largest operations.
- Other refugee groups include refugees from Iraq (approximately 45,000) and from various countries;
- Ongoing stabilization of the operation in Jordan, and transition from emergency to protracted situation for the Syrian refugee response while emergency interventions and exercises are still ongoing at the border;
- UNHCR Jordan is mainly an urban refugee operation, with 85% of refugees living out of camps but also hosting one of the biggest refugee camps in the world.
- Key areas of the urban programme include nationwide outreach and home visits to identify vulnerable individuals.
- While Jordan implements several RSD processing strategies, the need to continue to interview and assess complex profiles, including claims raising exclusion concerns remains critical to ensure credibility and integrity of UNHCR¿s mandate.
- This is relevant specifically for the simplified and merged processing of Syrian cases as excellent knowledge of Syria context, country of origin information, depriortiization profiles and their applicability, exclusion clauses and their applicability, is indispensable to ensure the right levels of skills of staff and clear processing of cases. - UNHCR Jordan developed tools to effectively assess socio-economic vulnerabilities of refugees that coupled with an enhanced identification of protection needs has strengthened the operation¿s ability to process large number of individuals in a very limited time. In four months, UNHCR Jordan processed over 24,000 individuals while maintaining close to 100% acceptance rate. Further, the Jordan operation has also developed an original tool to manage more effectively medium and large resettlement processing. 
- The UNHCR Jordan operation is complex, dynamic and innovative and often implements its programmes through original approaches, maximizing the use of advanced technology to make its programmes constantly more efficient. The operation moves at high speed and requires regular adaptability and flexibility - The position is based in Amman, an A duty station with good accommodation, public facilities/services and availability of amenities. Road conditions are relatively good for convenient travel around the country.
- Field locations are different in governorates in the North and South (A and B category).
- Hot and dry weather conditions during summer and mild to cold winter. Most houses are equipped with diesel or electrically operated heating system. - Amman and the rest of the country is security level 1 with the exception of Zaatari camp (security level 2). It is generally a safe place.
- Road traffic accidents remain a pertinent risk to staff. Vehicle travel is difficult at certain times due to low visibility and heavy traffic. Zaatari Camp is heavily populated and there have been isolated reports of theft, pilferage, intimidation and vandalism

Please note that the closing date for all vacancies in the September 2017 Compendium is Monday 6 November 2017 (midnight Geneva time).