Protection Officer (CP/SGBV)

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.

Protection Officer (CP/SGBV)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Protection Officer (CP/ SGBV) will work directly with Protection Officers in the field to guide their delivery of CP and SGBV responses as part of their broader protection responsibilities. The Protection Officer (CP / SGBV) will support the implementation of Child Protection and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) activities within Iraq, within the framework of the operation¿s Protection and CBP strategies.  As Iraq operates under the cluster system, the Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will be active at interagency forums, as well as internally building the capacity of UNHCR and partner staff to address CP and SGBV concerns and ensure the sustainability of their interventions.  Assuming a country-wide position, the Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will promote a standardised approach to CP and SGBV programming within UNHCR, and ensure the operation¿s CP/SGBV activities reflect global, regional and country level priorities. S/he will collaborate closely with Protection Officers and CP/SGBV focal points within field offices, and strengthen working relations with other agencies involved in CP and SGBV prevention and response.

The Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will support the country operation and will be directly supervised by the Assistant Representative (Protection), receiving technical guidance from the MENA Senior Regional CP and SGBV Officers as required.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability
- Country specific CP/SGBV strategies are in line with UNHCR Framework for Child Protection and SGBV guidelines.
- CP and SGBV are entrenched in the comprehensive Protection framework of the country operation.

Responsibility
- Monitor and strengthen child protection and SGBV prevention and response programme implementation through Protection Officers in the field. Ensure gaps in services are raised to the relevant subcluster.
- Ensure multi-sectoral child protection and SGBV prevention and response, including health care, safety and security, psychosocial and legal support.
- Undertake mainstreaming of protection approaches to address CP and SGBV concerns across all sectors, particularly those led by UNHCR (CCCM, NFI/Shelter, Protection).
- Strengthen the capacity of UNHCR and partner staff to operationalise child protection and SGBV prevention and response.
- Ensure that child protection and SGBV Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are in place, adhered to and implemented accordingly.
- Enhance UNHCR¿s institutional capacity to prevent, identify and respond to SGBV by focusing on data management (collection, storage, analysis and sharing), knowledge management and capacity-building, partnerships and coordination, and promote sharing of training resources and good practices.
- Provide technical advice and guidance on child protection/SGBV issues to colleagues and partners at field level for their implementation.
- Contribute to implementation and evaluation of protection-related Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Participate in initiatives and training to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions, NGOs and persons of concern to promote improved protection environment.
- Undertake regular support missions to the field, and ensure consistency of approach to CP and SGBV issues.
- Provide consolidated report on challenges, gaps in tools and response, progress and recommendations. 
- Undertake other duties as required.

Authority
- Represent UNHCR at interagency and regional meetings and fora related to child protection and SGBV.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's) in International Law, Human Rights, Political Science, International Relations, Social Sciences or related field, with authoritative knowledge on child and women¿s rights, and child protection and SGBV prevention and response.
- A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in protection of displaced populations or human rights, of which at least 2 years in the field and 3 years in an international capacity.
- Experience in programming, monitoring and evaluation.
- Experience in interagency engagement or coordination.
- Experience in working with conflict-affected populations
- Training design and facilitation skills.
- Computer literacy.
- Excellent written and spoken English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Diverse field experience.
- Good IT skills including database management skills.
- Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, Child Protection Learning Programme.
- Experience using CPIMS, GBVIMS or other protection data management systems.
- Knowledge of Arabic language. C004L3 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3
C003L3 - Communication Level 3
C002L3 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 3
C001L3 - Accountability Level 3
C005L3 - Client & Result Orientation Level 3
C006L3 - Organizational Awareness Level 3
M004L3 - Strategic Planning and Vision Level 3
M003L3 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 3
M002L3 - Managing Performance Level 3
M001L3 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 3
M005L3 - Leadership Level 3
M006L3 - Managing Resources Level 3
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X002L3 - Innovation and Creativity Level 3
X003L3 - Technological Awareness Level 3
X004L3 - Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Level 3
X009L3 - Change Capability and Adaptability Level 3
X006L3 - Policy Development & Research Level 3
X007L3 - Political Awareness Level 3
X008L3 - Stakeholder Management Level 3
X005L3 - Planning and Organizing Level 3

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 Iraq operation continues to face a challenging and complex protection environment, with the recent offensive and retaking of Mosul resulting in the displacement of close to 850,000 people, and further anticipated armed offensives to re-take Hawija, Tel Afar, Shirqat and West Anbar. Protection concerns are rife with restriction of freedom of movement, access to safety, militarised camps, collective punishment, confiscation of documentation and family separation.

Child Protection and SGBV concerns emerging from displaced and prolonged tensions between communities, exacerbated by perceived association with armed groups, are myriad and complex including detention of older boys, child recruitment, stigma and abandonment of children associated (or perceived to be associated) with armed groups, and family separation. Exploitation of women, harassment and abuse, forced prostitution and survival sex remain key issues among vulnerable IDP women and girls. In addition to the new IDP population, there remains a stable IDP population from previous displacement from Mosul and other parts of Iraq which fell under the control of armed groups in 2014, and the KR-1 continues to host some 240,000 Syrian refugees, who live in continually deteriorating socio-economic conditions exacerbating protection risks including child marriage, child labour, and engagement in survival sex.

Amidst this complex environment, the gaps in services and capacity to address the emerging CP and SGBV concerns are well documented. UNHCR¿s engagement in CP and SGBV at the operational and interagency level is important to uphold protection standards and ensure integration of these concerns into broader protection programming. In the current protection environment as well as the inter-agency context, attention to CP and SGBV, and related challenges, requires a skilled and experienced staff member, able to dedicate the time required to coordination and programme delivery, which form a key part of the UNHCR-lead Protection Cluster, and to ensure CP and SGBV gaps and challenges are raised and addressed with senior management and the relevant sub-clusters as appropriate. The Protection Officer (CP/ SGBV) will work directly with Protection officers in the field to guide their delivery of CP and SGBV responses as part of their broader protection responsibilities. The Protection Officer (CP / SGBV) will support the implementation of Child Protection and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) activities within Iraq, within the framework of the operation¿s Protection and CBP strategies.  As Iraq operates under the cluster system, the Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will be active at interagency forums, as well as internally building the capacity of UNHCR and partner staff to address CP and SGBV concerns and ensure the sustainability of their interventions.  Assuming a country-wide position, the Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will promote a standardised approach to CP and SGBV programming within UNHCR, and ensure the operation¿s CP/SGBV activities reflect global, regional and country level priorities. S/he will collaborate closely with Protection Officers and CP/SGBV focal points within field offices, and strengthen working relations with other agencies involved in CP and SGBV prevention and response.

The Protection Officer (CP/SGBV) will support the country operation and will be directly supervised by the Assistant Representative (Protection), receiving technical guidance from the MENA Senior Regional CP and SGBV officers as required. In this context, the future incumbent of the position should ideally demonstrates:

- Diverse field experience.
- Good IT skills including database management skills.
- Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, Child Protection Learning Programme.
- Knowledge of Arabic language
- Experience using CPIMS, GBVIMS or other protection data management systems as an asset At present, UNHCR¿s caseload in Iraq consists of more than 230,000 Syrian refugees, three million internally displaced Iraqis, tens of thousands of Iraqi refugee returnees, long-standing Palestinian, Iranian and Turkish refugee communities, and thousands of stateless persons. More than 97 percent of Iraq¿s Syrian refugees are hosted in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) in Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah. Approximately 39% of registered refugees stay in nine refugee camps, while the remaining 61% live outside camps, many in precarious conditions in sub-standard shelters, with limited access to basic services. At the same time, the KR-I hosts nearly one million IDPs displaced since 2014, including nearly 160,000 IDPs displaced from Mosul, with military actions continuing and triggering additional displacement. It is expected that the operation to clear west Mosul may lead to the displacement of as many as 250,000 residents. With the Syrian conflict having continued for more than six years, many Syrian refugees have exhausted their savings and, still unable to return, are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Some refugee families who have been living in urban, peri-urban, and rural locations outside of camps, finding themselves unable to provide for their basic needs without assistance, have entered waiting lists to move into camps. Syrian refugees also face increasing obstacles to regularizing their legal status: formal registration of asylum-seekers in the KR-I has become more difficult since 2016 as a result of security-related and administrative requirements. UNHCR continues to advocate for registration of Syrian asylum-seekers and for their access to legal and physical protection, and to ensure the overall coordination of emergency response operations, including through the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP). At the same time, 3.1 million Iraqis are internally displaced, with nearly one million of them hosted in the KR-I. Countrywide, 15% of IDPs live in 87 formal IDP camps (39 of which are in the KR-I); 17% in collective centres across Iraq (e.g. religious buildings, informal settlements, school buildings, and abandoned/unfinished buildings); and 65 % in other locations (e.g., rented houses, host families, hotels/motels). Conflict in Mosul, Hawiga, and other areas is expected to further contribute to internal displacement in 2017, while the reduction of fighting in some areas has prompted spontaneous return, notwithstanding sporadic security incidents and the presence of uncleared ordnance. UNHCR, as the lead agency for Protection, CCCM and Shelter/NFI Clusters, assures a coordinated approach in the implementation of activities throughout Iraq related to protection and assistance for IDPs. Working and Living Conditions:

¿ Erbil is Category D Duty Station.
¿ Staff members assigned to Erbil are residing in the individual residential apartments inside the security cleared hotel complex
¿ Basic food and other commodities are widely available in the local shops and markets. Banking facilities are rather underdeveloped; therefore cash is the main means of settlement of various bills.
¿ Both local currency (Iraqi Dinar) and USD are equally accepted for any payments.  No specific dress-code applies and casual European style clothes are worn.
¿ Eight weeks R&R cycle applies for staff assigned in Erbil.
¿ Several international airlines operate daily flights from Erbil International Airport to number of large international airports in Europe as well as Middle East. 
¿ Holders of UNLP can enter Kurdistan Region of Iraq visa-free. Residence permit is not required for UN staff entering Kurdistan Region with UNLP. Security Considerations:

¿ Security Clearance for travel to Iraq is covered under TRIP. With the recent changes in the Security SOPs for Iraq, all staff are required to submit their security clearance process for travel to country, including KR-I through TRIP  a) security clearance should be submitted through TRIP (please visit http://undss.org);
¿ The SSAFE (Safety and Security Approaches in a Field Environment) course must be undertaken by all international staff members to allow them to travel outside of Erbil the country. If a staff has conducted a SSAFE (Safety and Security Approaches in a Field Environment) course within the last three years there is no need for attendance; he/she only require attending the FSCOs briefing on arrival. If he/she has not attended a SSAFE course in the last 3 years he/she will be required to attend the new mandatory SSAFE course conducted in Erbil.
¿ Subject to the advice received from the security unit, some movement of UN international staff within Kurdistan Region of Iraq may be undertaken in the convoy of two UN vehicles.
¿ Travel to border areas as well as disputed areas whereas newly displaced persons are concentrated is allowed in a convoy of two armored vehicles only. ¿ Arabic language is desirable.

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