Protection Officer

Vacancy Announcement

Protection Officer, P-3

Beirut, Lebanon

Deadline for Applications

27 November 2017

(20 November 2017 for internal applicants)

Duration

1 year, with the possibility of further extension, subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory performance and continuing need.

Vacancy Announcement Number

17-FO-LB-57

UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women and welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for professionals like you.

Palestine refugees in Lebanon

Some 450,000 Palestine refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon with around 53 per cent living in the 12 recognized refugee camps, all of which suffer from serious problems, including poverty, overcrowding, unemployment, poor housing conditions and lack of infrastructure. Because they are not formally citizens of another state, Palestine refugees are unable to claim the same rights as other foreigners living and working in Lebanon. Among the UNRWA fields, Lebanon has the highest percentage of Palestine refugees living in extreme poverty. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance.

Do you want to make a lasting difference? 

If you are passionate about making a lasting difference for Palestine refugees in Lebanon, this role will give you the opportunity to ensure that all activities related to protection as identified by the UNRWA Protection Policy are effectively mainstreamed into the Agency’s Lebanon programmes in an effective, efficient, ethical and politically sensitive manner, and that institutional capacity development takes place to embed protection into service delivery at all levels of operations.

The main responsibilities include:

•         Providing support to the integration and mainstreaming of UNRWA protection policy and standards in programmes including but not limited to Education, Health, and Relief and Social Services and to other protection-related initiatives in UNRWA programmes; developing, supporting and coordinating the implementation of a programme cycle management strategy to mainstream protection, gender, disability and child protection standards throughout UNRWA programming and services including undertaking annual protection audits, needs assessment, work plans, implementation and monitoring and evaluation;

•         Overseeing the transfer of responsibility and resources for activities/projects/initiatives related to protection and other relevant cross-cutting (gender, disability and child protection) themes so that they become embedded in core service delivery;

•         Identifying, coaching and training Programme Focal Points to develop adequate knowledge, leadership and capacity to mainstream protection and other cross-cutting issues within their programmes and services, including the development of relevant coordination mechanisms such as working groups and task forces;

•         Providing technical support and policy advice in respect of agreed themes and activities; supporting the relevant coordination mechanisms on protection and other cross-cutting issues to develop an annual work plan with clear deliverables and indicators of success;

•         Supporting fundraising, formulation and implementation of field protection programme initiatives responding to protection needs;

•         Supporting the revision and completion of relevant planning documents to ensure protection is effectively mainstreamed along with beneficiary participation and outreach;

•         Supporting the development and delivery protection-related training and knowledge building including the development of a training strategy based on clearly defined standards and competencies;

•         Developing and maintaining effective external relations, including with UNRWA partners, other agencies, donors, and beneficiary stakeholders related to protection mainstreaming, humanitarian coordination, and institutional capacity development on cross-cutting issues; coordinating with the Gender Task Force and Persons with Disability Steering Committee.

Conditions of service 

UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including annual salary starting at $58,583 net tax free with post adjustment of 50.5% (subject to change without notice). All UNRWA duty stations (with the exception of Gaza and Syria) are family duty stations. Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include:

•  Dependency allowances

•  Rental subsidy

•  Education grant for children

•  Home leave travel

•  6 weeks (30 working days) annual leave

•  Pension fund entitlements under the

    UN Joint Staff Pension Fund

•  International health insurance; optional

    life insurance

•  Disability protection

To qualify for this position, you will need:

Education

A university degree from an accredited educational institution in public or business administration, social sciences, international law, international relations or related discipline;

Work

experience

A minimum of six years of professional experience, of which at least two should be with an international humanitarian organization in the area of protection, humanitarian affairs or project management, including two years of relevant international experience outside your home country;

Experience in the design, development, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of protection-tailored projects;

Previous work experience in refugee settings, preferably with international organizations, such as UNHCR, UNRWA or ICRC, or other relevant international non-governmental organizations;

Language(s)

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Desirable qualifications:

•         Knowledge of activities of UNRWA operations and services;

•         Working knowledge of Arabic;

•         In-depth knowledge of Middle Eastern geo-political realities and their socio-cultural implications.

You will also need to demonstrate the following competencies:

•         Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;

•         Ability to develop clear goals, independently plan and prioritize own work, work well under tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/activities;

•         Positive attitude and strong analytical, interpersonal and communication skills;

•         Proven ability to exercise initiative and resourcefulness necessary for prioritizing multiple clusters/components;

•         Excellent interpersonal skills, leadership, mature, independent, disciplined and self-confident.

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews:

            https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

How to apply

To start the application process, applicants are required to register at http://jobs.unrwa.org by creating a personal profile and completing UNRWA Personal History Form. Only applications received through http://jobs.unrwa.org will be considered. Due to the large number of applications received for UNRWA vacancies, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. The United Nations does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process. The United Nations does not concern itself with information related to bank accounts.

General information

UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality at all times. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity, and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.

The retirement age for staff entering or re-entering service in the UN Common System after 1 January 1990 is 62 and 65 after 1 January 2014. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete a term of appointment will normally be considered.

The Agency reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description.

Date of issue: 7 November 2017/ NH