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 plus minimum 3 years  of relevant professional job experience, preferably in the area of refugee protection, human rights or international humanitarian law. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s) plus 2 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 1 year of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- 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.
- Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not 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 additional UN languages.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR Associate Refugee Status Determination Officer positions. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates. 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 <p>The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.</p>
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
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For those people applying for High Risk Duty Stations, we strongly encourage colleagues to read the country specific security and welfare profiles which can be found on the Intranet under Support Services - Duty of Care (https://intranet.unhcr.org/en/support-services/duty-of-care.html). These profiles have been specifically designed to answer some of the key questions (on security conditions, medical provisions, staff welfare, living and working conditions) potential applicants might have before deciding to apply. Ensuring staff are better informed is part of the increased attention UNHCR is paying to Duty of Care. This project is still in the pilot phase, and as such some of the information leaflets are being produced as we speak and might not be available yet. They will be soon, so keep checking. 

The Associate RSD Officer is a member of the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team in Beirut.  Under the direct supervision of the RSD Officer, 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, 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. There are around one million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, which continues to be the highest refugee-hosting country per capita in the world. With no approved camps in the country, refugees are living in more than 2000 locations across the country. The Syrian refugee response is led by the Government and local actors, supported by the international community. As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 100 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and other affected populations. The Lebanon national response falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.

The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is one of the largest for the organisation, with a total budget of USD 463 million for 2018. Media and donor attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors are high. The Office currently has more than 600 staff located in Beirut, Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre, and Qobayat. Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Tripoli, Qobayyat and Zahle are classified as "B" family duty stations.  Tyr is classified as "C" family duty station.  All duty stations have education, health (private) and recreational facilities. The election of Michel Aoun as President in October 2016 ended a two and a half year political stalemate.  This, coupled with the removal of Extremist Armed Elements (mainly al-Nusra and ISIL) from the Eastern border area has resulted in an improvement to the general security environment in Lebanon.  The threat from Armed Conflict has dropped from High to Low and while the General Threat Assessment for Terrorism remains High, authorities have instigated joint preventative counter terrorism measures focused on tackling terrorism and organised crime networks in Lebanon. 

Terrorism
¿ There is a threat from terrorist attacks in Lebanon and these could occur at any time and any place, including areas frequented by large numbers of people such as malls or places of worship.  Lebanese authorities work to strengthen the inhibiting context with, amongst other things, highly visible security officials carrying out regular anti-terrorism operations across the country.  Terrorism attacks escalated from 2012 to 2014 with 44 incidents over the three year period.  Security authorities foiled various attacks in 2015 resulting in a reduction in the number of attacks to 9 with around 100 terrorism related arrests.  In 2016 there were only 4 attacks with the total number of terrorism related arrests reaching more than 535.  In 2017 there were no terrorist attacks and 560 terrorism related arrests.

Armed Conflict
¿ The security environment of Palestinian refugee camps is unpredictable and can deteriorate quickly leading to violent armed clashes.  Cross border incidents can occur, especially within 3-km of the border.  In some parts of the country (not generally frequented by UN personnel) unexploded ordnance poses a threat although de-mining activities are making progress. Civil Unrest
¿ There has been a decrease in the number of demonstrations over the last year.  While they can occur at short notice, most are planned with the vast majority being small and peaceful. 

Crime
¿ Remains at its lowest level since 2011 although there is still a risk from both petty and violent crime.  As part of the joint preventative counter-terrorist measures, security services have been focusing on organised crime.  Weapons remain easily accessible and personal disputes can sometimes quickly escalate into shooting incidents.  Celebratory gunfire used to be fairly common, although more recently authorities are prosecuting those who commit such acts, following a number of casualties from falling bullets.

Hazard
¿ Although Lebanon does lie in an earthquake zone it has not experienced any major tremors in recent years.  Preparedness has improved recently through the national emergency response.

Specific Information:
Beirut ¿ the Southern Suburbs represent an area of elevated threat as it is home to Hezbollah¿s Security Zone and several key Hezbollah institutions.

Please note that the closing date for all vacancies in the Add.4 to March 2018 Compendium is Wednesday 5 Septembe 2018 (midnight Geneva time).