Associate Protection Officer (Community-Based)

This vacancy is opened in the context of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) scheme sponsored by the Government of the USA and is addressed exclusively to candidates WITH THE US NATIONALITY.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT.

The Associate Protection Officer reports to the Senior Protection Officer. The incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection. S/he provides technical support to the Protection Working Group Coordinator. This includes support to develop coordination tools (including guidance note and SoPs), policies and advocacy briefs. S/he will also support the development of assessment tools as well as training materials on protection standards. The Associate Protection Officer will also facilitate capacity building activities for the protection working group in particular on protection mainstreaming and standards for referrals. S/he will also develop analytical materials such as factsheet and dashboard.
S/he will also support UNHCR protection team in developping policy documents including strategies and SoPs.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT.

Accountability
- The protection of populations of concern is met through the application of International and National Law, relevant UN/UNHCR protection standards and IASC principles. 
- The protection strategy incorporates a thorough age, gender and diversity (AGD) analysis and reflects the Organization's global, regional and country level priorities.
- The Participation of persons of concern is assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory, rights and community based approaches.
- Protection incidents are immediately identified and addressed.

Responsibility
Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to persons of concern. 
- Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
- Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
- Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan.
- Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Oversee and manage individual protection cases including those on SGBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
- Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of persons of concern through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other persons of concern.
- Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
- Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
- Contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.

Authority
- Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
- Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
- Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
- Enforce compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.

EDUCATION/QUALIFICATION: Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s) in Law, International Law, International Relations, Political Sciences or related field. Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) may also be accepted. The degree must have been obtained in an accredited institution listed under www.whed.net.

WORK EXPERIENCE: Minimum 2 years of relevant experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s), 3 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) and 1 year with a PhD.

SKILLS: Knowledge of internationl legal framework governing refugees and returnees; excellent research and writing skills; data presentation; willingness to work throughout Jordan; capacity to adapt to changing requirements and to work both independantly and in a team; individual interviews and case management; working with multiple stakeholders (governments, international organizations, civil society).

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES.

Knowledge of UN policies and procedures ¿ Field experience ¿ Commitment to help refugees, IDPs, asylum seekers and stateless persons, and willingness to cooperate with counterparts. ¿ Good analytical skills ¿ Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting ¿ Experience of working with displaced persons REQUIRED COMPETENCIES, which illustrate behaviours that are essential to achieving deliverables described above, and that are critical to successful performance. All jobs require the staff to abide to the Values and Core competencies of UNHCR. 

Code Managerial Competencies              

M001: Empowering and Building Trust
M003: Judgement and Decision Making

Code Cross-Functional Competencies     
X001: Analytical Thinking
X006: Policy Development and Research
X007: Political Awareness LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE

- Essential: English,     
- Desirable: Arabic and/or any other UN language. SUPERVISION: The JPO will be under the direct supervision of the manager indicated under `Supervisor title and position number¿.  The supervisor will be responsible for the performance evaluation of the JPO. The manager will also ensure that the JPO is provided a thorough induction and orientation briefing, followed by on-the-job training as well as continuous guidance for training/learning opportunities throughout the assignment. In support to the manager, the JPO Unit provides the Supervisory Guidelines upon recruitment/reassignment of the JPO. TRAINING COMPONENTS AND LEARNING ELEMENTS

TRAINING COMPONENTS:
- Mandatory training courses:
1. Basic Security in the Field (NB: needs to be retaken every 3 years)
2. Advanced Security in the Field  (NB: needs to be retaken every 3 years)
3. Protection Induction Programme (PIP)
4. UN Course on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority
5.    Orientation to IPSAS

- Recommended training courses
Protection learning programme
Protection mainstreaming E-learning: key elements of protection mainstreaming (Global protection cluster) http://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/themes/protection-mainstreaming/

LEARNING ELEMENTS
Year 1: Strengthen knowledge of protection global standards, strengthen facilitation skills
Year 2: Strengthen coordination and policy development skills LIVING CONDITIONS AT THE DUTY STATION

Housing/accommodation: For longer stays it is possible to find furnished or unfurnished apartments and houses from around JD 800 to JD 2,000 per month.  It is not uncommon to be asked to pay rent one year in advance.

Health care: There are very good hospitals and pharmacies in large towns and cities, with clinics in many villages. 

Educational facilities: Several international institutions available in French and English, from creche to university.

Security: A/Family duty station.The overall safety and security situation is stable. Jordan is considered one of the most solid countries in the Middle East due to its very effective security apparatus.
The security level for the country is assessed as Level ¿ I (MINIMAL), except the Syrian-Jordanian border area is at level II (LOW), while the Eastern part of that same border including the Iraqi border is at Level IV (SUBSTANTIAL).

Other: (transports, banks, etc) Jordan is one of the ten most water scarce countries in the world.  It is not uncommon for water to be rationed during the summer months. Be vigilant when driving. Jordanian roads are particularly treacherous during the rainy season, when roads can be slippery.There are conventional buses and fixed-route `servis¿ (shared-taxis, most seating up to seven) in Amman and other main cities. There are very good hospitals in large towns and cities, with clinics in many villages. Please note that the closing date for this JPO advertisement is Sunday 8 December 2019 (midnight Geneva time).