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Associate Field Officer (UNOPS IICA 1)

Osire

  • Organization: UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • Location: Osire
  • Grade: Junior level - IICA-1, International Individual Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Refugee rights and well-being
    • Protection Officer (Refugee)
    • Human Settlements (Shelter, Housing, Land, Property)
  • Closing Date: Closed

Terms of Reference


Associate Field Officer (UNOPS IICA 1)


UNHCR Namibia, Osire


Operational Context


UNHCR Namibia has a total population of over 5,500 asylum seekers and refugees registered on
its PRIMES database, as of Sept 2020. Namibia is both a signatory to the 1959 Conventions and
the 1967 protocols, as well as to the African refugee convention. It has yet to sign or accede to
the Statelessness Conventions and has signed but yet to ratify the African Union Convention for
the protection and assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa(Kampala Convention).


The majority of asylum seekers and refugees reside in Osire Settlement, in the Northern part of
the country. Registration and documentation related to refugees is undertaken by the Government
of Namibia, with technical support as need be from UNHCR. The nationality breakdown of
refugees registered with UNHCR is predominantly from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Burundi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and a few other nationalities. The refugee situation in Namibia is
assessed as a protracted situation as some refugees have been in Osire since its establishment
in 1992. The Osire Refugee Settlement is situated about 220 km from Windhoek, the capital city
of Namibia and about 130 km from Otjiwarongo which is the nearest town to the settlement.
Beyond the protracted nature of asylum, refugees in Osire are also subject to drought and limited
self-reliance or durable solution options.


The Government of Namibia is responsible for Registration, Camp Management, Education and
Health interventions at the Settlement. Under the GoN umbrella, the Ministry of Home Affairs and
Immigration/COR is responsible for land allocation, camp coordination and provision of security.
The Ministry of Health is in charge of the Clinic. The Ministry of Education is covering needs
related to the education of refugees. Two other partners of UNHCR – Society for Family Health
(SFH) and LAC, are charged with specific programmatic ( distribution of food and core relief items,
WASH, Shelter construction, livelihoods, lighting, Specific needs issues, community outreach
and counselling, warehousing, etc) and legal responsibilities in support of refugees respectively.
The National Association for Child Care Workers (NACCW) will implement activities related to
child protection and community-based child and youth care in Namibia. UNHCR plays a
coordination, technical and financial support role, as well as advocacy in relation to UNHCR and
other global refugee compact related issues. UNHCR also participates in the UN Country Team
obligations and works closely with sister UN Agencies in the country.


In 2015, UNHCR has closed its office in the country and transferred protection monitoring and
support responsibilities for the country over to the Southern Africa Office, with occasional
technical visits to the country. Thereafter, the GoN requested that UNHCR re-establish its
presence in order to enhance international protection support to the country. Under its mandate
responsibility, and over the passage of time, there is a recognised need to support the country in
arriving at achieving the realisation of its Global Refugee Compact commitments and pledges in
different areas such as on solutions (self-reliance, local integration, resettlement and
complementary pathways), statelessness issues, and Refugee Status Determination. The need
to also strengthen foundational protection interventions in the areas of child protection, SGBV,
community-based-protection, and protection counselling are also evident.


As of Aug 2020, a Senior Legal Officer, reporting to the Representative of SAMCO in Pretoria,
was assigned to Windhoek, Namibia; in an effort to re-establish UNHCR presence in the country,
and to be supported subsequently by a team of other eight UNHCR Staff (2 International UNOPs,
3 National UNOPs and 3 National staff). It is in this vein that this position is being advertised for
consideration.


Title: Associate Field Officer
Duty Station: Osire, Namibia
Duration: 1 November 2020 – 31 October 2021
Contract Type: (UNOPS) International-Specialist IICA 1
Closing date: 19 October 2020 (midnight Geneva time)


The position

The Associate Field Officer is normally supervised by the Snr Field Coordinator or Field Officer
or Head of Sub-Office/Field Office depending on the structure of the Office. S/he may receive
indirect guidance from other sections and units relevant to the country/regional programme(s).
UNHCR Manual, programme and protection objectives, Operations Plans, UN and UNHCR
financial/budgetary rules and regulations will guide the work of the incumbent.
The incumbent may supervise some support staff. S/he has daily contacts with staff in the various
field offices and with the functional units at the Country/Regional Office. S/he also has close
liaison with a range of local civilian and military authorities and counterparts in NGOs and UN
agencies to discuss matters of common interest.

Duties and responsibilities

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job
description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of
UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and
Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff
members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core,
functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of
professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.


- Identify vulnerable groups or individuals who may need special attention or special
arrangements and make recommendations on the needs of different groups of refugees.
- Assess protection and assistance needs of refugees and asylum-seekers in the region and
monitor implementation of refugee assistance programmes.
- In co-ordination with implementing partners, handle the reception, registration and provision
of assistance to persons of concern to UNHCR.
- Provide inputs for project submissions and periodic narrative and financial reports for the
annual programme.
- Develop and maintain relations with local authorities ensuring smooth negotiations in all
aspects of UNHCR's mandate for the benefit of refugees.
- Monitor the security situation in the area and intervene as appropriate with the local
authorities.
- Submit recommendation for protection interventions to the designated officer.
- Negotiate with local authority counterparts, partners and populations of concern.
- Approve expenditures within the DOAP.
Perform other related duties as required.


Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

The ideal candidate will be required to have:

Education:

• 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience
with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

Work Experience

Essential:
Field experience.

Desirable:
Knowledge of refugee law. Good knowledge of UNHCR’s programmes.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and working knowledge of another relevant UN language or local
language. (In offices where the working language is not English, excellent knowledge of
UN working language of duty station and working knowledge of English.)

Key Competencies:

Core Competencies:
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies:
Judgement and Decision Making
Empowering and Building Trust

• Cross-Functional Competencies:
Analytical Thinking
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness


Location

The successful candidate will be based in Osire,Namibia.

Conditions

The position starts on the 1 November 2020 and it is for 12 months.

To apply

Interested applicants should submit an updated and signed Personal History Form (PHF), indicating “Associate Field Officer” in the subject of the email.

The PHF forms are available at www.unhcr.org/recruit/p11new.doc.

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.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process
(application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).

Closing date: 19 October 2020 (midnight Geneva time).

This vacancy is now closed.
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