UNOPS Senior Field Associate (Protection) LICA 7, Manta

- The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates.

- Foreign candidates, to be considered eligible for this position, must have a temporary or permanent residence in Ecuador that allows them to carry out work activities in the country. UNOPS Senior Field Associate (Protection) LICA 7, Manta

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Senior Field Associate will be based in Manta reporting to the Head of Office of Guayaquil. He/She will oversee the protection and durable solution strategy in all Manabi province ensuring the implementation of the international standards. Furthermore he/she and provide functional protection support to programs implemented in Manabi province.

Considering the current pandemic context, the protection interventions will be COVID19 sensitive, ensuring that the necessary preventive measures are in place to protect the health, safety and well-being of the staff as well as of the population of concern (PoC).

The Field Associate (Protection) is expected to:

- Develop strong and positive relationships with local partners, and key stakeholders at all levels in the Cantons of interest, to ensure that protection gaps are identified, and case management is carried out in terms of SGBV and child protection cases through implementing partners.
- Develop strong ties with key government stakeholders (municipality, provincial authorities, ombudspersons, decentralized line ministries) to create political space for the implementation of the
protection and solutions strategy, and foster and participate in all relevant inter-agency forums (mesa de movilidad human etc.)
- Commit to humanitarian principles and functionally relevant work experience with different stakeholders. Manta and Portoviejo have some civil society organizations promoting the inclusion and nondiscrimination of the Person of Concern, as well as maintaining an institutional impact for the guarantee of rights, so the Snr Field Associate must maintain a close relationship with these organizations as well as with the persons of concern.
- Manage strong communication skills (written and spoken) principally in Spanish language whereas working level of English language is also required.
- A high level of mobility and adaptability is required of the candidates as he/she may be requested to take up field mission in the country at short notice.
- Support the delivery of the protection and solution strategy at the field level, while ensuring the application of international standards, operational procedures and practices. He/she keeps regular contacts with communities of concern, authorities, partners and other stakeholders to maintain a flow of protection information and analysis, including on political, social and economic developments.
- Support the partners to implement a urban strategy and a community based strategy ensuring an Age Gender Diversity approach.

Duties:

-Stay alert of political, social, economic and cultural developments which may have an impact on the protectionoperating environment.
- Support UNHCR¿s consultative process with local government counterparts, partners and persons of concern for effective needs and risk assessment and planning, including for the preparation of the AOR¿s protection strategy.
- Support UNHCR¿s partners response in addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) priorities and other specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
-Maintain the field office in Guayaquil abreast to relevant development to POCs in the AoR.
- Support partners and UN sister agencies to monitor and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to implement the protection activities.
-Undertake regular visits to the field in order to assess needs of persons of concern, with particular attention to vulnerable groups.
- Support partners in the reception, registration and provision of assistance to persons of concern. Facilitate the access to legal assistance and the issuance of personal documents by local authorities.
- Provide technical assistance on protection issues to local authorities and partners.
- Represent UNHCR in the local Refugees and Migrants Working Group (GTRM).
- Support the Program Unit in monitoring projects implementation as a multifunctional team.
- Support the implementation of the local livelihood strategy as part of the local integration one.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Monitoring and Process Controls:

The Senior Field Associate (Protection) will report to the Head of Office located in Guayaquil. The incumbent will keep frequent internal contacts with other staff members to exchange information. He/She will also liaise with external contacts including officials of national and international institutions, leaders of the refugee community, local population and/or Implementing Partners (IPs) on subject matters which may be of importance to the Organization.

Qualifications and Experience

a. Education

-Studies in Law, Political Science, Development Studies, Human Rights, Community Development/Social Work, Social Science, International Law or closed fields. Postgraduate degree in refugees law or human mobility would be an added value.

b. Professional Experience

- Minimum experience of four (4) years in activities related to human rights, constitutional law, protection of children and adolescents, gender, human mobility, international law with emphasis on
refugees or human mobility.
- Work experience in the elaboration of public policies including in facilitating training for public officials, members of civil society and grassroots organizations or in protection coordination activities.
-Work experience in project monitoring and evaluation. Main competencies

-Coordination capacity between different stakeholders.
-M&E skills.
-Ability to work under stressful conditions.
- Ability to manage conflicts in the work environment.
- Ability to deal with confidential and sensitive information in a professional manner.
- Capacity for teamwork.
- Assertive communication skills.
- Spanish and English are essintial.
- Analytical and effective writing skills.
- Ability to work with groups in vulnerable situations. English is mandatory Submission of applications:

A) English is mandatory.
B) Foreign candidates, to be considered eligible for this position, must have a temporary or permanent residence in Ecuador that allows them to carry out work activities in the country.
C) The candidate must present a valid and updated Single Taxpayer Registry RUC and a certificate of voluntary contribution to the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security IESS. Voluntary IESS values will be covered by the selected candidate. The offered salary is in net terms.
D) If you wish to be considered for this vacancy, please submit your application according the following instructions:

External candidates:
- Candidates who do NOT have access to the system MSRP must submit their application through UNHCR's official site for applications: www.unhcr.org - Careers ¿ Vacancies ¿ Ecuador ¿ Senior Field Associate (Protection)
- (In case you face technical problems, please enter with a different browser).

Candidates with access to the system MSRP:
- Your application can be submitted through: MSRP ¿ Self-Service ¿ Recruiting ¿ Careers ¿ Ecuador ¿ Senior Field Associate (Protection)

1. For any technical issues encountered during the online application, please contact the Global Service Desk (hqussd@unhcr.org) prior to the deadline to allow enough time to resolve issues.

2. For any questions about the selection process, please contact Human Resources (ecuquhr@unhcr.org).

CVs WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY EMAIL. ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS SENT BY THE SYSTEM WILLBE CONSIDERED
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
======================================================================================================== UNHCR operation in Ecuador is fundamentally driven to provide protection and durable solutions UNHCR¿s persons concern such as asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless through partnership and close collaboration with national authorities as well as non-governmental organizations and communities. Particular attention and specific multi-faceted protection and assistance is often provided within short timeframes and at times little resources in demanding operational environment. The wide palette of activities is principally coordinated from the national office in Quito as well as the field offices, including Quito (Solanda), Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Ibarra, Tulcán and Lago Agrio.

Ecuador is a destination and transit country for persons in need of international protection. Over the past two decades, Ecuador has been hosting more than 70,095 recognized refugees (mainly Colombians) and lately Ecuador has become a main destination and transit country for Venezuelan refugees and migrants. Ecuador receives the second largest number of Venezuelans after Colombia. Over 2.2 million have arrived in Ecuador since 2016. In 2019 Venezuelans have been arriving in Ecuador at an average of 1,950 people per day, almost all through the border crossings with Colombia. While 80% of Venezuelans arriving in Ecuador are in transit to third countries, official estimates are that more than 443,075 are residing in Ecuador.

Before the declaration of the COVID-19 emergency, irregular entry into Ecuador was the only option for many Venezuelans due to the imposition of visas as of July 2019. The participatory diagnoses carried out by UNHCR revealed that the Venezuelans lack information about their rights, including access to the asylum system and other options for migratory regularization. In addition, difficulties of access to virtual procedures were identified due to lack of connectivity and the impossibility of having all the requirements to initiate an immigration
procedure.

The Province of Manabi has become a destination for mixed migratory flows of people with the intention of staying. To date, 9.153 Venezuelans are estimated to be registered with Manta and Portoviejo cities being the places with the highest reception. However, other people of concern may be underreported. Different UN Sister agencies are based in Manta, including OIM, UNICEF and WFP. UNHCR is currently ensuring the implementation of its protection and solution strategy through multiple partners (World Vision, HIAS, CARE, AVSI, NRC, Aldeas SoS, Defensoria Publica. The closing date is: 22 April 2021 00h00 Geneva Time (21 April 2021 17h00 Ecuador Time)