Assistant Protection Officer (10034434) - Ankara

This position is open to applications from Group 1, Group 2 and all external candidates, provided that requirements regarding professional experience, academic qualifications, language, etc. are fulfilled.

Candidates must be primarily Turkish nationals. The minimum educational requirement for this position is a university degree.

Applications must be supported by documentation of fully effective performance history and demonstrated potential to assume professional responsibilities.

Your application will NOT be considered if;
-      The application form is not duly filled.
-      The questionnaire at the end of the application form is not answered. (for external candidates)

Interested staff members should consult Recruitment and Assignment of Locally-recruited Staff (RALS) para 39-40-41. Assistant Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Assistant Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection, registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024),  Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support  and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

The Assistant Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC), ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the Organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that PoC are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of them. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

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.

Duties
- Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.  
- Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Conduct eligibility and status determination for PoC 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.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Provide inputs for the development of protection policies and standards within the AoR.
- Implement and monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Manage individual protection cases including those on SGBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
- Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC 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 PoC.
- 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 with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
- Contribute to and facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems. 
- Assist capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
- Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
- Assist the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
- Assist the supervisor in enforcing 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.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level

1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law, International Law, Political Sciences 
or other relevant field.


Relevant Job Experience

Essential:
Knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles

Desirable:
Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*LE-International Refugee Law
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Coordination
MG-Projects management
PR-PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Protection and mixed-movements
PR-Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Operations & IDPs Status/Rights/Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
PR-Community-based Protection
MS-Drafting, Documentation, Data Presentation
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for a test. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. No late applications will be accepted.

UNHCR is committed to diversity and welcomes applications from qualified candidates regardless of disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, race, color or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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

REMUNERATION

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. The monthly net salary is between TRY 12,113 and 15,505 depending on relevant experience, dependency status and language proficiency. For more information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the Office of HR Management of United Nations.
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
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Nature of the Position

The position is assigned to manage the UNHCR Ankara Counseling Line, overseeing day to day operations, ensuring that refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey receive accurate, complete and timely information and advice, are supported through referrals when further assistance is needed to address their needs. This position therefore requires robust individual case management expertise. Further, as the Counselling Line is a key source of information for the operation, experience with analysis and producing quality protection reports for management is preferred. Finally, considering the volume of calls the Counselling Line receives (over 42,000/month in 2020), the position requires demonstrated coordination, time-management and prioritization skills.

Interaction with Persons of Concern or External Stakeholders

As the manager of the Counselling Line, this position has regular and consistent interaction with both refugees and asylum seekers. This includes coaching the operators and providing protection counselling to persons of concern, particularly for complex cases. This position is further expected to liaise closely with the key UNHCR protection partners who receive referrals of cases from the Counselling Line. Additionally, the Counselling Line¿s technical elements are managed through an externally-contracted company (Pusula), the head of the Counselling Line requires strong diplomacy and communication. This position is expected to liaise closely with UNHCR field and functional units, which requires demonstrated skills of teamwork and cooperation.

Reporting and Managerial Expectations

This position is a member of the CO Protection Unit based in Ankara and reports directly to the Protection Officer. As the overall manager of the Counselling Line team, this position directly supervises one G6 Protection Associate, and 42 operators, once of the largest teams in the operation. Given the size of the team, this position requires staff management and leadership experience.

Additional Languages, Skills and Qualifications

As this position is responsible for monitoring the quality of the counselling, fluency in Arabic or Farsi is highly desirable. Experience in working at or managing a call center, two-way communication platforms or case management systems involving refugees is preferred. The closing date of this job opening is 27 April 2021.