Associate Resettlement Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems world-wide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org). The UNHCR Representation Office in Rwanda principally manages a refugee population (mainly refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who have been on the Rwan-dan territory since 1996 and Burundian refugees who have been arriving in the country further to the volatile situation in Burundi since April 2015) as well as a significant re-turnee population of Rwandan refugees returning after many years in exile. It is com-posed of the Branch Office in Kigali and Field Offices in Huye, Gicumbi, Rusizi, Rubavu, Karongi, Kirehe and Kabarore. It hosts approximately 155,749 refugees in three proracted refugee camps, namely Nyabiheke (managed by Kabarore Office) Gihembe (managed by Gicumbi Office) as well as Kiziba (managed by Karongi Office), three new refugee camps, namely Kigeme and Mugombwa (managed by Huye Office) as well as Mahama (managed by Kirehe Office), and urban settings (Kigali and Huye). Since April 2015, UNHCR is also supporting two additional reception centers in Bugesera and Nyanza districts for Burundian refugees. The existing transit center in Rusizi (Nyagatare Transit Centre) that was receiving Rwandan returnees has also started functioning as a reception center for Burundian new arrivals. As of December 2013, Rwanda hosted approximately 74,000 Congolese refugees. 99% of the refugee caseload is predomi-nantly composed of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with 84% originating from North Kivu and 11% from South Kivu.

Context

• Cases are referred for resettlement in accordance with existing SOPs; • Participation at office meetings to discuss cases identified for possible resettlement con-sideration; • Resettlement events in ProGres database are properly updated and cases are tracked; • Resettlement country missions and refugee departures from (country) are facilitated; • Resettlement counseling is provided to refugees; • The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment; • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the as-signment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Associate Resettlement Officer , the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Conduct casework by interviewing identified refugees for resettlement. Assess the reset-tlement needs and complete RRF (Resettlement Registration Forms) and refer cases for review to the Resettlement Officer; • Research country of origin information to support and strengthen resettlement cases; • Support and assist in the preparation of and facilitation of resettlement country missions; • Assist Resettlement Officer with the organizing of training workshops and seminars on resettlement related issues for UNHCR staff; • Manage in a fair manner refugees’ resettlement expectations through information shar-ing, outreach and counselling; • Regularly liaise with Protection, Community Services and other relevant Units to individ-ual case processing within the Office; • Regularly update ProGres database with resettlement events and maintain own statisti-cal data for reporting purposes; • Participate at the Resettlement Unit, Protection Section and Office meetings when re-quested; • Undertake support resettlement missions to the field when required. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by read-ing relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible. Depending on operational needs and the expertise of the IUNV selected, the IUNV may be expected to: • support in review of preliminary interviews or RRFs completed by others • Make referrals to other UNHCR staff/units, based on identified vulnerabilities and specific needs. • Ensure adherence to and contribute to continual review of operation-specific SOPs. •