Protection Coordinator (Legal Aid)

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified Programme Coordinator (Legal Aid) for the Blue Dot in Warsaw, Poland.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement affected populations on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Ukraine refugees, IDPs, and host populations both within Ukraine and in the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova, and wider Europe. Since late February 2022, nearly 4 million Ukrainians and third-country nationals have crossed the border to Poland. As part of its neighboring country's response, DRC is establishing an operational presence in Poland to support displaced populations through a partnership with civil society organizations and national NGOs, duty bearers, and other actors.

DRC Poland will be responsible for the management of four Blue Dots supported by UNHCR and UNICEF in Gdynia, Lublin, Warsaw, and Wrocław. In each location, the Blue Dot services will be provided in collaboration with local/national NGOs. In each location, a designated area lead is responsible for the coordination of the Blue Dot services. With the support of the Protection Specialist (Legal Aid), the Programme Coordinator (Legal Aid) will provide support and/or technical guidance to country operations while overseeing country activities specific to the provision of legal aid.

About the Job

Project Coordination and Implementation 

• Provide needs-based support to DRC’s partners on the implementation of and reporting on agreed legal aid projects
• Document projects’ progress, achievements, and areas of support/adaptation in collaboration with partners 
• In close consultation with DRC’s partners and with the support of the Protection Specialist (Legal Aid) identify opportunities and areas of added value for the consolidation of bilateral partnerships into a Legal Aid Programme especially related to outreach, legal awareness raising, advocacy, legal analyses, legal aid provision, and referrals  
• Ensure links between partners’ interventions and DRC legal aid programme in Ukraine and neighboring countries  
• Coordinate contribution to the development of the Regional Legal Aid Platform by DRC Poland and partners especially related to the monitoring of legislation, legal analyses in relation to legislation in Poland, and implementation of EU Temporary Protection Directive   
• Develop activities aimed at knowledge exchange between lawyers/paralegals and human rights defenders from Poland and other relevant countries  
• Based on partners' inputs and DRC programmatic data/information, consolidate overviews of trends related to protection risks, legal aid needs, and barriers to accessing services including legal aid  
• Closely collaborate with area support services officers to support timely procurement and delivery of necessary project equipment and supplies to partners, HR and admin procedures 
• Consolidate inputs from partners for periodical reporting and provide needs-based support in reporting at the area – level  
• In collaboration with the Programme and Quality Assurance unit support partners in conducting monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning  
• Coordinate budget monitoring, financial management, and expenses control of the Legal Aid Programme, including compliance with minimum DRC and donor requirements 
• Lead project opening, review, and close-off meetings and programmatic learning events   
• Maintain the project risk registry and escalate high-risk areas to senior management

Accountability and reporting 

• Develop program monitoring tools
• Guided by the DRC Programme Handbook, continuously monitor and develop relevant accountability initiatives within relevant project programs as well as strengthen the effort to document the impact of activities 
• Ensure compliance with internal and external reporting requirements including procurement 

Program development and strategy 

• Represent DRC and take active participation in sectoral and cross-border legal aid working groups and other relevant coordination mechanisms
• Identify opportunities for engagement with academia and private sector/pro bono lawyers in support of the programmes objectives and sustainability 
• Identify recommendations on technical assistance and capacity exchange and lead their implementation with the support of relevant staff  
• Oversee knowledge sharing among partners, DRC Poland, and DRC in neighboring countries/wider Europe, document programmatic learning, and ensure that monitoring and evaluation results are understood and used to improve programs 
• Contribute to the development and growth of the DRC Protection programme and feed into country-wide strategy development 

About You

To be successful in this role we expect you to have a minimum of 4 years of proven experience in NGO/UN projects, ideally including working with partners as well as proven experience in the area of legal aid, protection, and/or human rights. Moreover, we also expect the following:

• A Master's degree in law (strongly preferred), political or social science, or another relevant field
• Excellent writing and editing skills for external audiences (including governments and donors) 
• Experience in producing high-quality technical material (training material, programme tools, proposals, strategic documents, etc.) 
• Experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation
• Full professional proficiency in English, Polish, and/or Ukrainian  
• Experience in staff management  

We Offer

Contract length: contract until May 31st, 2023 with possible extension depending on funding

Band: Non-Management, G

Geographic scope: Country (Poland)

Start date: ASAP

We offer competitive salary and benefits in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for National Staff.

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: August 21st, 2022

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we, therefore, encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo. For questions regarding the vacancy please contact Evangelia Trikili, evangelia.trikili@drc.ngo