Details
Mission and objectives
UNHCR in Ecuador aims at the delivery of protection, assistance and solutions to a variety of persons of concern to UNHCR such as asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons, in partnership and close collaboration with national authorities as well as non-governmental organizations and local communities. Related activities often need to be implemented within short timeframes and at times with relatively little resources in a demanding operational environment. The operation is coordinated at the national level by the national branch office in Quito. In addition, UNHCR has field offices in Quito (Solanda), Ambato, Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Huaquillas, Cuenca, Ibarra, Tulcán, and Lago Agrio. Since 2000, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, works in Ecuador to protect and assist the largest population of recognized refugees (mainly Colombians) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2016, more than five million Venezuelans have left their country. Of them, 2.2 million have entered Ecuador, of whom almost 400,000 are estimated to be staying in the country. At the time of writing, Venezuelans continue to cross the Ecuadorian-Colombian border.
Context
UNHCR operation in Ecuador is fundamentally driven to deliver protection and solutions to a variety of persons of UNHCR’s concern such as asylum-seekers, refugees, persons in need of international protection in mixed migration, and persons at risk of statelessness, in 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 at the national level by the Country Office in Quito. In addition, UNHCR has Sub-Offices in Quito (Solanda), Guayaquil and Ibarra with the Field Offices and Field Units reporting to them. It is estimated that, as of January 2023, 515.006 Venezuelans reside in different parts of Ecuador. The provinces with the largest presence of Venezuelan population are Pichincha, Guayas, and Manabí. The province of Manabí has become a destination for mixed migratory flows of people with the intention of staying. To date, 36.101 Venezuelans are estimated to be registered in this province; 65% of them are residing in Manta and 12% in Portoviejo, being the places with the highest reception in the mentioned province. Different UN agencies are based in Manta, including IOM, UNICEF, and WFP. UNHCR is currently ensuring the implementation of its protection and solution strategy through multiple partners (World Vision, HIAS, AVSI, NRC, Defensoría Publica del Ecuador). The economic crisis, as a consequence of the pandemic, strongly impacted the Manabí province, not only for refugees and migrant women but also for the host community. This resulted in layoffs, reduced labour supply, lower wages, and income deprivation, increasing GBV risks, especially domestic violence. The International UN University Volunteer in Community Based Protection (Manta) will be a member of the Protection Unit and may report to the Head of Field Unit or more senior staff in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Head of Field Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the volunteer will work directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families, and communities. The volunteer will support the application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures and practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level. To fulfil this role, the volunteer is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of displaced population. The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with displaced population that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming, and results, form the core of the work of the volunteer. The volunteer will also support the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with displaced population.
Task description
In order to carry out this assignment, the UN Volunteer will be properly trained both formally, through available workshops, seminars, e-Learning platforms; and informally through on-the-job training, intensive coaching/mentoring, shadowing other colleagues to familiarize his/herself with the relevant global and local policy and procedures related to Community Based Protection activities. The UN Volunteer will be closely supervised by both senior and middle level management within the unit and it is expected that within a few months s/he will have the necessary skills to carry out many of the daily tasks with limited guidance. Under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Unit Manta and in close collaboration with the Protection Officer in Guayaquil, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Through the relationships with displaced population and network of partners, learn how to stay abreast of political, social, economic, and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team. Understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of displaced population and advise the protection team, accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women, men, children, youth and older persons, people with disabilities and marginalized groups. • Learn how to support implementing and operational partners as well as displaced and local communities to develop community/owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho/social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and response to GBV. • Assist in working with host communities to involve national civil society groups to improve the protection situation of displaced population. • Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face. • Support participatory assessments and ongoing consultation processes with displaced population. • Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures. • Learn how to ensure community understanding of UNHCR's mandate and commitment to deliver assistance on accountability and quality assurance in its response. • Collect data for monitoring of programmes and budgets from an AGD perspective. • Draft and type routine correspondence, documents and reports and maintain up/to/date filing systems. • Learn how to act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries from community actors. • Assist in the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all UNHCR’s work. • Learn how to identify and recommend which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria. • Support enforcing compliance of implementing partners with UNHCR global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services. • Perform other related duties as required.