Senior Community Based Protection Assistant at UNHCR, the...

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Senior Community Based Protection Assistant

locations Panama City, Panama

time type Full time

posted on Posted Today

job requisition id JR2445127

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

Family

UNOPS LICA5 2024-08-01 July 14, 2024 Please note that this position is offered under UNOPS LICA contract at LICA-5 level until 31 December 2024.

Persons interested in applying to this position must be legally present in Panama at the time of recruitment, comply with all eligibility requirements for employment in line with the prevailing legislative prerequisites in the country, and demonstrate proof of residency and/or work permit for the said country at the time of application.

The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, or disabilities.

Levels of language knowledge:
A1-beginner
A2-elementary
B1- lower intermediate
B2-upper intermediate
C1-advanced/proficient
C2-fluent

English and Spanish are required at the B2 level.

Standard Job Description

Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is a member of the Protection Unit and may report to the Protection Officer, Community-Based Protection Officer, or another more senior staff member in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The incumbent supports 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 Senior Community-Based Protection Assistant is required to spend a substantial percentage of the workday outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern (PoC). The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with PoC that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming and results, form the core of the work of the incumbent. S/he also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with PoC.

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
- Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection strategy.
- Through relationships with PoC and network of partners, 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 the PoC and advise the protection team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
- Assist in initiatives with host communities to involve national civil society groups in the protection of PoC.
- 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 the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
- Support participatory assessments by multifunctional teams and ongoing consultation with PoC.
- Support efforts to build the office capacity for community-based protection.
- Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures.
- Ensure community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver 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.
- Act as an interpreter in exchange of routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
- Assist in the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR's work.
- Initiate AGD sensitive interventions at the appropriate level on community-based protection issues and to respond to protection concerns and incidents within the office and with persons and communities of concern based on agreed parameters.
- Identify and recommend which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
- Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G5- 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Development, Human Rights, International Law
Social Work, Social Science, Political Science,
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified.

Desirable
UNHCR learning programmes (PLP). Knowledge of MSRP.

Functional Skills
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
*IT-Computer Literacy
IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
PR-Community-based Protection - Principles and methodologies
CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Required Languages

Spanish

English

Desired Languages

Additional Qualifications

CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community, IT-Computer Literacy, IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), PR-Community-based Protection - Principles and methodologies, UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures Community Development/Social Work - Other, Development Studies - Other, Human Rights - Other, International Law - Other, Political Science - Other, Social Sciences - Other

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

Welcome to UNHCR’s new recruitment platform

Important notice:

If you were notified about unsuccessful application

While our recruitment system successfully implements UNHCR policies, we have noticed some marginal errors. Please rest assured that a human recruiter will duly review your application as per our internal processes when it was declined due to lack of required number of years of relevant work experience.

For external applicants:

We would like to call your attention on the eligibility of International Professional (P) category: According to our Recruitment and Assignments Policy, P staff members will not normally serve in the country of their nationality, and the first regular appointment in the P category must be outside the staff member's country of nationality. In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.
and are not migrated to this platform. Therefore, when applying for current vacancies, external applicants (not current UNHCR workforce members) should create a new account (“Sign In” on the top left corner >> Create account). Once successfully registered, you can start filling in your data and apply for vacancies.
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In case of technical difficulties when applying, external applicants (not current UNHCR workforce members) can write to recruitment@case.unhcr.org .

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For Talent Pool / Evergreen candidates :

to Talent Pools have not been migrated to UNHCR’s new recruitment platform.
As part of the transitional measures, candidates who were successfully accepted to a Talent Pool (now called Evergreens) have received e-mail instructions for re-submitting their application on UNHCR’s new recruitment platform.
The Evergreens are advertised per grade/ level; candidates can apply to one or more levels. If meeting all eligibility criteria at the given level and subject to functional clearance (if applicable), candidates will be added to the relevant talent pool. Applications will be valid for one year, after which candidates can re-confirm their interest.
Evergreens are for sourcing candidates for Temporary Appointments (TAs). Candidates considering TA opportunities are recommended to keep an eye on the UNHCR Career website and apply once Evergreens are open for new applications (at the end of 2022).
For updating a previously submitted Evergreen application, please click on the “withdraw” button against the Profile and reapply. Note: the change(s) will apply only to the relevant profile. You will have to update all other profiles (if any) if your data (i.e. nationality, new BA/MA degree, new language skill) has changed.

Diversity

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

About Us

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, takes the lead in protecting people forced to flee wars and persecution around the world, providing life-saving aid including shelter, food and water to ensure their basic safety, rights and dignity. With 18,879 women and men working in 137 countries, we work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of 89.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
Our dedicated and professional staff work around the clock in roles including legal protection, community services, public affairs, health and more. Despite the challenges they can face, our staff are proud to work for UNHCR and determined to make a positive impact.

Why a career with UNHCR?

Our dedicated staff work to protect and assist people fleeing conflict and persecution at a time when global forced displacement is at a record high. Our colleagues bring a wide range of specialized skills, including expertise in legal protection, administration, community services, public affairs, health and other disciplines.

Disability inclusion

If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form.
There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.

Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request.

All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.

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