Job Summary

CARE International in Turkey (CARE), together with its partners, is providing humanitarian assistance to people affected by the Syrian crisis, both in Syria and Turkey. CARE began projects responding to the needs of Syrian refugees in southern Turkey in October 2014.

CARE works with conflict-affected refugees inside Turkey and host communities – with a focus on vulnerable women and girls. CARE Turkey places women and girls at the center of its work with refugees because a woman is the catalyst of change in her community – changing her life will change the community; they are also disproportionally affected by poverty. In the context of refugees, girls are vulnerable to early marriage, and girls and boys both are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and to exploitation in the labor market. This does not mean that we do not work with men. By engaging with men, we are better able to address these issues.

I - Position Summary

Managed by the Head of Sub-Office in Sanliurfa, with technical line management from the Gender, Protection and Quality Advisor, based in Gaziantep, the Protection Legal Counsellor will work in close collaboration with all project teams. Using a rights-based approach, the Protection Legal Counsellor will be responsible for providing information, counselling and legal assistance to specific cases, to support clients and target communities in developing an understanding of the protection and legal issues, and to work in coordination with other actors to identify ways to address legal issues faced by Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey.

II - General Functions

1. Provide information, counseling and legal assistance to specific cases
2. Support to develop an understanding of the protection and legal issues affecting the target communities
3. Support development of legal sessions and training on the legal context for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey in coordination with other counterparts
4. Work in coordination with other actors (especially Provincial Bar Associations) to identify ways to address legal issues

Duty station: Urfa with regular travel to field sites in the city and potentially other areas of southeast Turkey.

Estimated breakdown:

Fieldwork: 60-80% (3-4 days/week)

Office work: 20-40% (1-2 days/week)

Responsibilities and Tasks

Job Responsibility #1

Document protection and legal issues affecting the target communities

• Document legal concepts, law, and practices regarding the Turkish legal system and, in particular, regarding rights to housing, land, and property and legal identity of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey under Temporary Protection and International Protection.
• Document changes to the legal context for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey under Temporary Protection and International Protection in Turkey
• Assist in preparing mapping (including written version) of relevant legal and related services being provided by other actors
• Conduct legal research and keep apprised of relevant legal developments regarding Refugee Law in Turkey;
• Support and attend coordination and working group meetings to gather critical and up to date information on legal issues, and to disseminate information about CARE’s activities

Job Responsibility #2

Provide information, counseling and legal assistance to specific cases

• Provide information, counseling and legal assistance to specific cases. Liaise with key members of the Case Management, Livelihoods, or Basic Needs Team as needed for this purpose
• Attend Case Committees
• Establish excellent relations with project participants, including understanding the needs of project participants through regular visits and frequent contact with actual and potential project participants
• Work in coordination with other actors (especially Provincial Bar Associations) to identify ways to address the legal issue of cases
• Follow a case closely if referred to follow the formal legal case in coordination with the relevant caseworker
• Keep updated reports and follow-ups on the cases
• Support tracking and reporting of legal assistance and counseling cases

Job Responsibility #3

Support development of legal sessions and training of team on the legal context for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey in coordination with other counterparts

• Support to update and develop the sessions on legal status to project participants
• Support the Refugee Program with program materials, tool, and curricula when necessary
• Work in coordination with other actors (especially Provincial Bar Associations) to identify ways to develop updated materials

Job Responsibility #4

Contribute to the high-quality implementation of refugee response

• Ensure that protection activities are compliant with CARE accountability principles and general protection principles.
• Work with Monitoring colleagues to ensure that appropriate monitoring activities are undertaken to a high standard
• Ensure up to date maintenance of case reports and entry into a database
• Provide feedback on any updates/improvements that are needed to the standard operating procedures and documentation

Other:

• Any other task as required by line or technical manager.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Should be a Turkish citizen registered into the Bar Association
• University degree in law (preferably at master’s level) or related studies
• Understanding of Turkey Temporary Protection and International Protection legal issues
• Understanding of international legal instruments relating to humanitarian work such as International Humanitarian Law and Geneva Conventions, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1951 Refugee Convention and Convention on Rights of Child
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Good understanding of Turkish social services system and functions of government agencies
• Good contacts in the local governance and government in the operational area
• Strong planning, interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong report writing and documentation skills
• A team player, eager to learn new skills
• Very good computer skills, especially in MS Word, MS Excel and MS Outlook

Desirable

• Spoken Arabic
• Experience of referral mechanisms
• Experience of community-based work
• Experience implementing case management activities
• Good understanding of INGO/NGO and humanitarian work
• Experience of social work and/or implementing protection activities
• Experience of liaising/coordinating activities with other organizations
• At least two years of work experience in the social services sector
• Experience of working/volunteering with humanitarian NGOs

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Fluency in written and oral English. Must be able to read and interpret documents, and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively. Excellent report writing skills.

Child Protection Policy

Child abuse in all forms is unacceptable to CARE Turkey, which recognizes its responsibility to protect children from harm in all areas of its work. CARE Turkey is committed to ensuring a child-safe environment and is applying a zero-tolerance approach towards any kind of child abuse and exploitation.

Discrimination, Abuse and Harassment Policy

CARE Turkey expressly prohibits and will not tolerate any form of discrimination, abuse, harassment (sexual or otherwise), based upon race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship status, disability, or military status. CARE employees and related personnel must under no circumstances take part in any form of discrimination, harassment, or abuse (physical, sexual or verbal), intimidation or exploitation, or in any other way infringe the rights of others inside or outside CARE.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Employment is subject to the possession of valid identification documents (passport, residency card, temporary protection card, etc.) and successfully obtaining permission to work by the Government of Turkey (work permit). CARE will submit the work permit application on behalf of the selected candidate after the job offer accepted. Candidate can start to work for CARE only after the work permit is received. Failure to provide the required documents or rejection of a work permit application by the Government of Turkey will result in your employment offer being rescinded.

Interested candidates, please send a Curriculum Vitae in English and a Cover letter (in a separate file of no more than one A4 page) describing how your skills and experience match the requirements of this post,

following to provide when you click the apply button

Applications in languages other than English will not be reviewed.

“Applications are strongly encouraged from female candidates“

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

**** CARE International is an Equal Opportunity Employer **