TERMS OF REFERENCE

Place: Van, Turkey

Position: Project Assistant

Reference Number: Van2023-02 Project Assistant

Project: Enhancement of Access to Justice by IP Applicants, Status Holders and Syrians under TP

Duration: 11 months (extendable)

The applications should be submitted to utba@barobirlik.org.tr no later than January 20th, 2023 by indicating reference number and additional documents required.

Only the short-listed candidates will be contacted.

1. Background

Currently, over 3.7 million Syrians under temporary protection and over 350.000 international protection applicants and statute holders from different countries live in Turkey. This large group, which is seeking protection in Turkey with various legal statutes, may face different legal problems in daily life. These people can be a party to legal disputes from decisions such as refoulement, which can directly affect one’s right to life; to divorce, domestic violence and work-place accidents. It is important that these people, majority of whom are facing economic difficulties, are supported in access to justice.

“Enhancement of Access to Justice by IP Applicants, Status Holders and Syrians under TP” aims to ensure the access of international protection applicants, statute holders and persons under temporary protection, who are a party to a legal dispute, to qualified legal assistance.

Activities within the Project will be conducted under 2 components and under the second component:

With the cooperation of the Union of Turkish Bar Association (UTBA) and UNHCR ,it is aimed to close the gap in the system with the legal clinic to be establish in Van as continuation of the Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Malatya and Hatay legal clinics that are currently operating within the scope of the project. The access of international protection applicants, statute holders and persons under temporary protection to correct and full legal assistance services to be carried out under professional ethical supervision will be ensured through the legal clinic to be established. Awareness raising activities, legal representation in cases which may contribute to the case law within the field, advocacy activities may also be conducted through the clinic to be established.

At the end of this activity, it is aimed to increase the number of applications and the ratio of benefit from legal aid; and to ensure the access to a more qualified legal aid of the target group within the Van province, and to solve the communication (interpretation) problems which form a significant problem in the functioning of the system.”

2. Objective

The objective of this position is to support the implementation of the project and to contribute to the communication and cooperation among partners; in order to reach the project outcomes.

3. Responsibilities of the Project Assistant

The Project assistant will be responsible of the following duties:

• To collect, record and preserve information on the Project activities and to do reporting
• To prepare status and progress reports, to conduct routine communications
• To assist the preparation of required material to be used in discussions and meetings
• To monitor the main standards and indicators related to the measurement and evaluation of the project performance
• To follow the implementation and performance of project outcomes through work plans, progress reports, budget, financial reports and expenditures
• To be in communication and cooperation with the UTBA and the UNHCR regarding the implementation of the project
• To do the reporting regarding the functioning of the clinic
• To keep the archives of the clinic and to share the related documents with the UTBA
• To follow the required organizational arrangements
• To follow up procurement processes
• To carry out other tasks

4. Duration

The duration of this position is 11 months(extendable) and it is foreseen to start on 1st of  February, 2023.

5. Organizational Framework

The physical working environment of the project assistant will be Van Legal Clinic to be established within the scope of the project. The assistant will report to the UTBA, and work in close coordination and cooperation with other clinics and project staff. The incumbent will sign an employment contract of definite duration with the UTBA, and will be employed within the International Relations and EU Centre.

6. Required Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree (min 4 years) in related fields such as International Relations, Political Science, etc.
• At least 2 year experience in related fields
• Computer skills
• Fluency in Turkish and English
• Experience in projects funded by the UN, donors and/or NGOs is an asset
• Experience with ORACLE, PeopleSoft based software (ATLAS) is an asset
• To have completed military service for male applicants

Notes:

• Internships are not considered work experience.  
• Compulsory military service is not considered work experience.
• Experiences gained prior to undergraduate education are not considered work experience.

7. Additional Documents Required

• One-page letter of intent explaining the relevance to the position
• CV including related work experience and at least two references

8. Evaluation

The candidates meeting the minimum requirements within the terms of reference will be short-listed. The short-listed candidates will be called for an interview. The interviews will be conducted in English/Turkish.