Standard Job Description

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Protection Associate normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.

The Protection Associate is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (PoC) and identify opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards in operational responses in all sectors. S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and liaises externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Associate also ensures that PoC are involved in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

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

- Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.
- Provide advice on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Assist in conducting eligibility and status determination for PoC.
- Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
- Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
- Assist in identifying durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on PoC and their problems.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
- Assist the supervisor in prioritizing PoC for interview, counselling and propose protection support for individual cases.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of local implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Assit the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
- Submit individual payments request for PoC for approval.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law, Political Science or other related field

Relevant Job Experience

Desirable

• Protection Learning Programme

Functional Skills

• IT-Computer Literacy
• PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
• PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

Language Requirements

• 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.

Desired Candidate Profile

Fluent Turkish is required , Arabic is desirable.

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

• Staff safety is paramount to UNHCR and all official movements have to be cleared by the UN Department of Security and Safety. The organization’s risk management focuses on the prevention of staff involvement in tasks/missions which may pose a danger to the staff’s health and safety. 10 km border belt in Oncupinar and Karkamis areas is classified as Security Level 4 and the other areas are classified as Security Level 2 locations. The FU in the Suboffice office is well-protected with security guards, CCTV, and other security measures in place at the office. Security awareness is a core responsibility of staff members as well, and in this regard all UNHCR staff are required to undertake the mandatory course of basic Security in the Field (BSAFE).

Nature of Position:

The post of Protection Associate is within Gaziantep Field Unit and the incumbent will be supervised by the Assistant Field Officer (NOA) under the Head of Gaziantep Field Unit. Gaziantep Field Unit covers five provinces namely Gaziantep, Kilis, Kahramanmaras, Osmaniye and Malatya where about more than 700,000 Syrians are registered.

To perform and fulfil their duties, the incumbent will spend a substantial percentage of time working outside the office on a daily basis engaging with refugees and staff of various counterparts; NGOs and public institutions including but not limited to Provincial Directorate of Migration Management (PDMM) and Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services (PdFSS) and other relevant state institutions, Bar Associations and Municipalities, mukhtars etc. The incumbent will be expected to interact directly with persons of concern including Syrians and other nationalities within the Filed Unit's area as well especially in counselling with the refugees during voluntary return interviews at PDMMs.

The incumbent will:

• Follow up on individual protection referrals to relevant state institutions and NGOs
• Observe the voluntary Return Interviews of Syrians at PDMMs and ensure voluntariness of applicants' decision for return and provide counselling on the consequences of voluntary return and if/when encountered any specific protection cases, take appropriate action and refer to the relevant stated institution. Prepare daily and weekly reports and statistics on voluntary return interviews and record in the database.
• Follow up with partners on their activities and conduct ad-hoc visits to monitor the activities and join regular MFT visits when required/scheduled by Program Unit.
• Liaise with the local official including PDMMs, PdFSS and its units and follow up on UNHCR supported programs as well as keep close contact with Municipalities and mukhtars on the situation of refugees in urban as well as social cohesion activities of Municipalities.
• In close contact with the Protection Unit, the incumbent will be the focal point in the Field Unit for collaboration with stakeholders providing legal services and will support the office in monitoring trends in access to registration in the provinces, referral canters, detention and deportation.

The incumbent will receive regular guidance and advice from the supervisor and Head of Field Unit. Advice and operational support will also be received from the Snr. Field Coordinator as well as other relevant units (Protection, Program etc,) in Sub-Office Gaziantep.

The incumbent will not have a direct supervisory role, however, may take part in administrative tasks such as the preparation of weekly schedule of the Field Unit and will contribute in reporting in collaboration with the team.

Living and Working Conditions:

This is a position in Gaziantep (FU), operating within the structure of UNHCR Southeast Turkiye operations; the nature of the position is such that requires strong motivation and dedication, entailing daily visits to the districts, local institutions, and partner organizations as well as meetings with refugees and members of host communities when required. Additionally, as the FU’s area of responsibility covers Kilis, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Malatya provinces as well, the prospective staff should be able and ready to travel and stay in Malatya or other provinces as deemed appropriate. The transportation for official missions is provided by UNHCR.

The UNHCR office is in the city centre of the Gaziantep Province which has a population of more than 2.1 million residents and 465,292 Syrian refugees live in the province.

To fulfil his/her role the incumbent will spend a substantial percentage of her/his time working outside of the office, engaging daily with authorities, various partners and with persons of concern.  This will include regular road missions to Kilis, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Malatya provinces. Long working hours might be required occasionally.

Access to accommodation in Gaziantep, supply and transport facilities is good. Apartments and flats are available and generally in good condition with services such as water, gas, electricity, and internet. The public bus transport network is well developed. Taxi transport is available and affordable.

There is an airport in the city with frequent, daily flights to several locations in the country, some European hubs.

The leisure and recreational facilities are available and accessible.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

Education

Certifications

International Law - Other, Political Science - Other

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

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Other information

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19.The English version is considered original and authoritative, translation to other language(s) serve the purpose of advertisement of local positions where applicable but are not considered as official translations.

Staff members must serve for a minimum of one year following assignment before being considered eligible to apply for another position within the same category. The minimum one-year requirement is waived in respect of staff members whose position is being changed or whose assignment/appointment through the joint staff/management review body is in a replacement capacity.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).
Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The recruitment process might include written test and/or oral interview for this job opening. No late applications will be accepted.
External candidates must be legally present in Türkiye at the time of application, recruitment and hire.

Non-Turkish citizens are required to submit a valid Turkish residence permit to be considered. Please upload your residence permit document under the Certifications section, select the type as Personnel Administration - Other.

Your application will NOT be considered if a valid residence permit is not attached to the application. (for non-Turkish external candidates only)

For further information on how to apply please visit UNHCR - Application and selection
"https://www.unhcr.org/how-to-apply.html"