Senior Protection Assistant – G5 – Mtl006 - Mount Lebanon

The Senior Protection Assistant will report to the Associate Protection Officer of Mont Lebanon Field Office.  He/she 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 Senior Protection Assistant provides quality, timely and effective protection support to persons of concern and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. He/she contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on protection issues as guided by the supervisor. The Senior Protection Assistant also ensures that persons of concern are informed about their rights and obligations in Lebanon and about the services provided to them. She/He will operate through the UNHCR registration centre and will ensure permanent presence to identify persons with specific protections needs conducts interviews and ensures timely referrals to services providers and partners. . To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.   Accountability(key results that will be achieved) - UNHCR’s protection policies, standards and doctrine are consistently and coherently applied. - The specific needs and protection issues facing persons of concern are identified in an accurate and timely manner. - Persons of concern to UNHCR are assisted, treated with dignity, kept informed and encouraged to participate actively in matters relating to their protection. - Provide sound counseling to refugees - Act in the best interest of Persons of Concern - Provide information to refugees on rights and available services - Guide and refer timely refugees with protection needs to the appropriate solutions. Keep good records on cases with protection concerns through recording their events on ProGress. Responsibility(process and functions undertaken to achieve results) - Conduct interviews of asylum seekers when necessary and assess their situation;- Provide daily legal counseling to persons of concern at the reception centre and ensure follow up actions on cases with legal/protection needs- Present at the registration and ensures people with special needs are identified and assisted- Guide the registration staff on identifying cases with specific protection needs- Keep track of refugees and asylum seekers status records by regularly updating the database.- Report and document any violation of refugees’ rights and ensure proper follow-up in coordination with the Associate Protection Officer- Interact with refugee communities and provide response to protection concerns (torture, trauma, SGBV, domestic violence…)- Attends to all asylum-seekers and refugees’ queries and takes further action where necessary- Provide input to protection reports and other as required.- Participates in training sessions as resource person- Stay abreast of legal procedures and new policies - Performs other duties as required.   Authority(decisions made in executing responsibilities and to achieve results) -  Decide on prioritization and identify the most appropriate course of action in view of particular vulnerabilities of persons of concern; -  Submit individual requests from persons of concern for approval by the Associate protection officer. -  When counseling persons of concern, decide on the content of information and advice to be shared; -  Submit recommendations on refugee status or solutions to be provided for approval by the Associate protection officer.