Protection Assistant

About Oxfam

Oxfam is a global community who believe poverty isn’t inevitable. It’s an injustice that can be overcome. We are shop volunteers, women’s right activists, marathon runners, aid workers, coffee farmers, street fundraisers, goat herders, policy experts, campaigners, water engineers and more. And we won’t stop until everyone can live life without poverty for good.

Oxfam GB is a member of the international confederation Oxfam.

Our Team

Oxfam in Lebanon is increasingly working at local, national and international levels to “ensure that women and men are protected and empowered to enjoy their basic rights and access services enabling them to live in dignity, within a more equitable society.” To achieve this vision, Oxfam in Lebanon implements activities under three main programmatic pillars: a Humanitarian Pillar, a Citizenship, Governance and Economic Justice Pillar, and the Beirut Response Pillar.

The purpose of the Humanitarian Pillar is to ensure that marginalised women and men, including refugees from Syria and Lebanese, are able to have safe access to WASH, attain their rights to life, security, protection and assistance, and that they are enabled to support their own basic needs, develop their livelihoods, all in a manner that respects and maintains their dignity.

Job Purpose

The purpose of the role is to gather and document data around protection concerns and threats and contribute to analyses on trends and needs of displacement affected populations in Tripoli, Lebanon.  The role also supports refugees to safely access useful, reliable and accurate information as well as adequate services. The Protection Assistant also ensures liaison and coordination with the partner’s work and links their work with the rest of Oxfam’s protection and cash work in Tripoli, Lebanon, while supporting partner’s activities and budget planning, monitoring and evaluation activities, donor reporting and responds to capacity building needs in collaboration with the Senior Protection Officer and other protection programme staff.  

Core Details

Location: Tripoli Lebanon

Internal Grade: E1

Job Family: Programme

This role reports to:

Senior Protection Officer

Annual budget for the post: No direct budget holder responsibility but contribute to planning and monitoring.

Key relationships/interactions:

Project Manager, Senior Protection Officer, Protection Advisor, Research and Policy Advisor, MEAL Officer, Partner Staff,

Screening checks:

All successful candidates will be screened through Refinitiv World-Check One to comply with counter terrorism and financial sanctions regulations.

Key Responsibilities

Programme

• Work closely with the Senior Protection Officer, Project Manager and Protection Advisor to support the implementation of the project, in line with the objectives laid out in the donor approved proposal.
• Prepare for field activities, including community consultations and information sessions, and contribute to design where possible
• Conduct and follow-up on referrals, respecting Oxfam’s policies and guidelines for responsible data management and the ICRC professional standards in protection work
• Support coordination and follow up with partners and other relevant organizations in relation to activities and workplans
• Provide timely written feedback on protection incidents
• Ensure and provide technical support when needed to partner’s staff before and during activity implementation on safe programming with the support of the Protection Advisor
• Maintain, along with the rest of the team, a weekly workplan
• Ensure a constant and constructive relationship with Oxfam project teams and partners
• Other tasks may be required, where up to 80% of field time can be expected
• Conduct vulnerability assessment and identify cases for assistance according to pre-defined criteria
• Ensure dissemination of clear and reliable information on service provision and other pre-selected key topics
• Prepare and maintain in a well-organized manner comprehensive files for each managed case, as well as keep a report of information gathered during field visits and in-house meetings

Monitoring and Accountability

• Support programme quality and project strengthening activities, e.g. field visits, data collection, project quality meetings, focus group discussions, interviews and observations to obtain information about protection challenges, threats and needs faced by displacement-affected populations
• In collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team, collect data and submit monthly MEAL reports to track beneficiary numbers of the information dissemination and referral activities, and ensure regular update of protection tools and beneficiary feedback systems, and Emergency Cash PDMs
• Support collection of data under Oxfam’s research and advocacy efforts in relation to protection (Protection Monitoring)
• Maintain regular contact with rights holders in target areas, including refugee representatives, and ensure adequate and continuous support to community focal points
• Participate in defining methods of community participation that ensure the greatest possible participation of vulnerable groups, and ensure correct implementation throughout all activities as appropriate

Your commitment to Oxfam

• Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women's rights
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

Person specification

Note to candidates: Shortlisted candidates will be assessed on our organisational values and attributes at the interview stage. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to adhere to our code of conduct. We encourage candidates to read and understand our code of conduct here.

Key Organisational Attributes

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to undertake Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adherence of relevant policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible

Organisational Values

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences

Oxfam Leadership Competencies

• Relationship Building: We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.
• Listening: We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear and consider different preferences.
• Mutual Accountability: We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values.  We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Self-Awareness: We are able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviors to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.

Essential - Experience, Knowledge, Qualifications & Competencies

• Good understanding of protection principles including knowledge of basic human rights and refugee rights
• Good organizational skills (ability to develop workplans, organize their work, prioritize tasks, basic understanding of project quality and financial management).
• Excellent Arabic and good English languages skills
• Understanding of project-level monitoring, learning, and adaptation
• Ability to work with team members collaboratively                                                     
• Willingness to work in insecure environments and a high level of adaptability and initiative

Desirable

• BA degree in a relevant field (social sciences, development studies, etc),
• Resilience
• Experience in working with communities in humanitarian or development contexts 
• Experience in using participatory research and assessment methodologies
• Experience in data collection and referral systems

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom Oxfam GB engages. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Oxfam GB also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.  In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.