Interpreter Assistant - G4 - UNOPS - BEY061 - Beirut, Lebanon

Seven years into the Syria crisis, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with over one million Syrian refugees, and around 20,000 refugees of Iraqi, Sudanese, Ethiopian and other origins, in addition to the Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate.  There are no formal camps for Syrian refugees in the country, and refugees are living in hundreds of communities and locations across the country.

The refugee response is led by the Government and local actors, supported by the international community. As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 100 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and other affected populations. The Lebanon national response falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.

The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is one of the largest for the organization. Media attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors is high. Aside from the country office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has offices in Mt Lebanon, Qobayat, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.

The Interpreter Assistant is part of the Resettlement Unit, he/she will interpret for interviews with refugees, translate documents provided by refugees or caseworkers, interpret and translate for other purposes as required, travels with international staff on their missions to the field for interpretation and other assistance, as needed, assist in counseling refugees, assist with clerical, data update and pre-screening of potential resettlement cases and other duties as needed.

Accountability (key results that will be achieved)

• UNHCR’s policies, standards and doctrine are consistently and coherently applied. 

Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results)

• Interpret the interviews with refugees;
• Translate documents provided by refugees or caseworkers;
• Interpret and translate for other purposes, as required;
• Travels with international staff on their missions to the field for interpretation and other assistance, as needed;
• Assist in counseling refugees on matters related to resettlement;
• Assist with clerical duties as needed;
• Responds to queries relating to the area of responsibility;
• Assist in data update in the UNHCR’s registration platform as needed; 
• Assist in pre-screening of potential resettlement cases as needed;
• Performs other duties as required.

Authority: (decisions made in executing responsibilities and to achieve results)

• Translation of documentation as needed.