JO# 16954 – Senior Protection Assistant (Community Based) – G5 – UNHCR Temporary Appointment Contract

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Eight years into the Syria crisis, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with nearly 950,000  Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR, about 20,000 refugees of other origins - mostly Iraqi - and Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate.  There are no formal camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and refugees are living in hundreds of communities and locations across the country.

The refugee response is led by the Government and UNHCR and UNDP, 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 150 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners [over 150 actors, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs and Ministries] in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities. The Lebanon Chapter of the Response Plan 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. The Office has grown substantially in the past years and is currently operating with around 650 staff. Aside from the country office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has field offices in Mount Lebanon, Qobayat, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.

The Senior Protection Assistant (Community-Based) is a member of the Protection Unit in the UNHCR North Sub-Office and reports to the Associate Protection Officer (Community-Based) in the Protection Unit. Under the overall direction of the Protection Unit, and in coordination with other UNHCR staff, government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the Senior Protection Assistant (Community-Based) works directly with communities of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The incumbent supports the application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures and practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level, with a specific focus on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Persons with Specific Needs (PWSN) case management. To fulfil this role the Senior Protection Assistant (Community-Based) is required to spend a substantial percentage of her/his time working outside the office, building and maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern. The development and maintenance of constructive relationships with persons of concern that measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming and results forms the core of the work of the Senior Protection Assistant (Community-Based). The incumbent also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with persons of concern.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability (key results that will be achieved)

• Effective support is provided to promote AGD sensitive analysis of community risks and capacities as the essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
• AGD sensitive analysis of community risks and capacities provides the essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
• The participation of persons of concern is assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory, rights and community based approaches, which inform protection and assistance programming and ensure that UNHCR meets its commitments to accountability to persons of concern.

Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results)

• Assist functional units, the Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection delivery strategy. 
• Through relationships with persons of concern and network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to the protection team.
• Understand the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concern, among others through support to Participatory Assessments, and advise the protection team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups.
• Assist in initiatives with host communities to involve national civil society groups in the protection of persons of concern.
• Support implementing and operational partners as well as displaced and local communities to develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and livelihood concerns as well as prevention, mitigation and response to SGBV and assistance to PwSN.
• Assist in the analysis that identifies the capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.
• Provide counselling to and ensure timely follow-up on persons of concern that present multiple vulnerabilities and protection risks.
• Support efforts to build the office capacity to prevent, mitigate and address SGBV related protection concerns and ensure holistic responses to PwSN.
• Monitor SGBV and PwSN programmes from an AGD perspective.
• Support the coordination of the North SGBV Working Group and establishment of effective relationships with its members and other partners related to the staff members’ work responsibilities.
• Draft and type routine correspondence, documents and reports and maintain an up-to-date and accurate database of referrals, in regular communication with partners that are working on SGBV and PwSN.
• Exchange routine information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly to routine queries.
• Perform other relevant duties as required.

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

• Assist in the enforcement of participatory AGD sensitive analysis as an essential basis for all of UNHCR’s work.
• Initiate AGD sensitive interventions at the appropriate level on community-based protection issues and to respond to protection concerns and incidents within the office and with persons and communities of concern based on agreed parameters.
• Identify which individuals or groups to prioritize for counselling and field visits based on agreed criteria.
• Enforce compliance of implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.