JO # 20512 –Associate Community-Based Protection Officer – NOB – UNHCR Temporary Appointment (Maternity Replacement) - Beirut, Lebanon

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

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 Associate Community-Based Protection Officer is a member of the Protection Team the Lebanon Country Office and reports to the Assistant Representative for protection.  
S/he supports the implementation of protection standards and provides advice on community-based protection to senior management and Country Operation(s) in close collaboration with the Division of International Protection (DIP).
The incumbent is relied upon by senior management to support a coordinated approach in the implementation of UNHCR¿s rights-based and community-based engagement with all persons of concern (PoC) and contributes to the achievement of UNHCR¿s commitments to accountability to affected people.
Under the supervision of the Assistant Representative (Protection), the incumbent will support the implementation of UNHCR Lebanon¿s Child Protection strategy and operational priorities in close collaboration with field offices.  S/he maintains close working relationships and supports Child Protection staff in the field, who act as the critical interface between UNHCR and communities of concern, enabling them to provide the AGD-sensitive analysis of community risks and capacities that form the essential foundations of national and regional programmes.  The incumbent maintains close working relations with sister UN entities , governmental entities, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions that can contribute to enhancing protection of children and achieving solutions through strengthening Best Interest Procedures for Child Protection, people centred, community-based and gender responsive approaches.
The incumbent provides guidance to country operations to strengthen their coordination and advocacy on Child Protection with governments, partners and other key stakeholders. The incumbent will provide technical support to the Child Protection focal point in Field Offices. He/She will continue assisting in the improvement of mechanisms for identification and support of children at heightens risk and systems for referral and follow-up (case management) including but not limited to unaccompanied and separated children.  Furthermore, ensure that Best Interest Determination panels are functioning and operational. He/she will provide technical guidance, as requested, around the strengthening of community-based child protection networks. He/she will be strengthening of child protection information management and monitoring and evaluation systems in collaboration with partners, FOs and Registration unit. He/She will provide technical advice on child protection issues (such as birth registration, adolescents, sexual and gender-based violence involving children etc). He/She will attend systematically the Child Protection Working Group Meetings as well as the Case Management Taskforce Meetings.

Duties
- Be fully informed about community structures and the protection and security situation of the population of concern and develop strong links with a cross-section of members of refugee/IDP/stateless communities, using an AGD approach.
- Through relationships with PoC 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 senior management.
- Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the PoC are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
- Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the necessary resources are allocated to enable community work to identify and address protection and assistance gaps.
- Support a consultative process with government counterparts at local levels, partners and PoC to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education and SGBV, and solutions approaches.
- Provide technical guidance and support to UNHCR and partners and implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on all community-based protection related issues.
- Support the design, implementation and evaluation of protection centred and solutions oriented programming with implementing and operational partners guaranteeing that community-owned activities are integrated. 
- Support communities in establishing representation and coordination structures
- Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among PoC, authorities and host communities.
- Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with PoC, host communities, local authorities and partners. In operations applying the humanitarian cluster system, contribute to the development of an AGD-compliant strategy on which the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in and covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations. 
- Support the Operation's work to fully integrate the protection strategy into the Country Operations Plan, the UN Development and Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the Humanitarian Country Team¿s common humanitarian action plan where applicable.
- Contribute to the Protection team's information management component which: provides disaggregated data on PoC and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary. 
- Support the inclusion of participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches in strategies and plans within the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
- Support community understanding of UNHCR's commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its response.
- Support PoC to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.
- Contribute to the design of the community-based protection strategy, project submissions and budgets for endorsement by the supervisor.
- Intervene with authorities on community-based protection issues.
- Negotiate with local counterparts, partners and PoC.
- Perform other related duties as required.