Maternity Replacement – Associate Protection Officer (Inter-Agency Coordination) – NOB – BEY102 – UNOPS Contract - Beirut, Lebanon

General Background

There are approximately 1.5 million refugees in Lebanon, with over 1 million registered with UNHCR. Women and children account for 80% of the refugee population, with 54% below 18 years of age. Refugees are dispersed throughout the country in over 1,700 locations with 35% of the population residing in the North, 34% in the Bekaa region, 20% in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and 13% in the South. 

The Government of Lebanon (GoL) is not party to either the 1951 Convention or to the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status Refugees. Also, there is no legislative or administrative framework governing refugee affairs. Under the GoL’s current border regulations, admission for Syrian nationals is provided under clearly identified visa categories including, among others, sponsorship, tourism, business and transit, provided that supporting documentation is presented and other requirements are met. Syrians fleeing the conflict and violence must fall within the exceptional humanitarian criteria developed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) to enter Lebanon. In May 2015, the GoL notified UNHCR that registration of Syrians should be suspended. Syrians who approach UNHCR to be registered, are counselled on the GoL's suspension of registration and their needs are assessed in view of assisting the most vulnerable.

UNHCR’s Inter-Agency (IA) Unit plays a lead role in the humanitarian response to the Syrian refugee crisis, in coordination with the GOL, UN agencies, and NGOs. The Associate Protection Coordinator will be assigned to Protection Coordination, which is responsible for co-leading the following structures: Protection Working Group (PWG), the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Task Force (SGBV-TF), and the Social Stability Sector. 

The Associate Protection Officer primary role will be to contribute to Social Stability Sector activities and to the priority tasks of Protection Coordination, as directed by the supervisor (please see below for complete list of responsibilities). The overall objective of the Social Stability Sector is to mitigate inter-community tensions so that mechanisms are in place to prevent escalation and the potential occurrences of violence and conflict. As such, the Sector is contributing to stabilization by establishing and empowering local and national structures to build mutual accountability and capacities to address and mitigate existing or emerging drivers of conflict. The incumbent will be supervised by the Protection Coordinator who will provide guidance, advice, and support on duties to be performed. The Associate Protection Officer will not have formal supervisory functions, however, when necessary, he/she will provide support and assistance to other colleagues in the unit.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

• Under the guidance of the Protection Coordinator, the Associate Protection Officer will attend Protection and Social Stability Sector Working Group and Core Group meetings.
• Ensure coordination with partners in implementing the Social Stability strategy and engage proactively with Sector members to ensure that priority activities are followed through with. 
• Draft correspondence, documents, reports, talking points, presentations and minutes of meeting and other documents in cooperation with co-leads from protection and SOST sectors and ensure that protection principles are adequately reflected.
• Organize and chair multi-stakeholder meetings for protection and/or social stability as required. 
• Liaise with external partners and local organizations on behalf of the sector. 
• Conduct regular programmatic and funding gap analysis as required.
• Maintain close contact with field counterparts for effective information sharing and for coordination of activities. 
• Collect and analyze available data related to protection and social stability activities and participate in sectoral needs assessment and analysis. 
• Provide support to the overall Protection Sector objectives when required and as directed by the Supervisor. 
• Stay abreast of political, legal, social, economic and human rights developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Clear description of measurable outputs, milestones, key performance indicators and/or reporting requirements which will enable performance monitoring
• Develops positive working relationships with sector partners 
• Delivers timely and quality deliverables as requested by supervisor