Senior Resettlement Assistant - UNOPS - G5 - ZAH112 - Zahle, Lebanon

There are currently over one million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, which makes Lebanon the highest refugee-hosting country per capita in the world. There are no approved camps in the country, and refugees are spread over 2,125 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 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 now has around 640 staff. Aside from the Branch Office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has two sub-offices in Zahle and Tripoli and two field offices in Mt Lebanon, Tyre, and one field unit in Qobayat under the Tripoli Sub-Office.

A Senior Resettlement Assistant position is typically located at Regional Office, Branch Office or Field Office. Under supervision, the incumbent’s primary role is to assist the supervisor in effective resettlement delivery of a given UNHCR Office in accordance with the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook, UNHCR Manual, and relevant policy papers and publications. The Senior Resettlement Assistant conduct interviews as a primary responsibility and may as required provide clerical and administrative support to resettlement operations.

The incumbent maintains frequent contacts with his/her supervisor, relevant colleagues within the same Office or Offices under purview to exchange information and discuss issues on resettlement cases. Some contacts and communication at a working level are required with Embassy / Immigration Officials of resettlement countries, IOM as well as with other operating partners regarding resettlement issues.

Accountability (key results that will be achieved):

• UNHCR’s resettlement policies and standards are correctly and coherently applied.
• Persons of concern are made aware of UNHCR’s resettlement procedures and have fair and transparent access to and participation in the resettlement process.
• Suspected fraud in the resettlement process is promptly reported.

Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results):

• Carry out preliminary interviews and initial assessments, to process refugees for resettlement following established procedures.
• Prepare written documentation for resettlement submission; ensure that records/files of individual cases are updated in a systematic and timely manner.
• Assess and review individual resettlement cases and prepare individual/group submission for scrutiny by the supervisor.
• Provide persons of concern with up-to-date and accurate information on UNHCR’s resettlement policies and procedures.
• Comply with UNHCR’s standard operating procedures on resettlement, ensuring timely action on cases.
• Follow up on cases from the time of submission to final decision and departure; ensure effective in-country communication on the status and follow-up on persons of concern being considered for resettlement.
• Assist in maintaining and updating proGres or Consolidated Online Resettlement Tracking System (CORTS) database and provide technical support.
• Maintain accurate resettlement statistics as well as up-to-date records on individual cases; assist in the preparation of reports.
• Draft / type routine correspondence to Field Offices / Regional Offices / Headquarters.
• Systematically apply an Age, Gender and Diversity perspective in all aspects of the resettlement process; comply with UNHCR policy and guidelines on HIV/AIDS.
• Assist in mitigating resettlement fraud by reporting suspected fraud.

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

• Recommend eligible cases for resettlement consideration.
• Provide counseling to persons of concern.