Senior Protection Assistant (Rsd Unit) - P.n 10020686 - G5 - Beirut, 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. The Senior Protection Assistant normally reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer.  He/she monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff. The Senior Protection Assistant provides quality, timely and effective protection support to persons of concern and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. He/she contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on protection issues as guided by the supervisor. The Senior Protection Assistant also ensures that persons of concern are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.   Accountability (key results that will be achieved) The protection of populations of concern is met through the application of International and National Law relevant UN/UNHCR protection standards and IASC principles. Protection activities are guided by the UNHCR country protection strategy. The participation of persons of concern is facilitated through supporting participatory, rights and community based approaches. Support is provided to identify and report protection incidents. Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results)  Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.  Provide counselling on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation. Support activities in protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. Conduct preliminary information gathering and interviews in support of eligibility, status determination, durable solutions and social needs assessment. Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness. Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy. Contribute to a country-level education plan for persons of concern as part of the protection strategy.  Monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities. Participate in individual protection case management including cases of SGBV and child protection. Monitor and report on cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents. Assist in identifying durable solutions for persons of concern in voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement. Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. Assist in drafting reports, routine correspondence, updating relevant databases and compiling statistics for the protection unit / section. Contribute to initiatives to enhance national and local protection capacities. Authority (decisions made in executing responsibilities and to achieve results) Select persons of concern for preliminary interviews and decide which relevant information to share. Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners.