RSD Assistant (Maternity Replacement) – G4 – BEY070 – UNOPS Contract - Beirut, Lebanon

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 RSD Assistant is a member of Protection/RSD team who provides administrative support to the Refugee Status Determination unit, performs counseling duties, and interviews and prepares preliminary assessment reports. Supervision is exercised by the Assistant RSD Office who provides regular guidance and advice to the incumbent and reviews/evaluates his/her final work. The incumbent will be working in a discreet and confidential office environment, where sensitive personal information/issues of asylum-seekers /refugees will be discussed and documented. The ability to work in a courteous and confidential manner is the salient features of this position. External contacts are mainly with implementing partners and NGOs at working level to obtain and exchange specialized information and/or resolve problems. 

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Responsibility:

Provide administrative support to the Refugee Status Determination unit in terms of scheduling, translating of RSD-related material or letters received, and filing and file management. 

Meet with and interview persons of concern in the premises or detention facilities to identify protection needs and to provide counseling. 

Conduct derivative status interviews and prepare RSD assessment and recommendation to be endorsed by the supervisor. 

Maintain Refugee Status Determination related statistical records in ProGres and physical files. 

Remain up to date on Country of Origin Information (COI) of the asylum seekers; ensure effective sharing and recording of the COI data records in the office regularly updated. 

Assist in providing counseling and guidance to asylum-seekers and refugees on Refugee Status Determination procedures, rights and obligations. 

Act as interpreter and translator when needed. 

Mainstream age, gender and diversity in all areas of work, and ensure the full participation of persons of concern in matters relating to their own protection. 

Comply with UNHCR’s policy priorities such as those related to age, gender and diversity as well as HIV/AIDS. 

Decide on information filtering and data entry into ProGres at the functional level or upon approval by RSD supervisor; 

Decide on prioritization and identify the most appropriate course of action in view of particular vulnerabilities of persons of concern; 

Submit individual requests from persons of concern for approval by the designated officer. 

Decide on prioritization and interviewing technique approach in RSD interviews with persons of concern. 

When counseling persons of concern, decide on the content of information and advice to be shared. 

Submit recommendations on refugee status or solutions to be provided for approval by the designated officer. 

Any other responsibilities/functions deemed necessary or as delegated by the Head of the office / RSD Supervisor in order to meet the level of the services in the organization.

Advocacy and Research: 

Assist in preparing relevant data for RSD reports and analysis, updating and producing ProGress RSD monthly and yearly reports on RSD including ad-hoc RSD related queries as per UNHCR’s global standards and requirements. 

Promotion and Capacity Building:

Assist in promoting and disseminating refugee law, statelessness law, and IDP-related legal standards and principles with academic institutions, law enforcement officials and local authorities to strengthen the capacity of those entities in protecting refugees and others of concern.

Accountability:

UNHCR’s protection policies, standards and doctrine are consistently and coherently applied. 

Persons of concern to UNHCR are adequately received in the office, treated with dignity, kept informed and encouraged to participate actively in matters relating to their protection. 

The specific needs and protection issues facing persons of concern are identified in an accurate and timely manner.