RSD Assistant – G4 – BEY071 – UNOPS Contracts - Beirut, Lebanon

Organizational Context

There are currently more than 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 living in more than 1,700 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 are located in Beirut, Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre, and Qobayat.

The RSD Assistant is a member of the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team. S/he is responsible for supporting all activities related to the processing of refugee claims in the Operation.

The RSD Assistant provides counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCR's RSD procedures, their rights and obligations, including towards the host authorities, and the status of the processing of their claims. In discharging these responsibilities, the RSD Assistant liaises closely with Registration, Community Services, Resettlement, and other Protection staff.

The RSD Assistant is responsible for conducting COI and other research related to RSD and maintaining the Operation’s local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards. S/he may also assist in drafting RSD Assessments.

The RSD Assistant assists in compiling and analyzing information related to the RSD activities of the Operation, and in drafting related correspondence and reports. The RSD Assistant may provide interpretation and/or translation services in cases for which s/he has the required language competencies.

Functional Statement

Accountability

• UNHCR’s RSD procedures are implemented in accordance with relevant UNHCR standards and policies, including policies related to age, gender, and diversity mainstreaming (AGDM).
• Persons of concern have fair and transparent access to the RSD procedures. Fraud in the RSD process is identified and appropriately addressed.

Responsibility

• Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments which impact on the protection environment, and in particular, on protection delivery through RSD.
• Assist in conducting RSD interviews and drafting assessments for certain profiles.
• Provide counselling to, and respond to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees, including in the context of the notification of RSD decisions.
• Interprets oral conversations, discussions and interviews especially when attending RSD interviews Interprets and/or translates from written reports, documents, etc.;
• Maintain accurate and up-to date records and data related to all work on individual cases.
• Assist in preventing and identifying fraud in RSD through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR staff, partners and persons of concern.
• Systematically apply an age, gender and diversity (AGD) perspective in the performance of assigned functions.
• Conduct research on country of origin information (COI) and other issues related to RSD and maintain the Operation’s local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards accessible to RSD staff in the operation.
• Assist in monitoring RSD trends and in compiling and analysing RSD statistics related to RSD case processing.
• Assist in developing and maintaining processes to ensure that persons of concern, Government authorities and partners have accurate information on the RSD procedures, including UNHCR standards, policies and practice.
• Draft correspondence and reports relating to the RSD activities of the Operation.

Authority

• Refer individual cases to other functional units in the Operation and/or external partners for appropriate follow-up, in accordance with established criteria.
• Counsel individual asylum-seekers on the reasons for negative RSD decisions, in accordance with the RSD SOPs.