Associate Protection Officer (QAI/Registration) - UNOPS IICA-1

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)FamilyUNOPS IICA12025-01-01December 23, 2024IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• Being this an International UNOPS position, it is only opened for candidates that do not hold a Mexican nationality.

• Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern, is subject to proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, independently of contract type and duration. The selected candidate(s) will be required to provide proof of vaccination prior to recruitment.

• Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The recruitment process might/could include a written test and/or oral interview for this job opening. No late applications will be accepted.

• UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training, or any other fees).

• This position is offered under UNOPS International (IICA) contract until 31/12/2025 with possibility of extension.

• Remuneration: A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For more information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the Office of HR Management of United Nations. UNHCR also offers comprehensive medical insurance and pension plans.

• All UNHCR workforce must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

• As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.


1. General Background
(Brief description of the national, sector-specific or other relevant context in which the individual contractor will operate)

UNHCR continues to observe a high number of asylum claims being submitted in Mexico by citizens of countries of Northern Central America and from other origins, including a significant number of people with specific protection needs, such as LGBTI persons, women at risk, other survivors of violence and unaccompanied and separated children, among others.

Within this context, UNHCR protection activities consist mainly of (i) providing information as well as legal and basic material assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers, through local partners and ensuring access to a fair and efficient refugee status determination (RSD) procedure, including those in detention; (ii) promoting livelihoods and local integration; and (iii) the delivery of training activities to different governmental staff and civil society organizations on basic principles of International Refugee Law, in particular staff of the Mexican Refugee Commission (COMAR), Migration officials (INM) and the Child Protection Authority (Procuraduría de la Niñez).

In UNHCR Mexico, since 2019, the Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI) team consists of a group of experts with proven field experience in specific areas from Registration to RSD and Refugee Statistics, to provide technical guidance and support to COMAR, the governmental institution in charge of the National Asylum System. Through QAI, assessments are conducted to evaluate and advance the quality and efficiency of the asylum system procedures. QAI recommendations aim to increase capacity and quality of the asylum system with a view to improving its efficiency, fairness, adaptability and integrity. In line with the yearly workplan, through partnership agreements that set ground to the collaboration between UNHCR and COMAR defining the main objectives and actions to be implemented to strengthen COMAR’s case processing capacity, QAI consultants have the responsibility to accompany COMAR’s directors to reach the objectives mutually agreed.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
(Concise and detailed description of activities, tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken, including expected travel, if applicable)

Under the overall supervision of the RSD Officer, the Assistant Protection Officer will be required to:

• Stay abreast of political, social, economic, and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Know the authorities’ local and internal mechanisms and context in which COMAR operates.
• Develop and maintain trustful bonds with counterparts in COMAR (Directors and heads of offices) to conduct capacity development activities.
• Conduct needs assessments to evaluate the quality of the asylum procedure’s steps, such as in reception, registration, identity management and data recollection and reporting steps in COMAR.
• Draft recommendations based on QAI assessments, to make the national asylum system more efficient and fairer and to reduce processing times, always aiming at the international quality protection standards and regional best practices.
• Assist COMAR´s directors in developing protocols, guidance, and training material to homologate asylum processes and best practices at the national level.
• Ensure the implementation of the yearly Partnership Agreement´s activities, working together with other QAI experts and UNHCR operative units (Supply, Administration, Program) in a transversal, collaborative and cohesive way.
• Support and ensure the sustainability of the Digital Transformation projects, overseeing whether the systems administration or the digitization processes are on-going thanks to COMAR´s inhouse capacities (assigned staff and skills) and available resources (material and technological).
• As part of the Digital Transformation projects, lead the tripartite workplan activities with RENAPO and COMAR, including (1) the strengthening of RENAPO´s technological infrastructure and the development of the identity management module within the RENAPO system (SNIP), (2) promote COMAR´s capacity development to issue CURP and Biometrics with support from civil registry offices, and (3) oversee the systems ´interoperability to make the information exchange between COMAR and RENAPO more efficient and ensure financial inclusion through the use of biometrics with both public and private sectors aiming for local integration.
• Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation activities with COMAR on the Digital Transformation projects, documenting achievements and challenges to keep track and report accordingly (to donors and regional/international platforms such as MIRPS, RACBI, ACSG).
• Participate and support COMAR´s participation in the regional roundtables and platforms such as MIRPS, RACBI, ACSG to present and showcase the Partnership Agreement’s main achievements and best practices.
• Ensure the Partnership Agreement’s activities are aligned with the Global Refugee Forum’s pledges that COMAR committed to and vice versa.
• Support and ensure COMAR’s capacity development in reporting on activities, especially for the mid-year and annual reports on the Partnership Agreement activities.
• Guide and recommend actions to the Data Protection Focal point in the operation, and counterparts in the state, partners and other relevant stakeholders, on a wide range of data protection issues, in accordance with UNHCR personal data protection and privacy framework.
• Monitoring the development of domestic data protection legal frameworks that may impact the operation and contribute to the development of situation- or country-specific guidance.
• Assist the supervisor in enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
• Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
• Perform other related duties as required.
   
3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
(Clear description of measurable outputs, milestones, key performance indicators and/or reporting requirements which will enable performance monitoring)

• As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions.
• All UNHCR team members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, UNHCR employees discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment.
• Contribute to the supervision and support of the implementation of the activities which are earmarked, committed in the Digitization project funded by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through the Migration Cooperation and Engagement Envelope (MCEE). That includes:
o Oversee procurement processes needed to purchase items according to assigned budget.
o Monitor the progress of the Digital Transformation projects, with other QAI experts and UNHCR operative units (Supply, Administration, Programs).
o Coordinate and conduct roundtable with COMAR operative areas to provide the space for dialogue and decision making regarding the implementation of the activities.
o Draft annual report to IRCC.
• Contribute to QAI quality assessments of the National Asylum System to plan and implement the activities from the Partnership Agreement between UNHCR and COMAR.
• Maintain inventories of information provided by Data Controllers and Data Protection Focal Points, including Data Transfer Agreements, specific instances of data sharing with third parties, Data Protection Impact Assessments, data breach notifications, and complaints by data subjects.
• Draft internal and external reports with concluding observations on the Organization’s compliance with its personal data protection and privacy framework.
• Stay updated on data protection trends, laws, and industry standards.

4. Qualifications and Experience
(List the required education, work experience, expertise and competencies of the individual contractor. The listed education and experience should correspond with the level at which the contract is offered.)

a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)
• Graduate degree in Law, International Law, Political Science or other related area.


b. Work Experience
• 3-years of relevant work experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1-year relevant experience with Doctorate degree.
Essential:
o Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, registration, identity management, internal displacement, human rights, or international humanitarian law.
o Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.
o Experience working on data protection and/or privacy issues in the humanitarian or other sectors.
o Experience in Data processing and registration systems.
o Experience in planning, programming, strategic planning, project development, budgeting, and resource mobilization.
o Demonstrated experience in leadership position(s) in the context of partnership building and consensual decision-making.
o Experience in working with partners, including host and donor governments, humanitarian, and development partners.
o Training and capacity development skills.
o Excellent written and oral presentation skills.
o Good English language skills.
Desirable:
o Completion of the Protection Learning Programme, RSD- Resettlement Learning Programme.
o Field experience, including in working directly with communities.
o Work experience with governmental authorities.
o Participation in digitization processes or archive management duties.
o Experience in process re-engineering (process redesign, process transformation, or change management) and technical expertise in registration, identity, or biometric management systems.
o Good IT skills including database management skills.

c. Key Competencies
(Technical knowledge, skills, managerial competencies, or other personal competencies relevant to the performance of the assignment. Clearly distinguish between required and desired competencies)

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*LE-International Refugee Law
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
*LE-Legal advisory for operations and divisions related to data protection
*LE-Assessment and application of principles of data protection law
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
MG-Projects management
PR-PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Protection and mixed-movements
PR-Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Operations & IDPs Status/Rights/Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
PR-Community-based Protection
MS-Drafting, Documentation, Data Presentation
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies
Judgement and Decision Making
Empowering and Building Trust
Strategic Planning and Vision

Cross-Functional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness

 

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No