Associate Field Officer

The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

In line with this mandate UNHCR supports the Republic of Uganda in protecting individuals who seeks asylum in the country as well as those in the country at risk of being stateless or who already are considered stateless. UNHCR also provides direct assistance through implementing partners to refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda.
UNHCR puts strong effort into identifying durable solutions for all refugees in Uganda and to reduce the risk of persons in the country becoming stateless.

The Bidi bidi Refugee Settlement was established in August 2016 to host South Sudanese refugees fleeing a conflict that erupted in Juba in July 2016. It has since become one of the largest refugee settlements in Uganda and Africa as a whole. As of March 25, 2024, the settlement has a population of 206,662 South Sudanese refugees and encompasses five large zones covering an area of 250 square kilometres (km²). The UNHCR Field Office in Yumbe has implemented a streamlined Coordination Mechanism in collaboration with the Yumbe District Local Government through a Partner Framework Agreement (PFA). This arrangement allows the district to conduct support supervision and oversight across all sectors, ensuring that government standards are upheld in the refugee programs while also benefiting the host community. The line ministries involved include the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation (WASH), the Ministry of Agriculture and Production (Livelihoods), the Ministry of Energy and Environment, and the Ministry of Justice. Protection services fall under the purview of the Ministry of Gender and Social Development, including the probation office. The Yumbe Field Office works closely with UNHCR-funded partners, which include Windle International Uganda (WIU), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Water Mission Uganda (WMU), Dan Church Aid (DCA), the African Initiative for Relief and Development (AIRD), the Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO), Action Against Hunger (ACF), the Yumbe District Local Government (YDLG), and the Uganda Refugee and Disaster Management Council (URDMC). Together, these partners provide support to the refugee population by addressing critical needs in various areas, including protection, durable solutions, education, livelihood opportunities, economic inclusion, energy and environmental conservation, health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. The Field Office is also collaborating with seven Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs) to promote peaceful coexistence, digital learning, and the distribution of non-food items (NFIs). These organisations include I CAN South Sudan (I CAN), Sinaloketa, Similar Grounds (SG), the Afri-Youth Network (AYN), Youth Focus for Community Transformation (YFTC), Community Empowerment for Creative Innovation (CECI), and Community Network for Change (CNC). These RLOs are distributed across the five zones of the Bidibidi settlement.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

- Ensure that UNHCR’s policies, standards and procedures are constantly and coherently applied in the Area of Responsibility (AoR).

- Ensure that the needs of persons of concern in the AoR are assessed and analysed in a participating manner and using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective to form a firm basis for planning.

- Ensure that protection incidents and gaps in assistance are immediately identified and addressed.

- Identify vulnerable groups or individuals who may need special attention or special arrangements and make recommendations on the needs of different groups of refugees.

- Assess protection and assistance needs of refugees and asylum-seekers in the region and monitor implementation of refugee assistance programmes.

- In co-ordination with implementing partners, handle the reception, registration and provision of assistance to persons of concern to UNHCR.

- Provide inputs for project submissions and periodic narrative and financial reports for the annual programme.

- Develop and maintain relations with local authorities ensuring smooth negotiations in all aspects of UNHCR's mandate for the benefit of refugees.

- Monitor the security situation in the area and intervene as appropriate with the local authorities.

- Participation in needs assessment as a member of the Multi-Functional team

- In close coordination with programme and project control, monitor project implementation and provide feedback on the progress to the relevant units/sections

- Undertake other relevant duties as required.