About the job

Eligible Applicants
This position is advertised open to Group 1, Group 2, if applicable, and external applicants.
Duties And Qualifications
Associate Protection Officer (Expert on Rights of Refugees, IDPs and Transitional Justice), UNOPS, LICA-9

• General Background

(Brief description of the national, sector-specific or other relevant context in which the individual contractor will operate)
As of June 2022, Ethiopia hosts one of the largest refugees and internally displaced populations in the world. Currently it is home to some 870,000 refugees - mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan - the third largest in Africa, as well as over 4.5 million IDPs, with ongoing displacements and returns across the country.
Following the release of the joint OHCHR and EHRC report covering alleged violations of international human rights, humanitarian law and refugee law committed in the context of the conflict in Tigray, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) committed to implement the recommendations of the joint investigations, including by establishing the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce (IMTF). The IMTF is mandated to coordinate and oversee the execution of comprehensive accountability, redress and reform measures carried out by the GoE.
Composed of representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Police Commission, the IMTF has four operational structures organized as Committees. Each Committee is currently implementing various interventions in cooperation with national and international partners. One of the committees, the Refugees and IDP Affairs Committee, is mandated with two pillar interventions, namely a) to create a special protection scheme and humanitarian support to IDPs and refugees, and b) to conceptualize and roll out a scheme for redressing victims and communities affected by conflict by initiating transitional justice process
The Associate Protection Officer (Expert on Rights of Refugees, IDPs and Transitional Justice) will support the institutional response capacity of the Interministerial Taskforce and the Refugees and IDPs Affairs Committee in discharging their duties by providing highly technical support.
The candidate will have frequent working relationship with IMTF office in Addis Ababa during his/her employment, with possibilities of travel within Ethiopia where needed.

• Purpose and Scope of Assignment

(Concise and detailed description of activities, tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken, including expected travel, if applicable)

The Incumbent Is Expected To Perform The Following Tasks

• Support the high-level technical team established by the IDPs and Refugee Affairs Committee to deliver on its objective;
• Develop a work plan informing the scope, objective and approaches to be adopted to pursue domestication of the Kampala Convention;
• Coordinate the development of a comprehensive national strategy on IDP durable solutions which is substantively informed by the Kampala Convention, the UN Handbook for the Protection of IDPs, the draft IDP Guideline produced by the Refugees and Returnees Services, and other pertinent instruments;
• Carry out assessment missions where IDPs are present, and based on findings, devise special mechanisms to address the concerns of IDPs with especial needs - along with proposals for effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting system;
• Arrange the development of comprehensive training materials, arrange specific training sessions and awareness raising programs focusing on government officials at regional and woreda levels, create community movement to indoctrinate on the rights of IDPs within communities, community organizations, leaders and protection personnel.
• Assist the Chair of the Refugees and IDPs Affairs Committee in preparing written briefings, oral presentations, etc;
• Assist in the coordination and organization of events, meetings, communications, and make presentations in a series of drafting initiatives and workshops organized by the IMTF and the Ministry of Justice in relation to transitional justice policy development;
• Perform other duties as required by the IMTF, including filed deployments.
• Monitoring and Progress Controls

(Clear description of measurable outputs, milestones, key performance indicators and/or reporting requirements which will enable performance monitoring)
The Incumbent Will Be Expected To
¿ Submit to head of the IMTF bi-monthly report outlining progress and gaps identified in the process of implementation of work lines assigned to him/her;
¿ Submit mission reports following deployments to field locations across Ethiopia;
¿ Provide final report with detailed analysis of status of implementation of the Refugees and IDPs Affairs Committee task lines; (end of consultancy)

• 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.)

• Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)

¿ LLM or MA in law, human rights, related social studies with six years of relevant experience.

• Work Experience

(List number of years and area of required work experience. Clearly distinguish between required experience and experience which could be an asset.)
¿ At least 3 years of highly relevant work experience with demonstrated knowledge of general human rights, refugees¿ rights, IDPs¿ rights, transitional justice mechanisms, and associated institutional and legal regimes; expert level understanding of the mandates of key stake holders working on refugees and IDPs;
¿ Direct experience working with IDPs, refugees, transitional justice initiatives, humanitarian activities and the rights of other vulnerable groups is added asset;
¿ Readiness to travel within the country.
Additional Expertise Required for the position;
¿ Excellent drafting, monitoring and reporting skills;
¿ Conceptual and strategic analytical capacity;
¿ Capacity to formulate options, draw conclusions and make effective recommendations, particularly in relation to legal and humanitarian regimes on IDPs and refugees;
¿ Ability to formulate policy advice, position papers and reports for the attention of senior management;
¿ Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
¿ Is motivated by professional concerns, shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges, is able to work independently and competently;
¿ Communication: speaks and writes clearly and effectively;

• 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)
Teamwork
¿ Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity for diversity;
¿ Is considerate of gender perspective, has ability to motivate, listen and integrate all members of a team;
¿ Ability to develop consensus among people with varying points of view; work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
¿ Demonstrates openness in sharing information/keeping other team members informed;
Technological Awareness
¿ Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology and equipment, IT tools, internet and email;
¿ Keeps abreast of available technology;
¿ Understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work;
¿ Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; ¿¿¿¿
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English, including excellent drafting skills, and Amharic. Knowledge of additional local languages would be an asset.
Position Competencies
Competencies as defined in Job Profile
Additional Information
Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).
All applicants must be Nationals of the country and be locally recruited within the country of their employment.
An eliminatory or complementary written test for shortlisted candidates may be conducted which will be followed by competency-based interview.
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.