Associate Protection Officer

Description

and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile

The candidate should have below qualities to enable him/her perform successfully:





Behaviours

Throughout past experiences able to :

demonstrate leadership and qualities traits that would make her/him successful in this function and/or as part of a team,

Comes across as someone that the colleagues and partners want to work with and trusts.

Problem Solving

Manage protection concerns more especially GBV concerns using a risk-based approach and be able to propose mitigation measures.

Team Manager able to promptly identify colleagues and partners needs/wants/problems. Display creativity in offering solutions.

Actively looks for opportunities and able to positively advocate vis-à-vis various audiences/partners (Government, NGO, UN agencies) for the benefit of the Sub Office.

Time Management

Exerciseâs conscious control over time spent on activities to increase effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of his team.

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

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Desired languages

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

The Adjumani Operation is quite remote and situated in the northern part of Uganda. The Field Unit Lamwois located in a deep field and rather isolated rural location. It is currently categorized as Family duty station E with the submission for re-categorization to non-family one.

UNHCR international staff and national staff in Lamwo live in a guesthouse with one capital building and pre-fabricated containers.

Practice precautions for your health. Talk to your doctor about which items (prescription medicine, medical suppliesâ¦) are most important for you and be able to purchase and pack these items.

The security situation in the operational area is relatively good with few common incidents but one must be vigilant outside the UNHCR office/guesthouse.

Nature of Position

The Uganda Country Refugee Response Plan (UCRRP) provides a framework covering the period 2022-2025 and detailed planning for 2023-2024. It is a joint plan between the Office of the Prime Minister, UNHCR and UN Agencies, international and national partners. The UCRRP aims to respond to challenges in a holistic, comprehensive, and integrated manner to achieve its strategic objectives: maintain asylum space, provide life-saving assistance, improve access to public services, strengthen co-existence and self-reliance, and pursue durable solutions.

The priorities of the UCRRP are to maintain the current asylum policy; increase access to livelihood activities, in particular in sustainable agriculture and whenever possible through joint ventures of host and refugee communities; increase the focus on environment-related initiatives, notably tree planting and reforestation; ensure quality education despite the pandemic by putting sufficient infrastructure in place, including temporary structures, and a double-shift system in a timely manner wherever required; continue to integrate basic services to refugees into government systems and enhance the capacity of the Government to ensure successful integration, including through development actors; enhance preparedness in case of a large influx from neighboring countries, ensure refugee-hosting and refugee-impacted districts benefit from investments by development actors; continue to support strong coordination with/between OPM and line ministries, notably Local Government; and ensure all activities benefit primarily to most vulnerable, through targeted assistance, including cash-based and improved outreach activities including the education and health sectors. 

The Adjumani Sub Office plays a key role in the implementation of the UCRRP for which it is responsible for the operationalization in its area of activity (Adjumani, Kiryandongo, Lamwo and Moyo) by monitoring and supporting a refugee and asylum seeker population of around 487,555 individualsas of 30 September 2023, located in 22 settlements in 5 different districts (Lamwo, Adjumani, Kiryandongo, Obongi and Moyo), representing approximately 32% of the population of the operation.

Field Unit Lamwo is covering one refugee settlement in Palabekthat hosts around 80,000 South Sudanese refugees. The settlement was created in 2017 and has been receiving new arrivals since, with gradual reduction in numbers in 2023. Palabek settlement is least developed compared to other locations in Northern Uganda, has limited infrastructure and gaps in basic services. Prioritization of food assistance(reduction of rations for most refugees and discontinuation for some)caused growing malnutrition and exacerbated protection challenges. While the legal framework and protection regime in Uganda are receptive to refugees (freedom of movement, access to rights) the livelihoods opportunities are limited in the rural under-developed areas with economy based on subsistence agriculture. Traditional gender roles and negative cultural practices, combined with overall low level of educationenhance protection risks, including child neglect and gender-based violence.

Living and Working Conditions

NHCR has been operational in Lamwo since 2017 following influx of South Sudanese refugees into LamwoDistrict, Uganda which borders with South Sudan. The District shares an extensive porous border marked with insecurity and with only four official border crossing points. Previously affected by insurgency being an enclave of the Lord's Resistance Army, the district remained underdeveloped. Palabek county in Lamwo where the refugee settlement, hence UNHCRâs office and guest house is located, is largely underdeveloped with sparsely populated sub-counties and small trading centres. Most of its residents use traditional housing such as grass thatched tukuls as accommodation. Small lodging houses in town have permanent structures built with bricks also exist but with narrow rooms and no adequate lighting, windows, water and safety provisions.

In 2018, from its former office location in Kitgum, UNHCR office was moved closer into the settlement, particularly in Palabek Kal sub-county where a guest house was also constructed using eight previously used prefabs from other settlements to accommodate staff, for both national and international staff. Since then, these prefab structures have been used as accommodation without any improvement made. Given this, the condition of these prefabs has already deteriorated significantly.

UNHCR office in Lamwo has 12 national staff and 2 international staff deployed in the duty station and receives staffon mission from Adjumani, Kampala, and other duty stations. Not all the staff are accommodated in the guest house since the number of rooms is limited. While the duty station is classified as a family duty station under category E, availability of accommodation in the nearest trading center is close to nothing. Utilities such as water and electricity are not easily available, thus, unreliable. The power supply in Palabek Kal town centre, is often affected by prolonged interruptions, which at times extend up to several months. Schools in the locality at primary and secondary level can be found, mostly accommodating locals and refugees. Butthe quality of teaching and performance is still far from desirable. International schools can only be found in Kampala. 

The current guest house has eight prefab structures, one house with 4 rooms (formerly serving as the office), a kiosk for kitchen, overhead water tank supplied with water from a nearby solar powered motorized borehole constructed by UNHCR, generator sets, radio tower/repeater, sentry house and perimeter wall fence. On a daily basis, the staff are traveling from the guest house to the office location in the basecamp of Palabek Refugee Settlement which is 22km away on a dirt road. The nearest town where staff can get banking services and the market is 40kmaway. At times, due to poor road maintenance and during rainy season, the main roads can get difficult to maneuver, while inside the 68 sqmPalabeksettlement it can become hardly passable.

Lamwohas limited basic amenities, notably accommodation, hospital, schools, and road network. There are no international schools or shopping malls, and the major city, i.e., Gulu City is 140km away via Kitgum from the duty station or 95kim via village routes though Palaro-Patiko sub-counties, in Gulu District.Road transport is the main mode used to reach the capital Kampala which is almost 500 km (9 hoursâ drive) away.Lamwo is generally hot and the temperatures range between 23-38 degrees centigrade. The host communities are hospitable and supportive of refugees, Partners, and UN Agencies. Lamwo has malaria as the main morbidity that affected the majority of the locals, refugees, humanitarian workers. 

Additional Qualifications

AccountabilityBachelor of Arts (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political ScienceHCR Protection Learning Program - UNHCR

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

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Compendium

Add. 1 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 - Part B

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn't require a functional clearance