UNV Associate Protection Officer - Tunisia

UN Entity: UNHCR, Tunisia

Assignment Context:
The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems world-wide. 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)

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

· Through relationships with persons of concern, authorities and network of partners stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment and provide advice to senior management.
· Ensure that the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the persons of concerns are reflected in the protection strategy, planning processes and operations plan address-ing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, minority groups such as sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS;
· Utilize the IDPs footprint during the planning process;
· Coordinate the promotion of international refugee law principles and standards and also IDP legislation or policies ensuring that all sectors and clusters fulfill their responsibilities mainstreaming protection;
· Coordinate the implementation and monitoring of programmes ensuring that identified protection needs, including an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach, are adequately addressed;
· Provide policy guidance and operational support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues;
· Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interloc-utors; ensure legal assistance is accessible to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to persons of concern (civil documentation, in particular birth certificates);
· Monitor, and assist with the intervention in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners;
· Assist in the coordinated implementation and oversight of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities;
· Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement are sought and provided to the largest possible number of persons of concern;
· Ensure through direct action and advocacy with more senior protection staff that the nec-essary resources are allocated to enable protection activities to identify and address protection and assistance gaps;
· Support a consultative process with government counterparts at local levels, partners and persons of concern to develop and implement integrated strategies that address the key protection priorities, including, for example, child protection, education and SGBV, and solutions approaches;
· Promote confidence building and conflict resolution among populations of concern, au-thorities and host communities;
· Maintain protection presence through regular field missions and reports, making direct contact with persons of concern, host communities, local authorities and partners. In op-erations applying the humanitarian cluster system, contribute to ensuring that the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in an AGD-compliant strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations;
· Contribute to the Protection team's information management component which: provide disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery and provide technical advice if necessary;Ensure participatory, community-based protection and AGD approaches are included in, strategies and plans in the country operation;
· Support persons of concern to develop structures that enhance their participation and protection.

Results/Expected Outputs:

· Protection strategies are developed covering all different persons of concern;
· Specific protection needs are identified and addressed;
· International refugee law standards and principles are enacted and respected;
· Legal advice and guidance on protection issues are provided;
· Durable solutions are provided to the largest number of refugees and IDPs
· Countries in the region maintain regular contacts;
· The participation of persons of concern is assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory, rights and community based approaches, which inform pro-tection and assistance programming;
· National protection capacities are improved through direct engagement, research and ad-vocacy with all relevant external interlocutors;
· Protection incidents and needs are immediately identified and addressed through direct intervention, advocacy and public exposure;
· Coordination with partners and other humanitarian actors is effectively maintained;
· The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
· Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
· A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the as-signment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Required experience:
· 3 years of experience with refugees and/or other people of concern in a protection capacity required.
· Field experience and a commitment to help persons of concern and willingness to cooperate with counterparts.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills:
· Knowledge of UN policies and procedures;
· Good analytical skills;
· Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting;
· The ability to live and work in difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential.

Inclusivity statement:
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Living conditions and remarks:
This position is based in Zarzis, Southern Tunisia, where UNHCR Field presence along with a partner`s office is located.
It will be important for the UN Volunteer to understand and respect traditions and customs of the country.

- Geography and climate
Tunisia, the smallest country on the North African coast, has the most diversified economy in the region. With a population of slightly over 10 million and about 60% living in urban locations, it has one of the highest standards of living on the continent.
Tunis is the capital of the country and the largest city (population of approximately two million in and outside the city proper). It is located just six miles (ten kilometers) from the Gulf of Tu-nis, and sits on the shores of a lake that connects with the Mediterranean Sea. Being a small country, all destinations within Tunisia can be reached in a day's drive. Tunisia is bordered in the southeast by Libya and in the west by Algeria. The coastline between the city of Bizerte and the border of Algeria has secluded beaches, small bays, and steep cliffs. It is also marked by small villages. Southern Tunisia, where the Sahara begins, is semi-desert. In some parts, there are oases with giant palm trees and small market gardens.
Tunisia has a Mediterranean climate. Along the coast of northern Tunisia, summers are hot and dry, and winters are warm and rainy. Yearly rainfall in this coastal region is about 17 inches (43.18 cm). The mountain ranges typically experience more annual rainfall, about 34 inches (86.36 cm).

-Language
The official language of Tunisia is Arabic. French is also widely spoken and understood by most of the population. About one percent of the population speaks Berber. English is becoming another language spoken by many Tunisians. Other European languages, such as Italian, are also spoken in commercial and tourist areas of the country.

- Religion
Most Tunisians are of Berber lineage and regard themselves as Arabs. About 99 percent of the population is Muslim with the major and state religion being Sunni Islam. Tunisia also has a small Christian population, which is made up of Roman Catholics, members of the Greek Orthodox Church, and French and English Protestants. In addition, there is a small population of Sephardic Jews living in Tunisia.

-Economy
The country does not have vast reserves of hydrocarbons like its neighbors Algeria and Libya, but has prospered under long-standing government policies to develop manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture. At the same time, social programs limit population growth, provide a high standard of education, and ensure a relatively decent standard of living for all. The largest percentage of Tunisia’s exports are agricultural and mining products, which generate over 11 billion dollars a year. Tunisia's biggest export partners are France and Italy. Tunisia is a member of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), the Arab Monetary Fund, and the Union of the Arab Maghreb (UMA).

- Public transportation
In addition to the private taxi services, the state run public transport system reliable and cost effective.

- Safety and security
All of the rules you would follow in any foreign country apply. The crime rate is low, but there have been cases of theft in resort hotels, mostly due to staff leaving attractive items in plain view. Walking alone during daylight hours is permitted, but the buddy system is required for walking at night and you must always carry communication (mobile phone).
Tunisia is still undergoing a critical period of democratic and social transition. The heated polit-ical debate has, at times, developed into a localized confrontation among ideological oppo-nents. Although these tensions are unrelated to foreigners, it is nevertheless important to remain updated on the political situation. Regular security advice is therefore sent systematically by UNDSS and UNHCR security staff.)

To learn more about the full benefits packages offered for this assignment, you may access the entitlements calculator https://app.unv.org/calculator and fill in the below fields as indicated:
- Country/Territory: Tunisia
- Duty Station: Zarzis
- UN Volunteer category: International UN Volunteer Specialist
- Dependents: click on Yes if you have dependents (spouse or children under 21 years of age).

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements
For this UNV assignment, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 with a WHO-approved vaccine is required. UNHCR Medical Service can approve an exemption from this requirement on medical grounds.