Requisition ID: req20326
Job Title: Protection Officer
Sector: Protection and rule of law
Employment Category: Regular
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Job Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict, and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 25 U.S. cities, we improve outcomes in the areas of health, safety, economic wellbeing, education, and power.
The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, and various institutions in the country, notably the government, community-based organizations (CBOs), civil society organizations (CBOs), and the private sector. The current program portfolio in Uganda includes health and nutrition, Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL) support to persons with specific needs (PSNs) including case management, legal assistance to refugees, Women Protection and Empowerment (WPE) prevention, and response to gender-based violence, and economic recovery and development (ERD). The IRC has a country office in Kampala and field offices in Imvepi, Kyaka II, Lamwo, Moroto, Kiryandongo and Yumbe, as well as an urban office in Nsambya within Kampala.
Job Overview:
The Protection Officer in line with prevention and response approaches will be responsible for the day-to-day direct delivery of Protection and Rule of Law activities. She\he will lead the provision of; protection case management support for sub-granting partners, regular monitoring of the protection environment, protection dialogues at the community level, running of mobile drop-in sessions in community spaces, and work with community structures to enable regular communication and access to information by community members especially the most vulnerable. Working closely with other consortium members they will facilitate referrals to other service providers and work with community volunteers to ensure new arrivals to the city are identified and have the information and advice required to access essential services. They will work closely with Legal Officers, WPE staff, identifying areas for collaboration and sharing of resources in achieving the objectives of the sector. They will be part of an integrated protection team delivering activities agreed by the Protection consortium.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead and conduct protection monitoring exercises, organizing FDGs, KIIs and providing data from mobile drop-ins for analysis.
- Ensure service mapping is up to date, referral pathways established, and follow-up of cases, concerns, and issues are conducted with the support of volunteers.
- Provide technical support to sub-granting partner in case management support for extremely vulnerable individuals (EVIs), ensuring tools provided are used and process and procedures complied with the support of Volunteers.
- Organize protection dialogues at the community level, working with volunteers to mobilize community leaders and other protection actors.
- Have in place a clear system for the collection and storing of data on all activities.
- Work closely with the Legal Officers, WPE Officers, ERD staff, and staff from other consortium partners to ensure linkages and referrals are done in a safe, effective and timely manner.
- Work closely with colleagues in ERD and WPE teams, other consortium members, OPM, and UNHCR to provide comprehensive support to the affected population.
- Provide weekly reports, data, and work plans covering the area of operation in a timely manner for review by the Senior Protection Officer.
- Map capacity and resources of refugee communities, supporting them in implementing youth-led initiatives among other community-based protection activities\projects.
- Liaise with partners to receive and follow up on messaging needs and ensure quality and relevance of messaging are developed and disseminated.
- Conduct meetings with volunteers and support lead training as identified and recommended.
- Undertake other duties as required by Senior Protection Officer in support of the overall running of the programme and specific aspects of implementation consistent with the role of Protection Officer.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to Senior Protection Officer
Position directly supervises: Community Based Volunteers
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: PRoL Coordinator, WPE Coordinator, Field Coordinator, Consortium Manager, Program Manager, Legal Officers, WPE Officers, ERD Staff
External: UNHCR, OPM, MFA
Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s Degree in humanities or any other related field from a recognized Institution.
- At least two years of prior professional experience in a similar post, preferably with an international organization.
- Demonstrable knowledge of protection issues and knowledge of urban refugee context.
- Experience working with refugee communities particularly in an urban context
- Experience running information and advice sessions or mobile protection desks
- Experience working with vulnerable individuals
- Experience leading and facilitating community dialogues
- Strong supervisory, management, and organizational skills with the ability to meet deadlines.
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, as well as independently.
- Flexible and able to work in a dynamic and diverse environment.
- Proficient computer knowledge and experience in Ms. Word, Ms. Excel, Ms. Applications, and Outlook.
- Excellent communication skills with good command in both written and spoken English.
Please note: The deadline for receiving applications is October 8th, 2021.
The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.
All staff, regardless of role, are required to create a culture of client responsiveness by requesting and using client feedback data to make decisions. In addition, all staff is expected to demonstrate inclusiveness when making programmatic decisions and working with clients, partners, and colleagues from diverse backgrounds. You can read more about the IRC’s commitment to client responsiveness here: https://www.rescue.org/resource/client-responsiveness-introduction-and-faq
IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.