Protection Officer (P)

The Protection Officer will coordinate the implementation and monitoring of protection activities in IOM Venezuela Country Office, focusing on Counter Trafficking, Child Protection, and Gender Based Violence. The role includes fostering protection mainstreaming into other intervention areas and coordinating with UN humanitarian strategies and government counterparts.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Head of Programs in the implementation and monitoring (financial, reporting, operational) of programmes and directly supervise and coordinate the projects assigned, in compliance with donor and IOM institutional requirements.
• Supervise the daily activities of protection team members in coordination with the Head of Programs and other Protection team members; organize and assist the team in achieving their tasks, provide technical guidance and training, and ensure compliance to IOM guidelines, policy and standards.
• Facilitate protection mainstreaming (including GBV) and integration of cross-cutting issues (disability, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), gender) in IOM regular programmes and crisis response activities (including assistance to returnees).
• Coordinate the implementation of CO’s GBViC action plan in consultation with relevant units.
• Participate in inter-agency protection fora/meetings (e.g., protection, child-protection, gender-based violence, health, relevant task forces) when needed and monitor the protection needs of mobile populations, as well as communities affected by mobility in coordination with the Head of Programs.
• In close coordination with relevant operational and case management colleagues/units, follow up on the response to individual cases of concern and coordinate case management mechanisms and reporting.
• Contribute to knowledge management and capacity development by providing technical guidance in the field of protection to colleagues and partners, implementing capacity building activities and producing briefs.
• Support developing and maintaining strong working relationships with government authorities and partners and facilitate the timely and qualitative information sharing.
• Contribute to the improvement of the Protection unit’s information management and communication capacities in coordination with IOM Communication and Data & Research Units.
• Undertake duty travels, in line with prevailing security restrictions, relating to project assessments, liaison with counterparts, and project implementation, as required.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in International Relations, Political Science, Humanitarian Affairs, Economic Development, Business or Public Administration, International Studies, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or University degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience.
• Experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, protection and human rights.
• Experience in protection / GBV in emergencies and familiarity with related coordination mechanisms.
• Experience with providing technical guidance and conducting capacity building on protection / GBV principles and approaches for various stakeholders (including non-Protection / GBV specialized staff, partners such as national authorities and implementing partners).
• Experience in project management and coordination.
• Experience in liaising with governmental authorities, other national/international institutions and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).
• Working experience with an operational UN agency or a major international NGO in the field of protection and assistance of refugees, internally displaced people, and/or migrants, is an asset.
• Ability to supervise and lead multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to work in dynamic, fast pace environment.
• Ability to formulate relevant programmatic inputs.
• Ability to work quickly and accurately and pay attention to detail.
• Good writing skills with the ability to analyse complex problems and identify and propose clear, rapid solutions.
• Good communication skills in multicultural environments.
• Knowledge of the broad range of migration-related subject areas dealt with by the Organization.
• Knowledge of international protection standards.
• Knowledge of case management principles is an asset.
• Strong IT skills and knowledge of data analytics programs is an asset.
• Fluency in English and Spanish (oral and written) is required.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, and Russian) is an advantage.

Skills

• Humanitarian Affairs
• Emergency Preparedness
• Protection and Human Rights
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Emergencies
• Protection Coordination
• Technical Guidance on Protection
• Capacity Building on Protection
• Project Management
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Liaison with Governments
• UN Agency Operations
• Refugee and Migrant Protection
• Team Supervision
• Programmatic Input Formulation
• Case Management Principles
• International Protection Standards
• Data Analytics
• Report Writing
• Multicultural Communication

Languages

English, Spanish