Senior Protection Associate (IDP) - Temporary Appointment

The Senior Protection Associate supports the implementation and consolidation of UNHCR’s internal displacement strategy in Sinaloa, Mexico. The role involves coordinating protection responses, providing technical guidance, supporting legal and policy inputs, and engaging with communities, authorities, and partners to strengthen protection coordination and community-based approaches in a complex operational environment.

Responsibilities

• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments impacting the protection environment.
• Apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Provide advice and guidance on protection issues to populations of concern (PoC) and liaise with competent authorities for documentation issuance.
• Assist in conducting eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR standards.
• Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
• Contribute to country-level child protection and education plans as part of the protection strategy.
• Implement and monitor Standard Operating Procedures for protection/solutions activities.
• Manage individual protection cases including GBV and child protection cases.
• Assist in identifying durable solutions for PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement.
• Design, implement and evaluate protection related AGD based programming with partners.
• Facilitate results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
• Support effective information management through disaggregated data provision on PoC.
• Participate in capacity building of authorities, institutions and NGOs to strengthen protection legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues and assist in prioritizing reception, interviewing and counselling.
• Enforce compliance with global protection policies and standards among staff and partners.
• Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases.
• Support risk identification and management in the area of responsibility.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• For GS7 - 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
• Certificates and/or Licenses in International Law; Political Science; or other relevant field.
• Knowledge of English and Spanish is essential, with demonstrated ability to draft and communicate effectively in both languages.
• Strong technical knowledge of internal displacement, protection and human rights frameworks.
• Experience in legal and policy analysis, development of technical guidance, and support to draft laws, regulations, or public policy instruments related to internal displacement.
• Familiarity with protection monitoring, registration and profiling processes, community-based protection, AGD-based programming, child protection, gender-based violence, housing land and property issues, and education-related protection interventions is an asset.
• Strong operational capacity to support, coordinate, and help supervise protection responses focused on internal displacement.
• Experience in emergency response, information management, inter-institutional coordination mechanisms, and durable solutions planning is highly desirable.
• Proven experience engaging with authorities, civil society organizations, academia, and affected communities to strengthen protection frameworks and responses.
• Strong communication, drafting, and interpersonal skills to provide accurate protection guidance and deliver effective training and capacity-building initiatives.
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritize competing demands, and contribute to a coordinated team response.
• Experience working in multicultural environments and adhering to UNHCR’s Code of Conduct.
• Basic understanding of security management in complex operational environments and ability to maintain effective coordination with local authorities and security counterparts.

Skills

• Internal Displacement Knowledge
• Protection Frameworks
• Human Rights Frameworks
• Legal Analysis
• Policy Analysis
• Technical Guidance
• Drafting Laws and Regulations
• Protection Monitoring
• Registration and Profiling
• Community-Based Protection
• AGD Based Programming
• Child Protection
• Gender-based Violence Protection
• Housing Land Property Issues
• Education Protection Interventions
• Protection Response Coordination
• Emergency Response
• Information Management
• Institutional Coordination
• Durable Solutions Planning
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Training and Capacity Building
• Security Management
• Multicultural Environment Experience
• UNHCR Code of Conduct

Languages

English, Spanish