Protection Associate

The Protection Associate supports the implementation of UNHCR’s protection mandate across Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. The role involves monitoring protection standards, coordinating protection responses, and liaising with authorities and partners to ensure protection of populations of concern, with a focus on vulnerable groups and community engagement.

Responsibilities

• Monitor protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery
• Coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to populations of concern
• Identify opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards
• Contribute to designing a comprehensive protection strategy
• Liaise externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy
• Ensure populations of concern are involved in decision-making affecting them
• Build and maintain effective interfaces with communities, local authorities and partners
• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments impacting protection environment
• Apply International and National Law and UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct
• Provide advice on protection issues and liaise with authorities for documentation issuance
• Assist in eligibility and status determination for populations of concern
• Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness
• Contribute to country-level child protection and education plans
• Monitor Standard Operating Procedures for protection activities
• Manage individual protection cases including GBV and child protection
• Assist in identifying durable solutions such as repatriation, local integration and resettlement
• Contribute to design, implementation and evaluation of protection programming with partners
• Facilitate effective information management with disaggregated data
• Participate in capacity building of authorities and NGOs
• Assist supervisor in prioritizing cases and enforcing compliance with protection policies
• Submit individual payment requests for populations of concern
• Support risk identification and management in area of responsibility
• Perform other related duties as required

Requirements

• 3 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 related field
• Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station
• Experience in protection, human rights, social services, or related fields with exposure to safety, access to justice, and inclusion of vulnerable populations
• Understanding of protection risks faced by women, children, and marginalized groups
• Experience in prevention and response to gender-based violence and child protection
• Experience working in remote, rural, or resource-constrained environments is desirable
• Experience in community engagement and working with community structures, local leaders, and grassroots organisations
• Ability to support access to national services such as healthcare, education, psychosocial services, documentation, and social protection
• Strong planning, coordination, and analytical skills
• Ability to contribute to assessments, identify service gaps, analyse protection trends, and support development of practical responses
• Experience drafting reports and contributing to data-informed programming
• Familiarity with tools used for protection monitoring, service mapping, or case tracking
• Knowledge of Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), and Results-Based Management (RBM) principles is desirable
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and oral
• Good understanding of risk management, fraud prevention, and obligation to report suspected misconduct

Skills

• International Law
• Political Science
• Protection Monitoring
• Human Rights
• Social Service
• Safety and Access to Justice
• Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations
• Gender-Based Violence Awareness
• Child Protection
• Community Engagement
• Service Mapping
• Case Tracking
• Assessment and Analysis
• Report Writing
• Data-Informed Programming
• Planning Coordination
• Protection Risk Assessment
• Age Gender Diversity Analysis
• Accountability to Affected Populations
• Result-Based Management
• Risk Management
• Fraud Prevention

Languages

English