Job Description

Please note that this vacancy is only open to eligible staff members who have been individually notified of their eligibility to apply for positions advertised in the Accelerated Posting Compendium.

June 12, 2026

D

Non Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay

Nairobi (CO), Kenya

PR2

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-05-26

Associate Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Associate Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff, including community-based protection registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

The Associate Protection Officer is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless persons, ensuring that operational responses in all sectors mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. The incumbent contributes to the design of a comprehensive protection strategy and represents the organization externally on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor. S/he also ensures that forcibly displaced and stateless persons are meaningfully engaged in the decisions that affect them and support programme design and adaptations that are influenced by the concerns, priorities and capacities of forcibly displaced and stateless persons To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Promote International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Foster their consistent and coherent interpretation and application through mainstreaming in all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to forcibly displaced and stateless persons
- Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to forcibly displaced and stateless persons; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Conduct eligibility and status determination for forcibly displaced and stateless persons in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
- Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
- Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy to ensure programmes use a child protection systems approach.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan.
- Implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities which integrate AGD sensitive procedures.
- Oversee and manage individual protection cases, including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
- Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of forcibly displaced and stateless persons through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless persons.
- Participate in the organisation and implementation of participatory assessments and methodologies throughout the operations management cycle and promote AGD sensitive programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy through a consultative process with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
- Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.
- Promote and integrate community-based approaches to protection and contribute to capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
- Support activities in the area of risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, fraud, case-processing, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
- Intervene with authorities on protection issues.
- Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
- Decide priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
- Enforce compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles.
Desirable
Field experience, including in working directly with communities. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
MG-Project Management
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
CO-Drafting and Documentation
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

The candidate should demonstrate the following competencies and experience:
Essential attributes:
Experience in protection, preferably in conflict-affected environments characterized by complex refugee and IDP protection risks and capacity to represent UNHCR in the forum involving UN agencies, local and international NGOs in Bunia.
• Ability to organize and manage inter-agency meetings, including representing UNHCR in Protection Cluster and sub-cluster fora, and ensuring active and substantive participation on issues relevant to the Bunia Field Office.
• Strong expertise in protection monitoring programmes, including oversight of field activities, training of monitors, analysis and synthesis of reports and alerts, and development of context-specific monitoring strategies.
• Ability to represent the office in cross-border coordination meetings and to present operational updates in multiple languages, in light of regular engagement with English-speaking neighboring operations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting contingency planning, emergency preparedness, and response activities in refugee and internal displacement contexts, with the ability to operate effectively in fast-paced and challenging environments.
• Proven experience in refugee assistance programme management, particularly in supervising field scattered teams, complemented by solid expertise in protection policy and strong staff management and leadership skills.
• Fluency in French is required.

Desirable attributes:
• Proficiency in the use of technical tools, including data collection systems, alert management platforms, and case tracking of protection incidents and human rights violations.

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

Bukavu is the capital city of South Kivu’s province, situated in the eastern part of the DRC, a region with a complex operational context. The province has faced substantial political, structural, social, and economic challenges throughout its history, contributing to a volatile environment. Heavy clashes which occurred in North Kivu between the FARDC and its allies against the M23 in 2024, as well as security incidents in January 2025 in Bukavu and those occurred in Uvira in November 2025 have continued to cause large waves of displacement of populations across the territories in South-Kivu and to the neighboring countries.

The office works in a mixed operational context in which there are several population groups of concern to UNHCR, including: asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees, including spontaneous returnees. Since January 2025, the escalation of the crisis by M23 Movement has led to the destruction of displacement sites and the large returns of IDPs; the Operation in South-Kivu hosts 1.2 millions IDPs, 1,036,886 IDP returnees, 83,030 refugees and asylum seekers from Burundi and Rwanda, and more than 49,000 congolese returnees from Burundi. Presently, the areas most affected by conflict including clashes involving M23 are the Hauts and Moyens Plateaux of Fizi as well as several localities in Kabare, Mwenga and Uvira Territories.

With the departure of MONUSCO from South Kivu in May 2024, the security and logistical situation on the ground has deteriorated, despite the development of a government-led response plan, coupled with a UN support plan for several hot spots in the province. At present, South Kivu is at the center of multiple, overlapping, and recurring crises, marked by intra- and inter-community conflicts.

The number of acts of violence and deliberate attacks on civilians against civilians increased significantly with the withdrawal of MONUSCO in South-Kivu since May 2024.

The UNHCR operation in South Kivu covers the protection of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and affected populations, and continues to respond to their urgent needs through the Shelter-Land-Site Coordination and Protection Clusters.

The United Nations Agencies, particularly the UNHCR in Bukavu, have international protection in their mandate, with the refugee populations of the neighboring countries. Diplomatic and security relations between the DRC and Rwanda continue to deteriorate under criticism from the population and civil society activists. The resumption of the M23 violence in North Kivu sparked protests in Bukavu town in early 2023, although this did not directly affect people under UNHCR mandate in Bukavu town, it remains a concern in terms of protection and security of persons under UNHCR mandate in Bukavu.

In addition to the above-mentioned situation, it would be crucial to also list some main existing challenges in South-Kivu as frequent natural hazards, including landslides, floods, and epidemics.

Given the considerable workload, the applicant must be motivated, hard-working, and organized.

The incumbent will report to the Head of Office in Bukavu.

Living and Working Conditions:

Since roughly 3 decades, the number of inhabitants has increased significantly in Bukavu, due to immigration from rural areas, business opportunities, and spatial planning problems in the surrounding areas of the city where people have no access to water, electricity, and roads. According to current estimates, Bukavu has more than one million residents and it is one of the most populated cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The above-mentioned demographic explosion was not accompanied by the enlargement of the city and therefore resulted in poor and insecure housing and infrastructure; problems related to housing conditions and tenure insecurity in the city.

However, medical facilities are available in Bukavu, but urgent medical conditions are mostly referred to in Goma (North Kivu) and Nairobi (Kenya). Therefore, candidates with conditions requiring regular treatment or medical supervision should be appropriately advised. As general advice, applicants for the post should be psychologically prepared for the context.

Banking facilities are not available in Bukavu; there also is an unlimited access to communication means, such as internet, telephone sim cards etc...

SAL length in Bukavu is two years

Bukavu is currently a non-family duty station, High risk duty station with security level 4 Substantial.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Bachelor of Arts: International Law, Bachelor of Arts: Law, Bachelor of Arts: Political Science

Certifications

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Accelerated Posting Compendium 2026 - Part B

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance