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

E (most hardship)

Non Family with Residential Location

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.

". 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

Bunia is classified as a Security Level 3 and E duty station affected by insecurity linked to the activities of armed and terrorist groups, intercommunal tensions, anti-UN sentiment. Medical infrastructure and evacuation capacities remain limited, while public electricity and water supply are unreliable. Malaria and psychological stress linked to the operational context remain significant concerns. Strict compliance with UNDSS security measures and health precautions is therefore required.

Nature of Position:

As of 1 January 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hosts 604,000 refugees and asylum seekers, as well as more than 6.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), mainly located in the provinces of Ituri, Kasai, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika. As lead of the Protection Cluster, UNHCR continues to play a key role in supporting the Government of the DRC in implementing durable solutions strategies aimed at breaking cycles of protracted displacement across the country.

The Bunia Field Office provides protection and assistance to South Sudanese refugees in Ituri and Haut-Uele provinces through an integrated service delivery approach aimed at promoting the self-reliance of persons of concern and advancing alternatives to camps policies. In collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees (CNR) and implementing partners, the Office operates in four refugee sites, namely Bele, Meri, Biringi, and Adumi, the latter having been established following new influxes from South Sudan in December 2025. The Office also pays particular attention to thousands of refugees living within host communities along the border, who continue to face significant security risks, food insecurity, and limited access to basic social services.

In addition, the Office leads the Protection, Shelter/NFI, and CCCM Clusters, supporting approximately 927,743 displaced persons, underscoring the scale and persistence of displacement across the province. Ongoing insecurity in Ituri has undermined efforts to preserve the civilian character of displacement sites due to the infiltration of armed elements and weak local governance structures. The fragmentation of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) has limited the impact of peace initiatives, while persistent insecurity continues to restrict humanitarian access, disrupt essential services, and hamper economic recovery. As lead agency for the CCCM Cluster, and in the context of the ongoing integration of Shelter/NFI and HLP coordination structures, UNHCR coordinates site management, shelter, housing, land and property, and protection activities aimed at safeguarding displaced populations.

The Protection Officer is normally a member of the Office senior management team and is relied upon by the Office to plan, lead and coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern. This includes ensuring that operational responses in all sectors are shaped in a protection optic, mainstream protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards. Another important element of the PO's functions is to ensure that people of concern are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems.

The incumbent will be under the direct supervision of the Head of Field Office.

Living and Working Conditions:

Bunia is a small town serving as the capital of Ituri Province. Its population was estimated at approximately 692,836 inhabitants in 2026. It has a national airport receiving UNHAS and MONUSCO international flights from Entebbe. Public electricity supply remains unreliable, and access to public water supply is also limited and inconsistent.

While Bunia’s population has grown rapidly due to displacement in Ituri Province, urban infrastructure has not expanded at the same pace. Housing conditions remain generally poor and of modest quality. However, Bunia offers moderate housing opportunities, including secure compounds and furnished residences for humanitarian and expatriate staff. Availability remains limited, and rental prices are relatively high due to strong demand from NGOs, UN agencies, and private sector actors.

The climate is tropical wet and dry. Medical facilities in Bunia remain limited and are not adequately equipped to handle serious medical conditions. Medical evacuation opportunities are constrained due to the limited number of flights, although air ambulance evacuation can be arranged during daytime for life-threatening emergencies. Candidates with medical conditions requiring regular treatment or supervision should therefore be appropriately advised.

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