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

A (least hardship)

Family

PR3

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-05-26

Protection Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
In the Bureaux, the Protection Officer works under the direct supervision of the Senior Protection Coordinator or Senior Protection Officer. In the Field, the incumbent normally reports to the Representative, Deputy or Assistant Representative (Protection), Head of Sub Office or Senior Protection Officer as appropriate. The incumbent may have direct supervisory responsibility for protection staff whose work may include RSD, community-based protection, registration, resettlement, complementary pathways, internal displacement and education, among other areas. In HQ, the incumbent may report to a Senior Protection Officer, Chief of Section or Deputy Director and may supervise other protection staff.

The incumbent acts as an advisor to senior management in, when not responsible for, designing a comprehensive protection strategy under the area of responsibility (AoR). S/he represents the Organization to authorities, UN sister agencies, partners and other stakeholders on protection policy and doctrine.

The Protection Officer coordinates quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern under the AoR. S/he ensures that forcibly displaced and stateless persons of all age, gender and diversity groups are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying and implementing appropriate solutions to their problems. To undertake this role effectively, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with other relevant teams within the operation or the Bureau (including programme; PI and external relations; IM) and with Division of International Protection and Solutions DIPS, communities of concern, authorities, protection and assistance partners as well as a broader network of stakeholders who can contribute to enhancing protection and achieving solutions.

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
- Provide technical guidance and support to UNHCR and partners on all protection related issues.
- Stay abreast of and report as relevant on legal political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Engage relevant national authorities and structures in identifying and expanding opportunities in view of developing or strengthening national asylum/RSD systems.
- Facilitate a consultative process with government counterparts, partners and forcibly displaced and stateless persons to develop and implement a comprehensive protection and solutions strategy addressing the specific protection needs of women and men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientation and/or gender identities (LGBTI persons), persons living with HIV/AIDS; gender equality and Gender Based Violence (GBV) priorities with regard to these persons.
- In operations applying the Cluster Approach, seek to ensure the response of the Protection Cluster is grounded in a strategy which covers all assessed and prioritized protection needs of the affected populations.
- Support senior management to ensure the protection strategy is fully integrated into the Country Operations Plan, the UN Development and Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the Humanitarian Country Team's common humanitarian response plan where applicable, as well as with the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and the Three Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.
- Promote relevant International, Regional and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct and ensure that all sectors and /or in clusters in applicable operations fulfil their responsibilities in mainstreaming protection.
- Promote the implementation of the AGD policy, including UNHCR's updated commitments to women and girls, and, design, deliver I and monitor programmes on an AGD basis to address identified protection needs.
- Develop, implement and monitor community-based protection strategies and ensure systematic application and integration of participatory and community-based approaches in protection and solutions planning, programming and strategies.
- Support the establishment of feedback and response systems and the incorporation of feedback received from forcibly displaced and stateless persons into programme design and adaptation.
- Support the operation to develop and implement robust prevention, identification, and responses to fraud within protection processes and procedures, including registration, RSD, resettlement and complementary pathways, ensuring the integrity of interventions across all protection activities.
- Assist UNHCR management at country level to comply with polices and commitment on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse measures.
- Oversee and manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection.
- Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to internal and external interlocutors; ensure legal assistance is accessible to forcibly displaced and stateless persons; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documents to forcibly displaced and stateless persons (including women and others in need of civil documentation, in particular birth certificates).
- As designated Data Protection Focal Point, assist the data controller in carrying out his or her responsibilities regarding the Data Protection Policy (7.2 DPP).
- Oversee and undertake eligibility and status determination within the AoR ensuring compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
- Promote and implement effective strategies and measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness within the AoR.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of an education plan as part of protection strategy within the AoR as relevant.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of a child protection plan as part of the protection strategy within the AoR ensuring programmes use a child protection systems approach.
- Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents through working relations with governments and other partners.
- Work to safeguard the rights of forcibly displaced and stateless persons in the context of mixed movements as relevant.
- Coordinate the preparation of, implement and oversee Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Ensure that durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement and complementary pathways are sought and provided to the largest possible number of forcibly displaced and stateless persons, including undertaking and/or overseeing resettlement and complementary pathways activities.
- Contribute to the coordination of the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related 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.
- Ensure that the Protection Sector or Cluster has an effective information management component which: provides disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems; researches, collects and disseminates relevant protection information and good practices to enhance protection delivery.
- Build the protection capacity of national and local government, partners and civil society to assume their responsibilities vis-à-vis all forcibly displaced and stateless persons through protection training, mainstreaming and related activities.
- Coordinate capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
- Advise and capacitate national authorities, relevant institutions and civil society to strengthen legislation and status determination procedures and mechanisms.

- 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.

For positions in Bureaux

- Support the Regional Bureau and Country Operations to reflect the protection and solution angle in support of forcibly displaced and stateless persons within regional processes.
- Support Country Operations in the development of strategies to build and further develop national asylum/RSD systems with a view to ensuring their fairness, efficiency, adaptability and integrity, favourable protection environment and solutions.
- Assist UNHCR management at regional and country level to comply with polices and commitment on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse measures.
- Support Country Operations and ensure they meet their complementary pathways objectives and resettlement quotas.
- In close collaboration with DIPS, (a) contribute to the development of background and general normative, policy, and legal positions, in compliance with UNHCR's global protection policies and standards; (b) contribute to the development of strategies at the regional and country level on the usage of law and policy approaches, including legislative and judicial engagement and UN human rights mechanisms - and/or regional ones - and other protection frameworks, and integrated human rights standards in protection strategies and advocacy; and (c) support coordination and review of UNHCR's country reports to the UN human rights mechanisms.
- Engage in relevant international and regional fora and contribute to forging regional partnerships to advocate for key protection and mandate issues, and engage in cross-cutting protection-related matters, including mixed movement, internal displacement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses, as well as Statelessness, in cooperation with DIPS and where relevant RSD.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P3/NOC - 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law; International Law; International Refugee Law;
International Human Rights Law; International Humanitarian Law;
Refugee and Forced Migration Studies; Political Sciences
or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Minimum 4 years of relevant professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law, including experience in working directly with Field Offices. Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles. Excellent legal research, analytical skills and drafting.

Desirable
Diverse field experience. Good IT skills including database management skills.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
PR-Comprehensive Solutions Framework
LE-Judicial Engagement
PR-Assessment of IDPs Status, Rights, Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
PR-Accountability to Affected People - Principles and Framework
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
(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 ideal candidate will demonstrate strong experience in engaging with the authorities, UN agencies, and asylum procedures and protection delivery in complex operational contexts, with the ability to contribute to efficient, high-quality registration and RSD processes. The candidate should be able to support operational prioritization, engage effectively with partners and authorities, and contribute to system optimization in a resource-constrained environment.

Essential Attributes :
•Experience in registration and Refugee Status Determination (RSD), including case assessment, decision-making processes, or procedural oversight.
•Experience with case prioritization and/or differentiated processing approaches. Proven experience in applying, supporting, or contributing to case prioritization, backlog management, or differentiated processing systems in asylum or protection operations.
•Experience in protection delivery in mixed-movement or complex contexts. Demonstrated ability to work with diverse caseloads in operational environments characterized by mixed movements and evolving protection risks.
•Experience in coordination or engagement with partners and/or government counterparts. Proven experience in working with national authorities, UN agencies, or partners on protection or asylum-related matters, and building SOPs with the authorities and partners.
•Experience in Community-based protection, CwC/AAP, or outreach mechanisms.
•Fluency in French

Desirable Attributes:
• Knowledge of Arabic is desirable due to the high number of refugees speaking that language. It will, therefore, facilitate engagement with refugee communities.
• Experience in asylum capacity development, legal protection frameworks and engagement with the authorities.
• Experience in resource-constrained operational environments.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including drafting analytical and operational documents, providing guidance to develop protection dashboards, ability to develop advocacy notes, and identifying protection and responses.

French

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Arabic

,

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

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

Nature of Position:

UNHCR’s Morocco operation takes place in a complex and evolving mixed-movement environment. While historically considered a country of transit, Morocco has increasingly consolidated its role as a country of destination for refugees and asylum-seekers. By the end of 2025, more than 22,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from over 60 nationalities were registered across more than 80 localities nationwide. The population is predominantly urban and includes significant numbers of individuals arriving through mixed movements, with evolving protection risks, including onward movement, exploitation, detention, statelessness, and limited socio-economic opportunities. The largest populations originate from Sudan and Syria, making effective engagement with predominantly Arabic-speaking communities a central operational consideration.

Morocco’s protection environment is framed by the National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum (SNIA), which promotes an inclusive and protection-sensitive approach towards refugees and migrants, alongside advancing Humanized Border Management. Morocco has also committed during the Global Refugee Forum of 2023 (GRF) to the inclusion of refugees in health, social protection, employment, education, data and Humanized Border Management. The UN Country Team has also committed during the GRF to include refugees in their advocacy with the authorities, programmes, and funding. These frameworks emphasize protection-sensitive border governance, referral mechanisms, and access to asylum, and inclusion in the national system of education, health, social protection and employment requiring sustained engagement with national authorities, including border and law enforcement actors, line ministries and UN partners including the World Bank to strengthen access to basic rights and national services, including protection-oriented services.

Despite the lack of an asylum law, which is at Parlement level, the authorities acknowledge that there is a national asylum system, based on interaction between UNHCR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior. In this context, UNHCR continues to conduct registration and Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures at the request of the Government, while supporting asylum capacity development with national counterparts. The operation is managed from a single Branch Office in Rabat with limited staffing and resources. This requires strong operational prioritization across competing demands, including strategic backlog management, case prioritization, and the systematic use of differentiated processing modalities to ensure efficiency, integrity, and access to asylum while safeguarding procedural standards. The operational environment necessitates continuous balancing of quality, accountability to affected populations, and timeliness in a context of fluctuating arrivals and evolving caseload profiles.

UNHCR has established decentralized protection coordination and referral mechanisms through Protection Working Groups, partner networks, community outreach structures, and multi-purpose protection hubs across key regions. Communication with communities (CwC) and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) are central operational priorities, particularly in ensuring access to asylum procedures, managing expectations, addressing misinformation, and strengthening trust with refugee communities, including predominantly Arabic-speaking populations.

The Protection Officer (P3) will provide technical leadership and operational direction for asylum procedures, engage with the authorities to strengthen the inclusion of refugees in the national systems, and broader protection delivery.

A large focus is also made in coordinating and supervising UNHCR registration and RSD activities, deliver capacity development in asylum and international refugee law with the authorities including law enforcement and judicial authorities, and civil society. In close collaboration with the authorities and UN agencies, the Protection Officer will support the partners to strengthen their referral pathways of community-based protection, child protection, GBV responses to national institutions and civil society.

The role includes strengthening quality assurance mechanisms, supporting evidence-based decision-making through protection data analysis and development of tools for donors, and ensuring alignment of asylum procedures with broader protection objectives.

Experience in asylum capacity development, legal protection, engagement with national authorities and UN agencies, and protection-sensitive border management is highly desirable. The role requires proven ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, support staff well-being, and maintain operational continuity in high-pressure settings.

Living and Working Conditions:

All goods and services are easily found. The climate in Rabat and coastal areas is mild with hot summers and wet and rainy short winters. Accommodation (apartments, studios, villas) is available at reasonable charges. Public transportation, including the train system (which has a good safety record) is inexpensive and connects all the major centers in the country. Taxis are in abundance in large cities such as Casablanca and Rabat. Morocco is at Security Level 2. Violent crime is not a major problem in Morocco, but there are occasional incidents involving theft at knife-point in the major cities and along beaches. UNHCR staff are expected to comply with monthly radio checks and respect other security checks such as fulfillment of security clearances prior to displacement.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Analysis of laws and practice relevant to human rights, PR-Asylum related law, policy and procedures, PR-Capacity building on human rights, PR-Legal, economic, social and protection support to integration, PR-Refugee Resettlement programs, RG-Planning and Developing Registration Strategy, RG-PoC Registration Data Analysis, Team Management

Bachelor of Arts: International Humanitarian Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Human Rights Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Refugee Law, Bachelor of Arts: Law, Bachelor of Arts: Political Science, Bachelor of Arts: Refugee and Forced Migration Studies

Certifications

HCR Protection Learning Program - UNHCR

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, 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