Field Office Kyaka, under the management of Sub Office Mbarara in South West Uganda, is responsible for Kyaka settlement, in Kyegegwa district. Kyaka settlement stopped to receive new arrivals in February 2020 from the border (prima facie refugee status), though it may still receive those who go through refugee status determination (RSD) procedure conducted by Refugee Eligibility Committee of Uganda. This type is dominated by Burundian asylum seekers, plus few Congolese asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Rwandan asylum seekers. Currently FO Kyaka has about 25-30 staff including administration (including drivers), field, protection (including resettlement) and supply. The operation is mainly care and maintenance under the Global Refugee Compact (GRC)/Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). Based on the past five years’ experience of Uganda operation, the incumbent will need to prepare for any emergency supports for the country operation if needs arise.

Kyaka settlement was established in 1983. As of 31 Aug 2020, refugee population of Kyaka settlement is about 123,831. About 78% of the refugee population in Kyaka settlement are women and children with a significant number of persons with specific needs. The settlement is dominated by Congolese from Democratic Republic of Congo (95.13%), Burundians (2.87%) and Rwandans (1.92%). Kyaka settlement is currently benefitted from some operation partners, though it is expected to reduce as the settlement no longer receives new arrivals. With protection partners engaged in the protection response, it is imperative to note that the primary actor for registration in Uganda is carried out by our government counterpart, the Commission of Refugees under the Office of Prime Minister (OPM). With the completion of verification in 2018, OPM agreed to continue to use proGres v.4 as the registration tool and BIMS for biometric enrolment. proGres v.4 is used as a protection tool in Child Protection; SGBV and Legal Protection Needs.

This position is the senior most national professional officer position in Kyaka Office, with the incumbent expected to assist in the strategic design and implementation of response, with respect to the immediate acute and longer-term protection issues on a daily basis.

Even though FO Kyaka is a family duty station, due to its remoteness, national staff are provided with staff accommodation. There are vibrant local markets at settlement, though local supermarkets are only found in Fort Portal (130 km from Kyaka) or Mbarara. In term of medical services, only basic medical services are available in health centres in the settlements, and if necessary, further medical referral to Kampala. The nearest banking facilities including ATM are either in Mubende (60 km from Kyaka) or Fort Portal. At the staff accommodation compound provided by UNHCR, electricity and water are available. .

Functional statement:
• 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 persons of concern.
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to persons of concern; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for persons of concern 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 SGBV 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 persons of concern 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 persons of concern.
• 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.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
• University degree in Law, International Law, Political Sciences or other relevant field is required.
• Minimum 3 years previous working experience is required.
• Professional experience in the area of refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights or international humanitarian law is required.
• Good knowledge of International Refugee and Human Rights Law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles is required.
• Knowledge of English language is required.

Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
• Field experience, including in working directly with communities is desirable.
• Good IT skills including database management skills is desirable.

Managerial Competencies
• Empowering and Building Trust
• Managing Performance
• Judgement and Decision Making
• Strategic Planning and Vision
• Leadership
• Managing Resources

Cross-Functional Competencies
• Analytical Thinking
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
• Political Awareness

Job Education: Not Specified

Eligibility:
Candidates must be Ugandan nationals.
Internal staff members should consult the Recruitment and Assignment of Locally recruited Staff (RALS). If you have questions regarding eligibility, you may also contact the HR Unit.