Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
B
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate Type
UNOPS LICA5
2025-08-01
Deadline for Applications
August 6, 2025
Operational Context:
India currently hosts more than 261,000 refugees and asylum seekers. These include some 91,000 Sri Lankan refugees and 73,400 Tibetans directly assisted by the Government of India. There are 47,881 individuals registered under UNHCR’s mandate primarily from Afghanistan, Myanmar, and other countries. In addition, around 49,000 Myanmar nationals have sought refuge in the Northeast of India and live in a refugee-like situation. UNHCR works with the Government of India to offer protection and find solutions for refugees and asylum seekers.
As a result of reprioritization, UNHCR India is refocusing its efforts on three core objectives: mandate-critical protection and solutions work; lifesaving and emergency activities with a focus on the most vulnerable; and essential resource mobilization and advocacy for protection and inclusion.
With refugees and asylum seekers spread across 13 different locations across the country, UNHCR relies on its 8 NGO partners for support. It funds activities that complement or facilitate access to essential services and assist the most vulnerable people with humanitarian assistance. UNHCR also works with various partners and key stakeholders to advocate for greater inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). The office is engaged in advocacy with the government to support the development of a national framework for refugee protection, and advocates on issues related to the use of alternatives to detention, access to documentation amongst other key areas. UNHCR’s office is in New Delhi and has a field presence in Chennai, Tamil Nadu State.
Desired Candidate Profile:
The Senior Protection Assistant is part of the Protection Unit and reports to the Senior Legal Associate ( G-7). As a member of the protection units/he is expected to work closely with his/her team, other units in the office, partners and external stakeholders.
Senior Protection Assistant monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards, in relation to detention and other legal issues. S/he should have demonstrated knowledge of UNHCR’s protection principles and standards, and practical experience in translating principles and standards into strategies and tools in support of effective protection delivery.
The Senior Protection Assistant coordinates closely with partners to ensure quality, timely and effective protection support to refugees and asylum seekers and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. He/she contributes to designing and implementing a comprehensive protection strategy on detention. The Senior Protection Assistant must have the ability to forge partnership and coordination skills to liaise externally with partners, relevant government authorities, UN agencies, NGOs and lawyers and individuals to facilitate the operation’s protection objectives. To achieve this objective, he/she will also need to build and maintain effective relations with communities of asylum-seekers and refugees.
He/she is expected to have working experience of national legal system and ability to effectively advocate for preventing detention and refoulement and securing release from detention for asylum-seekers and refugees through working closely with a various network of supporters and stakeholders. The candidate is required to have proven analytical and drafting skills as well as experience in supporting development of protection and solution strategies and coordinate the implementation with external interlocutors. These include topics related to advocacy, judicial engagement, alternatives to detention, communication with communities in line with accountabilities to affected populations. The candidate is expected to be well versed with international and national legal standards and is able to guide legal interventions including strategic litigation impacting refugee rights in India. The candidate should have good legal analytical and research skills and will also be expected to coordinate rights mapping analysis linked to UNHCR’s RiMAP platform. The candidate should have experience in capacity building and training for different stakeholders including lawyers and police.
The candidate should have good communication and interpersonal/team working skills, stakeholder management, excellent drafting skills and English language proficiency as well as meeting deadlines, strong organizational and time management skills are required for this position. Candidate may also have experience as a Litigator, especially in handling human rights issues.
This position is open only to Indian nationals. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted, and they will be required to undergo a written test and an interview.
The selected candidate will work either from the UNHCR Office or other UNHCR partner locations in New Delhi, India.
Education & Professional Work Experience
Essential:
1. Law Degree
2. 3 years of work experience relevant to the Job profile
Senior Protection Assistant
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Protection Assistant normally reports to a more senior Protection colleague. The incumbent monitors protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.
The Senior Protection Assistant provides quality, timely and effective protection support to persons of concern (PoC) and identifies opportunities to mainstream protection methodologies and safeguards in operational responses. S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive protection strategy and may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on protection issues as guided by the supervisor.
The Senior Protection Assistant also ensures that PoC are involved in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.
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
- Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Provide counselling on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Support activities in protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Conduct preliminary information gathering and interviews in support of eligibility, status determination, durable solutions and social needs assessment.
- Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
- Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan for PoC as part of the protection strategy.
- Monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Participate in individual protection case management including cases of GBV and child protection. Monitor and report on cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
- Assist in identifying durable solutions for PoC in voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Draft reports, routine correspondence, update relevant databases and compiling statistics within the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
- Contribute to initiatives to enhance national and local protection capacities.
- Select PoC for preliminary interviews and decide which relevant information to share.
- Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners.
- 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
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
G5 - 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
Field(s) of Education
Not applicable
Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law;
Political Science;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience
Essential: Not specified.
Desirable: Not specified.
Functional Skills
IT-Computer Literacy
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
(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.
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Skills
IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
Education
Certifications
International Law - Other, Political Science - Other
Other information
This position doesn't require a functional clearance
Remote
No
