Associate Resettlement & Complementary Pathways Officer – UNOPS International (IICA1) at UNHCR Rwanda: (Deadline 20 December 2021)

Under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer (or the Associate Resettlement Officer when the vacant position will have been filled) and overall supervision by the Head of Sub Office, the incumbent will undertake the following tasks:

¿ In the context of COVID-19, conduct RRF interviews; the staff member is expected to interview and complete RRFs for a minimum of 5-6 cases per week. The interviews will be conducted using remote processing or face to face as the situation will permit. If P2 processing modality is adopted, the weekly output will be 10-12 completed assessments/RRFs per week.  Weekly reports are required to allow for analysis and targets will be re-calibrated according to other duties and responsibilities that may be assigned to the staff member.
¿ Conduct RRF reviews: When assigned RRF preparation roles only, the incumbent is expected to complete 5-6 cases per week. When assigned review roles only, the staff member will be expected to review 15-20 cases a week. When assigned both roles, the level of output would be 3 completed RRFs and 6 reviewed RRFs per week.
¿ Provide appropriate counseling to persons of concern in relation to their case process as necessary including in the context of the notification of decisions on individual cases.
¿ Participate in training/briefing UNHCR staff and partners on resettlement categories/procedures, as required
¿ Stay abreast of legal, political, security and other developments which impact on the protection environment, and in particular, on protection delivery through registration, RSD, resettlement.
¿ Make referrals to other UNHCR staff/units, based on identified vulnerabilities and specific needs.
¿ Ensure adherence to and contribute to continual review of operation-specific SOPs.
¿ Maintain accurate processing statistics and provide statistical reports on a regular basis.
¿ Keep systematic, accurate records of all cases considered including ensuring compliance with proGres v4 data entry requirement, uploading of audio recordings on eSAFE and filing of all documents and correspondence in physical files.
¿ Assist in preventing and identifying fraud in individual case-processing through oversight, advice and guidance to UNHCR staff, partners and persons of concern.
¿ Systematically apply an age, gender and diversity (AGD) perspective in the performance of assigned functions.
¿ Assist in monitoring individual case processing trends and in compiling and analysing statistics related to individual case processing.
¿ Assist in developing and maintaining processes to ensure that persons of concern have accurate information on the UNHCR individual case-processing policies and procedures.
¿ Perform other related duties as required.

Language Requirements
Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

Duration: Initially until June 2022 extension subject to funding availability and

. Monitoring and Progress Controls
¿ A minimum of 5-6 standard RRFs or 10-12 P2 RRFs a week is initially expected from the incumbent. S/he will also be assigned review roles at the rate of 15-20 reviews per week when only assigned review roles. The targets will be monitored and may gradually increase as the processing modalities evolve (see section 2 above for the overall expectations).
¿ A weekly output report will be required from the incumbent for reporting purposes and performance monitoring.

4. Qualifications and Experience

¿ University degree in relevant area (e.g. law, political science, social sciences – preferably in social work etc.), preferably at the Masters level or above;
¿ knowledge of and/or preparedness to become familiar with and abide by UNHCR’s principles, code of conduct and humanitarian goals;
¿ knowledge of the international legal framework governing refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons;
¿ knowledge of UNHCR guidelines on registration, refugee status determination/resettlement;
¿ awareness of issues related to specific needs and vulnerabilities related to specific refugee groups (women, children/UASC, the older, minorities, the disabled) and how to apply rights and community-based approach to identify and respond to specific needs;
¿ awareness of the importance of preventing fraud and ways to mitigate risks.
¿ two or more years work experience in relevant work area (e.g. assisting refugees in a resettlement context, case advocacy, assisting with family reunification, identifying resettlement needs, preparing resettlement referrals/submissions, conducting RSD interviews and assessments, etc);
¿ experience in interviewing and counseling refugees and asylum seekers on case processing;
¿ excellent drafting and analytical skills;
¿ knowledge of methods for identifying individual refugees or refugee populations for resettlement;
¿ strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in teams;
¿ ability to work in stressful situations and in hardship locations;
¿ experience in the area of refugee resettlement – conducting refugee resettlement assessments and submissions;
¿ cross-cultural interviewing experience;
¿ knowledge of or willingness to become familiar with methods for identifying individual refugees or refugee populations for resettlement;
¿ ability to work well in a multicultural team;
¿ resettlement management capacity building and resettlement training;
¿ previous working experience with above-mentioned refugee caseloads, will be an asset;
¿ working experience in Africa, and especially within the East African and Great Lakes regions, will be an asset;
¿ ability to work with proGres v4 (or rapidly learn it) and other computer and technological equipment;
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See below for this postion’s Operational Context
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As of 30 September 2021, Rwanda was hosting 127,163 refugees and asylum seekers. 61% of this caseload is predominantly composed of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of whom are living in a protracted refugee situation. The remaining population are Burundians, and persons of concern evacuated from Libya to Rwanda under the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM). 91% of the population of concern are camp based. The Government of Rwanda (GoR), through the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), leads the refugee response in the country with UNHCR and partners providing direct operational support, capacity development and technical advice to the local authorities.

Over 90% of the Congolese population in Rwanda originate from conflict zones in Eastern DRC (mainly North and South Kivu). While all durable solutions options are under consideration, the COVID19 pandemic and the continued insecurity in the eastern regions of DRC entail that prospects for voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity remain limited. Approximately 48,000 Congolose refugees have lived in the country for over 10 years. Some have been born in Rwanda and lived their entire lives as refugees.

Burundian refugees reside primarily in Mahama refugee camp or in urban centers (Kigali or Huye).  Since August 2020, Burundians have begun to voluntarily repatriate to Burundi. UNHCR is also engaged in supporting the return of Rwandans mainly from DRC and Congo Brazzaville.

UNHCR works closely with its main government counterpart the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), the UN agencies and NGO partners.  Rwanda is a CRRF country and continues to maintain open door policy.  Considerable efforts are being made to promote & support to the implementation of the 2016 Leaders (Obama) Summit commitments to enhance refugee inclusion. Cash Based Interventions in food aid, energy and NFI have been rolled out and eligible refugees receive necessary support through this mechanism.

The Associate Resettlement & Complementary Pathways Officer position will be located at UNHCR Kirehe Sub-Office. Under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer (or the Associate Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Officer when the vacant position will have been filled), the incumbent¿s primary role is to support in resettlement case processing to attain the allocated resettlement quotas. The incumbent will take part in assessing cases for resettlement and conducting resettlement case interviews and reviews, as well as monitoring procedural compliance and quality of case submissions. The incumbent will also provide continuous support to resettlement activities by ensuring that resettlement polices are correctly implemented and that the operation is supported in establishing comprehensive protection and solutions strategies. The incumbent’s role may involve managerial responsibilities in supervising, coaching and training junior staff, and assisting in implementing organizational objectives and priorities.

This position is currently funded through end of June 2022.
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Closing date for submissions or applications is 20 December 2021