UNHCR is looking for a Policy Officer

General Background of Project or Assignment:

Voluntary repatriation remains one of the three durable solutions promoted by UNHCR. It is grounded in the principle that refugees have the right to return to their country of origin in safety and dignity, and that such return should be informed, voluntary, and sustainable. UNHCR supports voluntary repatriation through a range of activities including legal and physical protection, reintegration support, and coordination with host and origin countries.

In recent years, the operational landscape for voluntary repatriation has become increasingly complex. Many returns occur in protracted displacement contexts, often without formal agreements or comprehensive reintegration frameworks. This has underscored the need for robust protection monitoring systems to assess conditions in areas of return, identify risks, and ensure that returnees’ rights are upheld. Protection monitoring also plays a critical role in informing programmatic responses, advocacy, and policy development.

Protection monitoring tools and methodologies are being adapted to better capture the experiences of diverse groups, including women, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities, and to ensure that reintegration efforts are responsive to their specific needs.

Despite the importance of these efforts, there remains a gap in the documentation of good and promising practices in voluntary repatriation and protection /return monitoring. Capturing and analyzing field-level innovations and lessons learned is essential to support cross-regional learning, strengthen operational guidance, and scale up effective approaches across the organization. A recently concluded evaluation on repatriation and reintegration activities includes recommendations for UNHCR work.

The purpose of this assignment is to identify, analyze and document good/promising and innovative field practices in the field of return/ repatriation, community participation in solutions planning and programming, as well as protection monitoring in areas of return, also known as return monitoring. The documentation of field practices will accompany the release of the UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation Operational Guidelines and be included in the Toolkit on protection monitoring.

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

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

Specific Occupational Safety and Health Considerations to this assignment (if applicable): n/a

Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The aim of this assignment is to identify or validate, conduct an analysis and document field practices that illustrate UNHCR’s work on return/repatriation and protection monitoring in areas of return, also known as return monitoring. It is expected that the material produced will accompany the release of the Operational Guidelines on Voluntary Repatriation and populate the Protection monitoring Toolkit. Considering the short assignment, and to the extent possible, the practices that need to be documented will be pre-identified.

The incumbent will develop a workplan, review various existing sources to identify or validate examples of case studies, and hold consultations with Regional Bureaux, operations and Headquarter Divisions/Services as relevant. The incumbent will draft high quality case studies/documentation of practices and ensure that those are presented, including through visuals. The incumbent will also be responsible to disseminate the materials produced through webinars and by including them in dedicated platforms.

The incumbent will report to the Durable Solutions Officer within the Solutions Service in the Division of International Protection and Solutions. Weekly meeting will take place to monitor progress or more frequent discussion will be arranged if needed. The incumbent will also work closely with other members of the Division, in particular colleagues working on community-based protection but also colleagues in other Divisions and Services.

This assignment is task-based and will consist in the following three broad objectives: delivery high-quality analysis through identification/validation and documentation of good, promising and innovative practices; support learning and cross fertilization on repatriation and protection monitoring, and lastly support development of knowledge platforms, already existing on repatriation and protection monitoring.

To achieve the above the following tasks have been identified:

Deliverable 1 – Review and Planning (8 days)

• Desk Review Report

  • Summary of findings from COMPASS data, mid-year and end-year reports, mission reports, and field examples.
  • Identification and preliminary validation of potential good practices in repatriation and protection monitoring.
  • Overview of existing global and regional guidance on repatriation and protection monitoring and identification of areas for possible documentation
  • Identification of overlaps, gaps, and areas for further elaboration.

• Gap Analysis Matrix

  • A matrix highlighting under-documented thematic areas and geographical areas requiring further exploration.

• Practice Documentation Templates

  • Draft or revised templates for capturing field practices, including fields for context, methodology, outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned.
  • User guidance notes for field colleagues on how to complete the templates.

• Inception Workplan with Timeline

  • Detailed workplan outlining methodology, deliverables, milestones, responsibilities, and timeline for the full assignment.
  • Includes stakeholder engagement plan and review process.

Deliverable 2 – Delivery of Case Studies (49 days)

• Nine Finalized Case Studies

  • Background and context
  • Description of the practice
  • Implementation process
  • Results and impact
  • Challenges and mitigation strategies
  • Lessons learned and recommendations
  • Visual materials (photos, infographics, maps, etc.)

Deliverable 3 – Knowledge Sharing and Dissemination (8 days)

• Updated Knowledge Platforms

  • Revised content for the two knowledge platforms on repatriation and protection monitoring.
  • Integration of the nine case studies with appropriate tagging, summaries, and visuals.

• Dissemination Materials

  • Dissemination strategy prepared

• Webinar(s) prepared and delivered

  • Materials prepared
  • Report of webinars

Qualification and Experience Required

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in social sciences, anthropology, sociology, international/community development studies, law or a related field.

Experience:

• 6 years work experience with Bachelor’s degree; 5 years work experience with post graduate degree in desired field of education.
• Preference will be given to candidates with previous work experience with UNHCR and with experience in similar tasks.

Competencies:

• Excellent analytical and drafting skills (write with clarity, high level of analysis, and conciseness)
• Excellent presentations skills
• Demonstrated organizational skills i.e. ability to work independently, in an organized manner.
• Flexible work attitude and capacity to adapt quickly.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• The final product (e.g. survey completed, data collected, workshop conducted, research documents produced specify): 9 documented practices/ case study are properly documented. The case studies have been disseminated through community of practices, webinars and properly presented in the dedicated platforms.

• Delivery periodicity: See above for information on deliverables and timelines.

• If it is to result in a written product specify:

  • Number of pages: +/- 6 pages per practice
  • Language(s): English and French or Spanish if possible
  • Number of copies: -

Location and Conditions

This is a full-time consultancy and the successful candidate will be home-based.

Shortlisted candidates might be required to sit for a written test. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. No late applications will be accepted.

The remuneration level and the applicable entitlements and benefits may differ based on the residence of the most suitable selected candidate.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).

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.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages: English
Desired Languages: French

Education:
Bachelor's: Anthropology (Required), Bachelor's: Development Studies (Required), Bachelor's: Social Science (Required), Bachelor's: Sociology (Required)

Application Instructions

Please note that applications are only accepted via the UNHCR online recruitment platform. CVs and/or application requests sent via email will not be answered, reviewed nor considered.

For external applicants:
We would like to call your attention on the eligibility of International Professional (P) category: According to our Recruitment and Assignments Policy, P staff members will not normally serve in the country of their nationality, and the first regular appointment in the P category must be outside the staff member's country of nationality. In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.

In case of technical difficulties when applying, external applicants (not current UNHCR workforce members) can write to [email protected].

For former UNHCR Colleagues:
Former UNHCR employees who are on mandatory break-in service or have separated from UNHCR after 1 October 2022 should create an account through this platform. Once you fill in your basic personal information (employee ID, birth date, name, email address), Workday will identify you as prior personnel and merge your employee account with your external applicant account.

Diversity

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

About Us

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, takes the lead in protecting people forced to flee wars and persecution around the world, providing life-saving aid including shelter, food and water to ensure their basic safety, rights and dignity. With 18,879 women and men working in 137​ countries, we work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of 89.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

Our dedicated and professional staff work around the clock in roles including legal protection, community services, public affairs, health and more. Despite the challenges they can face, our staff are proud to work for UNHCR and determined to make a positive impact.

Why a career with UNHCR?

Our dedicated staff work to protect and assist people fleeing conflict and persecution at a time when global forced displacement is at a record high. Our colleagues bring a wide range of specialized skills, including expertise in legal protection, administration, community services, public affairs, health and other disciplines.

Disability Inclusion

If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form.

There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.
Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request. 
All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.

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