Senior Protection Assistant/Call Operator – Affiliate

Decades of conflict, recurring natural disasters, and economic decline persistently affect population movement and resilience in Afghanistan. While an improved security situation is expected to reduce conflict-induced displacement, Afghans still grapple with widespread depletion of coping resources. As a result, there is an urgent need to address immediate life-saving needs while also seeking solutions to mitigate forced displacement.

The significant economic downturn, soaring unemployment rates, and persistent inflation in essential commodity prices have led to a surge in the average household’s debt. This, coupled with population growth, internal displacement, and ongoing high rates of cross-border returns, has escalated pressure on livelihood opportunities and essential services. As a result, a complex and multi-faceted crisis has emerged, exacerbating existing community tensions and undermining the protection environment, particularly for displaced populations, women, girls, and vulnerable individuals.

The individuals under UNHCR’s mandate in Afghanistan encompass refugees, asylum seekers, refugee returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), IDP returnees and members of the host community. Approximately 50,000 refugees reside in Khost and Paktika Provinces, as well as urban areas in Kabul and Herat. Moreover, since 2002, UNHCR has facilitated the voluntary return of over 5.3 million Afghan refugees through the Voluntary Repatriation program from Pakistan, Iran, and various other countries.

UNHCR Afghanistan operates a Complaint and Feedback Mechanism (CFM) system to receive inquiries, provide appropriate responses, and refer vulnerable cases for further assistance. At the Country Office level, three Hotline Phones and a Protection mailbox are managed, with additional hotlines available nationwide. The primary objective of UNHCR’s CFM engagement is to improve outreach to affected populations and facilitate two-way communication with UNHCR.

With the recent change in regime and heightened concerns and needs, the volume of queries received by UNHCR Afghanistan’s hotline channels has exponentially increased and remains high as of 2023 (averaging 3000 queries per month). To effectively manage the influx of calls and emails, UNHCR is seeking to recruit a dedicated staff member responsible for handling and managing UNHCR’s communication channels, along with other CFM tools.

The aim of this recruitment is to bolster UNHCR’s communication efforts with populations under its mandate. This entails promptly reviewing and responding to email inquiries, addressing phone queries, and providing necessary counseling and information dissemination via phone. Additionally, the staff member may also contribute to needs assessments, displacement monitoring, post-distribution monitoring, and other requested activities.

All UNHCR staff members are expected to fulfill their duties as outlined in their job descriptions. They are accountable within their delegated authorities, adhering to 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. Furthermore, staff members are required to execute their responsibilities in accordance with UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity, and respect for diversity, while demonstrating core, functional, cross-functional, and managerial competencies.

Based on the operational needs in the field, the staff member should fulfill their duties/ responsibilities as well as serve as a backup to support other team members when needed.

Under the supervision of the Protection Officer, the incumbent will undertake the following responsibilities:

Duties/Responsibilities:

– Respond to queries received through the Hotline Phone
– Review and respond to email queries in a timely manner
– Identify and flag vulnerable cases to the Protection Unit for further interventions
– Enter query data into the Feedback and Response System
– Conduct data analysis to identify and monitor query trends
– Draft weekly Protection Query Tracking Report and other related publications
– Conduct phone surveys and monitoring upon request by the Office
– Liaise with other field offices
– Perform other tasks as directed

Education:
Completion of University degree or higher

Work Experience:
For G5 – 1-year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Key Competencies:
Accountability
• Communication
• Organizational Awareness
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
– Client & Result Orientation

The management of the advertised openings in this announcement is in line with UNHCR Recruitment and Assignment Policy (RAP).

The vacancies are open to eligible internal and external applicants.

• Internal applicants are requested to submit their applications through Workday – Menu – Career. It is important that applicants update their Profiles (languages, education and prior working experience) before submitting their applications.
• External applicants are requested to submit their applications through the UNHCR Careers –  Careers (myworkdayjobs.com). You will need to create an account as “New User” and then click on “My Account Information”. Complete the application and submit it.

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