Associate Protection Officer

Job Posting Organization:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is an international organization established to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and returnees. UNHCR's mission is to safeguard the rights and well-being of these vulnerable populations and to seek durable solutions to their displacement. The organization operates globally, with a presence in numerous countries, including Mozambique, where it has a Country Office in Maputo, a Sub-Office in Pemba, and Field Offices in Nampula, Mueda, and Mocímboa da Praia. UNHCR's work in Mozambique is particularly focused on addressing the acute and complex protection needs arising from ongoing conflict and climate-related displacement, which has resulted in significant numbers of IDPs and returnees. The organization is committed to ensuring that its protection mandate is effectively implemented in challenging environments, such as Northern Mozambique, where it faces dynamic operational challenges and high levels of vulnerability among affected populations.

Job Overview:
The Associate Protection Officer (P-2) position is based in Pemba, Mozambique, and is crucial for providing protection leadership and technical support across the Cabo Delgado and Nampula Provinces. These regions are significantly affected by displacement due to ongoing insecurity and conflict, leading to complex protection needs among IDPs, returnees, and vulnerable host communities. The Associate Protection Officer will work under the supervision of the Senior Protection coordination-officer" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">Cluster Coordination Officer and will be responsible for ensuring that protection responses are strategic, coherent, and aligned with international standards and national frameworks. This role involves direct engagement with government authorities and various partners to deliver protection, legal, psychosocial, and community-based services. The position requires a strong operational, analytical, and coordination profile to effectively monitor and analyze protection activities, support emergency responses, and engage with stakeholders to enhance protection outcomes for affected populations.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Associate Protection Officer will have a comprehensive set of duties and responsibilities, including: Monitoring the implementation of protection activities by UNHCR partners and government counterparts through regular field missions; assessing the quality and effectiveness of protection interventions; reviewing partner reports and providing technical feedback; ensuring accountability to affected populations; supporting the implementation of protection monitoring systems; analyzing protection risks and trends; drafting protection monitoring reports and analytical briefs; supporting emergency response activities; engaging with government counterparts to coordinate protection activities; implementing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) activities; contributing to community-based protection approaches; providing technical support to partners; organizing training and capacity-building initiatives; and ensuring the integration of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) risk mitigation measures across all protection activities.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience in protection within an international humanitarian or development context, including at least 2 years of field-based experience. Essential qualifications include experience in the implementation and monitoring of protection programs, protection monitoring, data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as knowledge of protection principles such as Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD), Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). Candidates should also demonstrate the ability to engage with government counterparts and humanitarian partners, contribute to analytical outputs, and have familiarity with UNHCR and inter-cluster protection frameworks.

Educational Background:
The educational background required for this position includes an undergraduate degree in fields such as human rights, social anthropology, social work, law, international development, social sciences, or other relevant areas. A graduate degree or doctorate in these fields may substitute for some of the required experience, with 2 years of relevant experience for a graduate degree and 1 year for a doctorate.

Experience:
The position requires relevant job experience, with a minimum of 3 years for candidates with an undergraduate degree, 2 years for those with a graduate degree, and 1 year for those with a doctorate. Candidates should have substantial field-based experience in protection, particularly in humanitarian or development contexts, and should be familiar with the complexities of displacement and protection issues.

Languages:
Knowledge of English and/or the UN working language of the duty station is mandatory, in addition to English. Proficiency in Portuguese is essential for this position, given the location in Mozambique and the need to engage with local authorities and communities.

Additional Notes:
This position is classified as an Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) at the IICA-1 level, with a contract duration from May 1, 2026, to December 31, 202

• The role is not remote and requires the incumbent to be based in Pemba, Mozambique. The position is full-time and involves significant field engagement and interaction with various stakeholders, including government entities and humanitarian partners. The successful candidate will receive ongoing support and performance evaluations from their supervisor and heads of units.