Organizational Context/Project:        

The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

In Sudan, UNHCR is providing assistance and protection to refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR is working in close collaboration with the Sudanese authorities, particularly the Sudanese Commissioner for Refugees (COR), which is UNHCR’s main governmental counterpart. COR is also the main partner in the joint registration process and the incumbent will be working in close collaboration with COR staff as well as with the UNHCR Registration  and Community Services staff. 

Under the direct supervision of Protection Officer, the national UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Receive refugees and asylum seekers (Persons of Concern, PoC) in the reception windows during the reception hours every day from 09:00 to 13:30;
• Facilitate their access to UNHCR reception services and respond to all queries brought by them; provide them with information about asylum processes in Sudan, services available through UNHCR and its partners, as well as the status of their case (using ProGres);
• Identify and process urgent and vulnerable cases as outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and refer them for further counselling with Protection and Community Services staff;
• Setting up and managing appointments for refugees and asylum seekers for protection and community services counselling, as well as Mandate RSD (Refugee Status Determination), including managing the individual and group protection counselling scheduling sheets, and admitting applicants with appointments to the waiting area;
• Update ProGres with the necessary information reported by applicants approaching the reception;
• Providing support in the management of physical case files and the drafting of individual documentation letters, if necessary;
• Provide reports on the Refugee Reception Area and identify the prevailing trends, as required;
• Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR policy, standards and codes of conduct;
• Perform other duties related to the assignment, as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark IVD);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

  Results/Expected Output:

• Refugees and asylum seekers in the Refugee Reception Areas supported, in line with the SOPs on Individual Case Management;
• All PoC coming forward for registration/verification had access to UNHCR, have been assisted and dealt with in a timely manner in line with the SOPs;
• Issuance of individual documentation letters to POCs facilitaded, if necessary;
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed;
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Completion of secondary school and minimum 2 years of relevant professional job experience, preferably in the area of refugee protection, human rights, social work and/or international humanitarian law;
• Demonstrated professional experience and expertise in counseling refugees or other persons in difficult life situations is required;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) awareness and demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a multi-cultural environment;
• Good computer skills;
• The ability to work effectively under stress and in crisis situations;
• Fluency in English in addition to Arabic mother toungue;
• Candidates with a working level of Tigrinya, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, Liguala or French will be given priority.

Living Conditions:

Khartoum is classified as a family duty station, with a good level of services, accommodation and facilities. MORSS compliance is required. The cost of living may be high, depending on the standards, particularly for food and accommodation.

 Conditions of Service for national UN Volunteers

A 6 months contract; with subsequent contract extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) of 942 USD is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from quaified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and 

culture.