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UNHCR is recruiting for an Associate Policy Officer based in Geneva, Switzerland

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Closing Date: 3 December 2024

UNHCR is recruiting for an Associate Policy Officer based in Geneva, Switzerland

Overview

Title: Associate Policy Officer (Global Compact on Refugees)
Project: Meaningful Refugee Participation mainstreaming and HLOM Preparations

Background

UNHCR, like other UN agencies made the commitment at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 to “Empower national and local humanitarian action” and thus, to work towards greater localization. Engaging with community-based organizations (CBOs) is also rooted in UNHCR’s community-based protection approach and the age, gender and diversity policy through which UNHCR commits to putting displaced and stateless persons at the center of all decisions that affect their lives ensuring our accountability to affected people.

Moreover, the New York Declaration and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) both refer to the importance of engaging directly with forcibly displaced persons themselves. The Compact, affirmed in December 2018, set out a framework for ensuring more predictable and sustainable burden and responsibility sharing arrangements in the context of large-scale movements of refugees. Key amongst these arrangements is the GRF, which is convened every four years with States and other Stakeholders, and every two years in between for a, the HLOM to take stock of progress and maintain momentum in the implementation of the GCR.

UNHCR’s GCR Coordination Team was created to align internal efforts and support States and relevant stakeholders to implement the Global Compact on Refugees. Under the Executive Office of the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, the GCR Coordination Team promotes multi-stakeholder and partnership approaches, in particular to ensure meaningful refugee participation in global policymaking.

This assignment is part of UNHCR’s efforts to strengthen UNHCR’s engagement and partnership with persons under its mandate, by providing support to the GCR Coordination Team in promoting meaningful engagement of forcibly displaced and stateless persons, and the organisations they lead, in GCR implementation, as well as bringing their expertise to the follow up of the GRF 2023 and planning and development of the HLOM 2025 – all of which require engagement and consultations within UNHCR and with Member States and external partners including refugees themselves.

Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:

Under the overall supervision of the GCR Coordination Team Senior Policy Officer (Policy and Events), and in close coordination with the Division of External Relations and Division of International Protection (DIP), the Associate Policy Officer will undertake the following tasks:

Support the meaningful participation of forcibly displaced and stateless persons and the organizations they lead in follow-up processes to the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) 2023 and the Roadmap to the High Level Officials Meeting 2025 (HLOM). This includes facilitating strengthened engagement of organizations led by displaced and stateless persons as well as refugee experts in GCR multi-stakeholder pledges and pledge implementation processes, stocktaking, as well as in events at global, regional, and national levels, and multi-stakeholder engagement, including roundtables. This will entail working closely with and providing guidance and support to internal and external pledge leads and relevant focal points in Divisions and Bureaux
Represent the GCR Coordination Team in the UNHCR Task Team on Engagement and Partnership with Organizations led by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons, and support its deliverables particularly those that are directly linked to GCR processes (GRF, HLOM, pledges, etc.) including engaging as relevant with the Advisory Board to the UNHCR Task Team. Jointly liaise with relevant stakeholders on the multi-stakeholder pledge on Refugee Participation and the Coalition on Meaningful Refugee Participation;

Ensure that MRP efforts are mainstreamed in relevant multilateral policy processes (participants in events, key messaging, etc.) and in the GCR indicator report process;
Regularly update the mapping of refugee advisory mechanisms to UNHCR as well as refugee advisory mechanisms at the national level to build on existing engagement mechanisms, where possible;
Regularly review new pledges submitted on Salesforce and tag those relevant to meaningful participation in the Dashboard as well as update the Power BI meaningful participation pledge analysis accordingly;

Manage preparations for the High Level Officials Meeting 2025 as regards MRP, including:
o Regularly collaborate with other stakeholders in-house (e.g., the Task Team) and externally (e.g. the Advisory Board) on meaningful participation plans for the HLOM 2025;
o Manage the selection process for in-person participants with lived experience of forced displacement and statelessness, ensuring an Age, Gender and Diversity approach;
o Closely liaise with relevant Headquarters entities and the Swiss Permanent Mission to ensure aligned invitation, visa, registration, and other logistical processes for individual and organization-affiliated HLOM participants, and regularly update participant trackers with key information on status of logistical preparations;
o Collaborate with the Advisory Board on ensuring MRP in the HLOM 2025, including through members’ participation in the GCR quarterly briefings (logistical support as well as drafting and coaching support, if requested), HLOM programme consultations, HLOM refugee participant selection modalities, MRP in side events, and drafting process of the Joint Refugee Statement. In this regard, regularly attend Advisory Board meetings to ensure members are up to date on meaningful participation efforts in GCR processes; o Support efforts to secure additional funding to support MRP in the HLOM 2025 preparations and event, working with DRRM and others;
o Coordinate and monitor forcibly displaced and stateless HLOM 2025 participants outside of the UNHCR-selected/invited group to maintain an overview and provide support, where necessary and manage volunteers, providing ad hoc support to participants as needed;
o Develop and maintain communication tools to update on meaningful participation efforts in the lead-up to the HLOM (e.g., monthly updates, input to the Snapshot, etc.) and support the Communication Pillar in drafting articles or establishing contacts to refugee leaders for communication activities;
o Organize a preparatory online training series for forcibly displaced and stateless HLOM 2025 participants and the organizations they lead, with live interpretation in EN, FR, ES, and AR, and an in-person orientation session in Geneva prior to the HLOM, including a meeting with Senior Management;
o Advocate for and map the participation of refugee advisors/representatives in national government and other stakeholder delegations and provide guidance on how to ensure their engagement is meaningful;
o Ensure the availability of a physical Safe Space for displaced and stateless persons at the HLOM event venue with psychosocial support and protection staff as well as translators;