Deadline for ApplicationsSeptember 14, 2025
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)H (no hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONS International
Target Start Date2025-10-01
Terms of ReferenceThis is a home-based consultancy.
1. General Background of Project or Assignment:
The Division of International Protection (DIP) leads UNHCRโs work on the setting of norms and standards and the fostering of progressive policy change related to forced displacement and statelessness. DIPโs functional responsibilities include setting strategic protection and solutions policy direction, developing organizational guidance and providing relevant operational support to UNHCR Regional Bureaux and operations.
To uphold the international protection and solutions mandate and the supervisory responsibilities of UNHCR, and to ensure global coherence internally, as well as externally, DIP develops and promotes protection policies, related standards, and guidance.
In its 2025 โ 2027 Strategy, the Division of International Protection has committed to ensuring that community capacity and agency contribute to protection outcomes, and that the voices of displaced and stateless people of all ages, genders and diverse characteristics regularly inform UNHCR and UNHCR partnersโ policies and programs. Specifically for 2025, DIP has prioritized Accountability to Affected People and Inclusion which entails putting people at the centre and amplifying progress towards activities in support of community-based protection approaches, to effectively communicate with, gather feedback from and regularly engage communities to inform UNHCRโs programming, and to integrate age, gender and diversity (AGD) considerations in analysis and programs in line with the Age Gender and Diversity Policy, including in the context of the route-based approach.
Concretely, DIP provides technical advice to field staff and has committed to (i) develop and socialize guidance to promote AGD inclusive approaches to programming, data collection and analysis, (ii) lead the drafting of the annual organisation wide AGD accountability report and to facilitate this, (iii) compile promising practices on AGD implementation, through cross-fertilisation of initiatives by Regional Bureaux and operations. Activities under this output may also include a DIP coordination role to review the AGD policy, expiring by end of 2026.
It is envisaged that during the three-year period, the AAP Operational Guidance will be reviewed, revised, and socialized across Regional Bureaux and operations through a series of learning and capacity building events. Other support will focus on sensitizing senior management and local organizations on the importance of investing in communication, feedback and response as a means to advance UNHCRโs accountability towards forcibly displaced and stateless persons, including those engaged in mixed and onward movements, by effectively using analysed data and feedback to inform and adjust programming.
2. 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):
3. Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
Concise and detailed description of activities, including measurable outputs and delivery dates, impact indicators (what qualitative and quantitative results would be achieved upon completion of individual contract), performance indicators (time lines, value of the service rendered in relation to the cost, timeliness) and work plan
To ensure that UNHCR delivers on its commitment to be more accountable to affected people and to further ensure that staff and partners have access to the right tools and guidance to safely implement the AAP Core Actions, including effective feedback and response mechanisms, UNHCRโs 2020 AAP Operational Guidance and the associated Senior Managers Compact Guidance will be reviewed and revised to include existing and emerging themes related to meaningful participation, feedback and response in onward and mixed movements, and the effective use of digital tools to facilitate two-way communication and as a way to enhance ownership and agency of displaced and statelessness individuals in line with the 2022-2026 Digital Transformation Strategy.
The Guidance will incorporate findings from the 2024 AAP Digital Survey, the baseline global assessment conducted during the development of the draft AAP Focus Areas Strategic Plan, as well as UNHCRโs Contact Centre Guidance Paper. It will also consider the IASC AAP Operational Guidance and other AAP Guidance adopted by UN agencies and other international actors.
To facilitate the drafting of the annual organisation-wide AGD Accountability report and to support AAP learning and cross-fertilisation of initiatives by Regional Bureaux and operation, the Consultant will conduct the compilation of promising practices of the AAP four core actions and AGD integration and programming from diverse operational contexts and across a wide geographic region.
As part of the Humanitarian Reset and the call to to avoid duplication, reduce bureaucracy, and improve efficiencies to better respond to crises with limited resources, as well as the ongoing efforts at global level to accelerate joint inter-agency community feedback to improve accountability, the Consultant will facilitate the development of a standardized data exchange protocol which will enable secure, ethical, and efficient information sharing across systems and agencies, ensuring interoperability, while upholding protection principles.
Specific activities will include the following:
โข Adopt the existing UNHCR AAP guidance to humanitarian reset objectives, and based on UNHCRโs decreased resources level in particularly operations.
โข Consult UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and where possible, national and local actors, to document best practices that can inform the revision of the 2020 AAP Operational Guidance and the Compact Guidance for Senior Managers.
โข Review the current AAP Operational Guidance and the Compact Guidance for managers in line with the existing and emerging themes as outlined above and propose a revised Guidance for both by 31st December 2025, documenting relevant AAP strategies, policies and guidance that have been considered in the process and the specific changes that have been made.
โข Engage actively with some country operations and all Regional Bureaus to learn about best practices in relation to AGD approaches to programming and implementation of the four AAP core actions, and undertake a compilation of examples from at least 15 operations across all Regional Bureaus.
โข Review UNHCRโs Feedback and Response Mechanisms (FRM) tools to ensure they are well aligned with the organizationโs terminologies and other ongoing processes including the Protection Case Management guidance and approach.
โข Identify opportunities for donors and funding opportunities for AAP. Prepare submissions, in collaboration with relevant divisions, and concerned Bureaux where applicable for specific funding from donors or provide other information donor may require in determining their financial support to AAP.
โข Any other tasks which will be considered important to enable DIP to meet its 2025 AAP commitments.
4. Required level, qualifications and work experience:
Level of responsibilities required (mark as appropriate) for individual contractors and fellows:
0 Entry Level Support 0 Mid-Level Support 0 Senior Level Support 0 Local Professional Level 0 Junior Level Professional 0 Senior Level Professional
OR
1 The assignment is for an Individual Consultant
Qualification and experience required (degree required, years of work experience, field of expertise, language required):
- Bachelorโs degree or advanced degree (PhD or Masters) in social sciences, anthropology, sociology, international/community development studies, law or a related field.
- 6 yearsโ work experience if with bachelorโs degree; 4 yearsโ work experience if with post graduate degree in desired field of education.
- Preference will be given to candidates with previous work experience in humanitarian field
- Excellent analytical skills: including the capacity to develop analytical frameworks, collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources to produce meaningful analysis.
- Excellent drafting skills: with ability to write with clarity, high level of analysis, and conciseness.
- Experience in presenting analysis of results through visualizations.
- Demonstrated organizational skills: the ability to work independently and productively in a fast-paced environment.
- Flexible work attitude: the ability to work productively, independently, and to handle requests or issues as they arise.
- Communicates sensitively and effectively across different constituencies; and
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
Standard Job Description
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Desired Languages
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Additional Qualifications
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Work Experience
Other informationHome-based consultantThis position doesn't require a functional clearance
RemoteYes