Mission and objectivesOur primary purpose at UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. We also strive to secure lasting solutions. For over half a century, UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include refugees, returnees, stateless people, the internally displaced and asylum-seekers. Our protection, shelter, health and education has been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.
ContextThe office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes. We had three years to complete our work and then disband. Today, over 70 years later, our organization is still hard at work, protecting and assisting refugees around the world. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has precipitated one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises in recent history. Over 6.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine, seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Moldova, and Romania, with many moving onward shortly after arrival. Following the declaration of a Level 3 emergency for Ukraine and its neighboring countries during 2022, the Regional Bureau for Europe and respective country operations have significantly scaled up their capacities to deliver protection, urgent assistance, and coordination in response to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. UNHCRโs Multi-Year Strategy 2024 โ 2026 will mainly focus on providing assistance and protection services to the most vulnerable forcibly displaced populations while seeking for medium and long-term solutions for the inclusion of refugees in the country, in support of the Government of Romaniaโs primary response. As of 1 May 2025, 184,499 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded in Romania. The Government of Romania and UNHCR have been actively responding since the onset of the emergency, both at the borders and in areas where refugees are settling. Close collaboration and policy coordination with the government are maintained at national and local levels. Through the Inter-Agency Refugee Coordination Model and the Refugee Response Plan, UNHCR, in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs, supports the government's refugee response, ensuring full harmonization and complementarity both at central and local level. UNHCR Romania has its Country Office in Bucharest, together with a Field Office in Timisoara (where the Emergency Transit Center is established).
Task DescriptionWithin the delegated authority and under the direct supervision of the Community-Based Protection Officer in Bucharest, the UNV Refugee Community Mobilization Assistant will: ยท Promote and support community mobilization and engagement by taking the lead in activating and coordinating the establishment, follow-up and support to refugee community structures, namely, groups, associations and Refugee-led Organizations, and organize and coordinate social, cultural and recreational initiatives in the RomExpo Community Centre in Bucharest and other similar community structures, striving to promote engagement of minorities and persons with specific needs and diverse backgrounds; ยท Support identification of community structures and representatives, including mapping out locations and scope of action of community representatives across Romania, and support them with the facilitation of meetings and the formulation of community-owned activities and initiatives to address their social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organizational and livelihood concerns, as well as child protection and prevention and response to GBV; ยท Promote regular and stable online and face-to-face communication mechanisms with refugees and asylum seekers of different ages, gender and backgrounds in order to promote their active engagement in community activities, initiatives and events; ยท Assist UNHCR in disseminating information and raise awareness among refugees and asylum-seekers on available services and their providers, and on the rights and duties of refugees and asylum-seekers in Romania, and any other topic deemed appropriate both online (i.e. Telegram) and in-person; ยท Contribute to informing, consulting and engaging with refugees and asylum-seekers on a regular basis through face-to-face and remote feedback channels, including supporting participatory processes and consultations; ยท Support monitoring exercises in field locations, including by collecting feedback and protection interviews with the persons with and for whom UNHCR works; ยท Coordinate and support the monitoring of the local level news and trends on social media to identify protection risks faced by refugees, rumors or misinformation to be clarified, as well as entry-points through which UNHCR can add value to the conversations and contribute to the information that refugees have about their rights, services, and opportunities. ยท Support the establishment of an effective two-way communication mechanism at the national and local level between UNHCR and Ukrainian refugees by using the hotline and social media channels to share useful information with the refugee communities and ensure that proper feedback is provided to the persons with and for whom UNHCR works. Refer refugees with protection or assistance needs in a timely manner to relevant services. In coordination with the supervisor, assist in conducting monitoring visits to Community Based Organizations/refugee-led organisations and NGOs/ initiatives and other partners to oversee programme implementation and provide inputs for further planning; ยท Contribute to the planning, monitoring and evaluation of any further community outreach activities. ยท Contribute to age, gender and diversity mainstreaming in all of UNHCR Romaniaโs activities; ยท Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: ยท 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 International Volunteer Day); ยท Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; ยท Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. ยท Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; ยท Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; ยท Promote and utilize the UNV Online Volunteering service providing themselves and their organizations with flexible, free of charge, Online Volunteer capacity to support their efforts. Information and promotional material can be found in the onsite kit. Results/expected outputs: ยท As an active UNHCR team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNHCR and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: ยท An effective organization and implementation of a community engagement plan, with a focus on RomExpo Community Centre, is put into motion through the regular conduction of activities, initiatives and events; ยท A network of groups and resource persons in the refugee community is developed and maintained, both digitally and in person, where the volunteer acts as a liaison between these groups and persons and UNHCR. ยท Awareness is increased among refugees around their rights and opportunities in Romania and the services they may access. ยท The quality of UNHCRโs information to Ukrainian refugees about available services improves. ยท A timely follow up on and tracking of all feedback received from the persons with and for whom UNHCR works is ensured. ยท Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment ยท A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed
Competencies and valuesCompetencies and values: ยท Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNHCR procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; ยท Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNHCR in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organizationโs interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; ยท Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age;commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; ยท Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. ยท Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; ยท Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; ยท Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; ยท Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNHCRโs mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.
Living conditions and remarksRomania is located in a temperate climate zone having 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). Winters are becoming milder with average temperatures around -2 centigrade on average during the daytime. Summers are hot, occasionally reaching around 35 centigrade, especially in July and August. Bucharest is a safe metropolitan city, however as in any other city caution and good judgement shall be exercised. Accommodation is relatively easy to find although more challenging in the last few months; short-, mid- and long-term. The city offers a wide range of hotels, Airbnb, long term rents, etc in areas not immediately neighbouring UNHCR Office. Accommodation can be fixed using the services of property agencies but online solutions are also numerous. As this is a Refugee UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of 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 the duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance 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. In an effort to ensure consistency and fair treatment of UN Volunteers in the country in terms of benefits, candidates will be required to self-declare the humanitarian assistance they are in receipt of, which, upon selection will then be assessed, and adjusted as needed. UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances: The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteerโs service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment, and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos). For information specific to your assignment please see below: Monthly Living Allowance (Per month) RON 7003.91 Entry lump sum (one-time payment) USD 400 Travel Ticket when moving to duty station USD 200 Exit allowance (for each month served, paid on completion of contract) RON 500 Medical and life insurance Cigna Private Insurance Leave entitlements: Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month Certified sick leave: 30 days annually Uncertified sick leave: 7 days annually Learning leave: 10 working days per consecutive 12 months Maternity Leave: 16 weeks Paternity Leave: 10 days