Protection Assistant

February 8, 2026

H (no hardship)

FamilyFamily

GS4

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-04-01

Protection Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Protection Assistant normally reports to a more senior Protection colleague. The incumbent provides functional and administrative support to the protection unit on protection related liaison, correspondence, monitoring, case management and reporting activities.

The Protection Assistant also supports the protection unit in designing a comprehensive protection strategy and in providing quality, timely and effective protection responses to persons of concern (PoC). S/he may liaise externally with local authorities and partners on correspondence and/or protection issues as guided by the supervisor.

The Protection Assistant also facilitates the involvement of PoC in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Observe and respect protection related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
- Provide functional and administrative support in all protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Provide functional and administrative support in implementing participatory approaches, needs assessments, monitoring, reporting and case management.
- Support assessments on durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Facilitate liaison with competent authorities for the issuance of personal and other relevant documents.
- Assist in drafting reports, routine correspondence, updating relevant databases and compiling statistics within the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
- Select PoC for preliminary interviews and decide which relevant information to share.
- Enforce integrity in the delivery of protection services by local implementing partners.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G4 - 1 year relevant experience with High School Diploma; or Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses
Protection
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential: Not specified.
Desirable: Not specified.

Functional Skills
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
IT-Computer Literacy
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

English

,

Spanish

,

Arabic

,

Russian

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational health and safety considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

For the past three years Spain has been among the main three asylum seeker receiving countries in the EU, with around 140,000 applications registered in 2025. Over 50% are from Venezuela and Latin American countries while an increasing group come from African countries like Mali, Somalia and Sudan, arriving irregularly by sea or land, with international protection needs. The Spanish asylum system has been overwhelmed, often not able to respond to reception needs of asylum seekers or facilitate their prompt access to rights, especially for persons with specific needs. Spain also maintains an annual resettlement quota of 1200 refugees and is open to broaden complementary legal pathways. UNHCR carries out a catalyst role to facilitate access to rights of asylum seekers and promote durable solutions for refugees in Spain through their integration, empowerment, enhanced refugee participation and strengthening of refugee-led organizations, with particular focus on refugee women empowerment and protection of children.

The Protection Assistant will report to the Senior Protection Associate, who leads the community-based protection and durable solutions team. He/she will have the following responsibilities:

 

-              Provide relevant information and counselling to forcibly displaced persons and engage with key protection actors for referral to the adequate channels for assistance, including promoting their access to reception, and support, with a particular focus on persons with specific needs. 

-              Identify and promote durable solutions for forcibly displaced such as local integration or voluntary return.

 -              Support activities that foster refugee integration and solutions, including engagement with the private sector, academia and local actors in areas such as employment, resettlement and complementary pathways.

-              Contribute to initiatives that enhance participation, access to information and empowerment of forcibly displaced persons (i.e. HELP portal and the “Know your rights” course). 

-              Support participatory assessment exercises and other refugee outreach and participatory activities, including strengthening the role of refugee-led organizations as protection actors (for example: implementation of small grants and consolidation of the Red-fugiadas network). 

-              Support initiatives which promote the identification, assistance and protection of persons with specific needs, including children at risk, gender-based violence survivors, LGTBIQ+ people at risk and people with disabilities, particularly in the context of the EU Pact implementation. 

-              Contribute to the Office’s advisory role to authorities on reception conditions and access to social protection for persons in need of international protection.

Living and Working Conditions:

 

Additional Qualifications

Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

Certifications

HCR Learning Program - UNHCR, HCR Protection Induction Prog - UNHCR

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Organizational awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Additional Information

Shortlisted candidates might be requested to sit a written test and do an interview. Written test is not eliminatory

This position doesn't require a functional clearance