Senior RSD Assistant

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS LICA5

Target Start Date

2025-01-15

Deadline for Applications

January 20, 2025

Terms of Reference

1. General Background
The Arab Republic of Egypt ratified the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol in 1981, as well as the 1969 OAU Convention governing specific problems of refugees in Africa in 1980. In Nov 2024, Egypt introduced its first bill for regular asylum in the country. A comprehensive legal frame for refugee status determination is being developed by the GoE. The functional responsibilities for all aspects related to refugee status determination in Egypt are delegated to UNHCR, under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Government in 1954, which requests the office to support the Government by undertaking the following specific tasks:
(a) To co-operate with the Government authorities in determining refugee status under the mandate of the High Commissioner; (b) To facilitate the voluntary repatriation of refugees; (c) To pursue, in co-operation with the Egyptian Government, the resettlement of refugees in third countries; (d) To provide, within the limits of the funds available to the Office, for the assistance of the most destitute refugees in Egypt; and (e) To co-ordinate the activities of refugee-assisting non-governmental organizations authorized by the Government.
UNOPS in UNHCR Cairo are involved in all aspects of UNHCR Protection, including registration and refugee status determination for asylum seekers. Through their endeavours, UNOPS contribute to the provision of protection for persons of UNHCR’s concern in Egypt.
The Senior RSD Assistant is a member of the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team who works under the direct supervision of the RSD Officer/Associate RSD Officer/Assistant RSD Officer/Senior RSD Associate. The Senior RSD Assistant’s responsibilities mainly consist of conducting RSD interviews and assessments. S/he is responsible for conducting COI and other research related to RSD and maintaining the Operation's local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards. The incumbent also provides counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCR's RSD procedures, their rights and obligations, including towards the host authorities, and the status of the processing of their claims. The Senior RSD Assistant may provide interpretation and/or translation services in cases for which s/he has the required language competencies. S/he will be expected to report daily to the RSD/T Office in 6 October City, Giza Governorate, and will be expected to promote workplace harmony and teamwork. To scale up the response to the Sudan Situation, since July 2023, UNHCR has declared and extended a Level 3 emergency for the refugee and returnee situation within Egypt and other countries. Accordingly the incumbent may be tasked with different activities related to the emergency response and will need to be highly flexible, adaptable and field and client-oriented.
2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
- Conduct refugee status determination interviews (RSD) under any RSD procedure, both remotely and in person, depending on the need of the operation, as per target based on the modalities of processing per week in accordance with established norms and standards, and preparing accurate interview transcripts for each case.
- Consistent with existing jurisprudence and agency policy, prepare reasoned recommendations as per the set target based on modalities of processing per week on whether asylum seekers should be recognized as refugees under UNHCR’s mandate.
- Manage individual cases within reasonable timelines as determined by the RSD Officer.
- Stay abreast of legal, political, security, and other developments that impact the protection environment, and in particular, on protection delivery through RSD.
- Provide counseling to and respond to queries from asylum seekers and refugees, including in the context of the notification of negative RSD decisions.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records and data on all work on individual cases.
- Systematically apply an age, gender and diversity (AGD) perspective in the performance of assigned functions.
- Conduct research on country of origin information (COI) and other issues related to RSD and maintain the Operation's local repository of relevant information, guidelines and standards accessible to RSD staff in the operation.
- Prepare recommendations with regard to legal and social obstacles faced by persons of concern identified during the RSD interview.
- Perform other relevant duties or tasks as assigned by the supervisor.
3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
The incumbent will be requested to provide detailed daily/monthly reports which will be used for his/her performance evaluation and for statistical purposes. He/she will be expected to produce the following per week (including an equivalent combination determined by the supervisor) depending on the needs of the operation:
- Completed RSD interviews for all cases that the incumbent is assigned to interview by his/her supervisor with the number per week to be determined by the RSD Officer based on the need of the operation taking into consideration the processing modality. At a minimum, 6 regular first-instance RSD interviews or 12 simplified first-instance RSD interviews should be completed. Alternatively, 5 appeal RSD interviews should be completed.
- Completed RSD recommendations for all cases assigned by his/her supervisor to adjudicate corresponding to the number of interviews conducted as well as any additional cases assigned with the number per week to be determined by the RSD Officer based on the need of the operation taking into consideration the processing modality. At a minimum, 6 regular first-instance RSD assessments or 12 simplified first-instance RSD assessments should be completed. Alternatively, 5 appeal RSD assessments or 10 appeals on dossier reviews should be completed.
4. Qualifications and Experience
a. Education
High School Diploma; or Bachelor or equivalent or higher     
b. Work Experience
2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher     
c. Key Competencies
Core Competencies:
-Accountability
-Communication
-Organizational Awareness
-Teamwork & Collaboration
-Commitment to Continuous Learning
-Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies:
-N/A
Cross-Functional Competencies:
-Analytical Thinking
-Political Awareness
-Stakeholder ManagementStandard Job DescriptionRequired Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Work Experience

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No