Job Description

Deadline for Applications

April 7, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Non Family with Residential Location

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS IICA2

Target Start Date

2026-05-01

Terms of Reference

TERMS OF REFERENCE
(Individual Contractor Agreement)

Functional Title: Protection Officer
Project: 0000001443
Duty station: Pemba, Mozambique
Section/Unit: Protection
ICA Level: IICA - II
ICA Type: Regular
Corresponding level: P3
Duration: from 01/05/2026 to 31/12/2026
Supervisor: Senior Protection Cluster Coordination Officer, Eduardo Burmeister

1. General Background

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees, and to seek durable solutions to their displacement. In Mozambique, UNHCR operates through a Country Office in Maputo, a Sub-Office in Pemba, a Field Office in Nampula, and Field Units in Mueda and Mocímboa da Praia, where large-scale conflict- and climate-related displacement continues to generate acute and complex protection needs.

The Protection Officer (P-3), based in Pemba, provides protection leadership and technical support across Cabo Delgado and Nampula Provinces, which together constitute the core displacement-affected region of Northern Mozambique. These provinces host large numbers of IDPs, returnees and vulnerable host communities affected by ongoing insecurity, secondary displacement, family separation, gender-based violence, loss of civil documentation, housing, land and property disputes, and limited access to essential services and justice mechanisms. The position plays a critical role in ensuring that UNHCR’s protection mandate is effectively implemented across this highly dynamic and operationally challenging environment.

The Protection Officer reports to the Senior Protection Cluster Coordination Officer and works within the framework of UNHCR. The incumbent provides technical leadership and coordination support to ensure that protection responses across Cabo Delgado and Nampula Provinces are strategic, coherent and aligned with international standards and national frameworks. The role includes direct engagement with Government authorities at provincial and district level, including social action, civil registry, justice and disaster management entities, as well as with national and international partners delivering protection, legal, psychosocial and community-based services.

Within this context, the Protection Officer contributes to the design, implementation and monitoring of comprehensive protection strategies covering IDPs, returnees and host communities, ensuring the integration of age, gender and diversity (AGD), community-based protection, GBV, PSEA/AAP, civil documentation, and durable solutions considerations. The incumbent supports quality case management, referral systems and protection monitoring, while also providing policy, legal and operational advice to senior management and partners.

To carry out these functions effectively, the Protection Officer maintains close working relationships with UNHCR programme, information management, external relations, livelihoods and field teams, as well as with Protection Cluster partners and local communities. Through these interfaces, the position ensures that protection risks are identified, analysed and addressed in a timely manner, and that the voices of displaced and affected populations in Cabo Delgado meaningfully inform humanitarian decision-making, response prioritization and longer-term recovery and solutions planning.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
(Concise and detailed description of activities, tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken, including expected travel, if applicable)

The Protection Officer (P-3), based in Pemba, will support UNHCR’s protection mandate across Cabo Delgado and Nampula Provinces, ensuring that internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and affected host communities have access to rights, services and solutions in a complex, fluid and high-risk operational environment.

1. Protection Strategy and Operational Leadership
• Contribute to the development, implementation and regular review of area-based protection strategies for Cabo Delgado and Nampula, ensuring alignment with UNHCR protection policies, AGD principles and national frameworks on displacement and durable solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to UNHCR protection teams and partners on international protection standards, community-based protection, PSEA, accountability, inclusion and solutions-oriented approaches.
• Support UNHCR senior management with operational protection analysis and recommendations to inform prioritization, engagement with authorities and response planning.
2. Partner Monitoring and Quality Assurance of Protection Interventions
• Monitor and support the implementation of protection activities by UNHCR implementing and operational partners across Cabo Delgado and Nampula, ensuring that interventions are delivered in line with UNHCR protection policies, international standards and agreed project frameworks.
• Conduct regular field-based partner monitoring visits to displacement sites, return areas and host communities to verify coverage, quality, timeliness and adherence to protection principles, including do-no-harm, confidentiality, survivor-centred approaches and inclusion of persons with specific needs.
• Review and validate partner workplans, activity reports and protection outputs (e.g. case management, MHPSS, legal assistance, community-based protection, civil documentation, PSEA/AAP), identifying gaps, risks, duplication or quality concerns.
• Provide technical guidance and corrective support to partners to address weaknesses in service delivery, referral systems, data management, case handling or community engagement, including through on-the-job mentoring and targeted capacity building.
• Support UNHCR programme and supply units in ensuring that partner-implemented protection activities are aligned with approved budgets, timelines and geographic priorities, and that resources are used in a protection-sensitive and accountable manner.
• Flag and follow up on protection risks, implementation bottlenecks, access constraints or compliance issues affecting partners, and propose mitigation measures to UNHCR senior management.
3. Emergency Response, Rapid Displacement and Surge Support
• Support UNHCR’s operational leadership during sudden-onset displacement, returns, flooding, insecurity or access disruptions, ensuring that protection considerations are integrated from the first days of an emergency.
• Deploy to newly affected or hard-to-reach areas to support rapid protection assessments, establish protection presence and advise on immediate response priorities for IDPs, returnees and host communities.
• Coordinate with UNHCR field teams, Government counterparts and partners to activate and implement emergency protection interventions, including emergency protection desks, identification and referral of vulnerable individuals, PSEA messaging, civil documentation support and emergency legal or psychosocial assistance.
• Support the scaling-up, adaptation or redirection of partner activities in response to evolving displacement patterns, security conditions or population movements.
• Provide real-time operational advice to UNHCR senior management on protection risks, access constraints, population movements and response options during emergencies.
• Support post-emergency reviews and adjustments, ensuring that lessons learned inform preparedness, contingency planning and partner readiness for future shocks.

4. Government and Partner Engagement
• Maintain regular engagement with provincial and district authorities (Social Action, Civil Registry, Justice, Disaster Management, District Administrations) to strengthen protection responses, civil documentation, referrals and access to rights.
• Provide technical support and capacity building to national NGOs, community-based organizations and implementing partners on protection standards, case management, protection monitoring and accountability to affected populations.
• Support coordination with development and recovery actors to strengthen pathways toward durable solutions, particularly in areas experiencing returns or local integration.

5. Programme and Operational Support
• Support project management, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of protection programmes, ensuring alignment with operational priorities, timelines, budgets, and quality standards, and effective coordination with partners and government counterparts.
• Work closely with UNHCR programme teams to ensure that protection priorities inform targeting, design and monitoring of assistance and solutions-oriented interventions.
• Provide protection inputs to project proposals, partner agreements, monitoring missions and reporting, ensuring compliance with UNHCR protection policies and principles.

6. Field Presence and Travel
• Conduct regular field missions across Cabo Delgado and Nampula, including displacement sites, return areas and host communities (e.g. Pemba, Metuge, Mueda, Mocímboa da Praia, Macomia, Chiure, Memba, Erati, Nampula and surrounding districts), subject to security and access conditions.
• Provide on-site protection support during emergencies, new displacement, returns and rapid response operations.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
(Clear description of measurable outputs, milestones, key performance indicators and/or reporting requirements which will enable performance monitoring)

The performance will be evaluated by the supervisor against the required tasks as specified in the TOR.

4. Qualifications and Experience
(List the required education, work experience, expertise and competencies of the individual contractor. The listed education and experience should correspond with the level at which the contract is offered.)

a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)

For P3/NOC - 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Law; International Law; International Refugee Law;
International Human Rights Law; International Humanitarian Law;
Refugee and Forced Migration Studies; Political Sciences or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Protection Learning Programme

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience

Essential
• Minimum 4 years of relevant professional experience in protection, including refugee protection, internal displacement, human rights, or humanitarian response, with substantial field-based experience in complex or emergency settings.
• Demonstrated experience in the implementation, monitoring, and quality assurance of protection programmes, including direct engagement with partners and government counterparts at field level.
• Experience supporting emergency response operations, including participation in rapid protection assessments, field deployments, and adaptation of interventions in fluid and high-risk environments.
• Strong experience engaging with government authorities (provincial and district level) and humanitarian actors to support coordination, access, and implementation of protection activities.
• Demonstrated knowledge and application of core protection principles, including Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), within humanitarian programming.
• Experience in community-based protection approaches, including engagement with affected populations and identification of persons with specific needs.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical guidance to partners and contribute to capacity building on protection-related topics, including monitoring, referrals, and accountability systems.
• Experience in supporting cluster coordination and coordination mechanisms, including with the Protection Cluster and/or sectoral coordination platforms.
• Knowledge of GBV prevention, risk mitigation, and response, including application of survivor-centred principles and safe and ethical referral practices.
• Strong analytical and drafting skills, with the ability to produce high-quality reports, protection analyses, and operational updates.

Desirable
• Strong understanding of safe and ethical data collection and management, particularly in relation to sensitive protection issues.
• Experience in capacity building and mentoring of national NGOs, community-based organizations, and government counterparts.
• Knowledge of participatory approaches and community engagement methodologies in humanitarian settings.
• Good understanding of displacement dynamics and cross-cutting protection issues, including civil documentation, housing, land and property (HLP), GBV, child protection, disability inclusion, and access to services.
• Previous experience in emergency or conflict-affected contexts, particularly in remote or hard-to-access operational environments.
Familiarity with UNHCR protection frameworks, tools, and guidance, as well as relevant inter-agency standards.

Functional Skills

*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*LE-International Refugee Law
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
PR-Comprehensive Solutions Framework
PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
PR-International Humanitarian Law
LE-Judicial engagement
PR-Protection and mixed-movements
PR-Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Operations & IDPs Status/Rights/Obligation
PR-Climate change and disaster-related displacement
PR-Community-based Protection
PR-Accountability to affected people Principles and Framework

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

b. Key Competencies

Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies
Managing Performance
Judgement and Decision Making
Empowering and Building Trust

Cross-Functional Competencies
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Planning and Organizing
Political Awareness

Language Requirements:
Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station in addition to English.
Knowledge of Portuguese is Essential.

Project Authority (Eduardo Burmeister – Senior Protection Cluster Coordinator Officer):
Contract holder (Name/Title):

Signature Date Signature Date