Deadline for Applications
January 5, 2026
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
H (no hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate Type
UNOPS IICA2
2026-02-16
Title: Protection Research and Information Management Officer (Refworld and RiMAP Websites)
Duty station: Home-based
Section/Unit: Division of International Protection and Solutions, Policy and Law Service, Protection Policy and Legal Advice Section, Legal Unit
ICA Level: IICA-2
Corresponding level: P3
Duration: from 16/02/2026 to 31/12/2026
1. General Background
The Policy and Law Service within UNHCR’s Headquarters’ Division of International Protection and Solutions is responsible for advising on laws and policies concerning international protection and solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless populations and for supporting the implementation of these laws and policies. The Service comprises several sections, including the Protection Policy and Legal Advice (PPLA) Section and the Asylum Systems and Determination (ASD) Section. The PPLA Section is responsible for developing, issuing and supporting the implementation of UNHCR’s legal interpretive guidance on a wide range of international law issues pertaining to the protection of and solutions for refugees pursuant to UNHCR’s mandate and supervisory role for international refugee conventions, as well as other branches of law. The Section has a particular focus on law reform at international and national level, legislative and judicial engagement, and engaging with human rights mechanisms at international (particularly UN) and national level. The ASD Section is responsible for providing legal, operational and procedural advice and support to Regional Bureaux, Country Operations and external stakeholders on different aspects related to refugee status determination (RSD), asylum systems capacity development and on country-of-origin information and country guidance.
The position is based in the PPLA Section and reports to the P4 Senior Refugee Law Advisor, Head of the Legal Unit, working closely with the Country Guidance Adviser in the ASD Section. The contractor will be integrated into and supported by PPLA’s legal unit and work closely with and support the work of the ASD Section.
2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
Purpose
The position leads the development and expansion of the Rights Mapping and Analysis Platform (RiMAP)—UNHCR’s global law and policy platform—and of Refworld, UNHCR’s Global Law and Policy Database, and the further integration of the two platforms. By coordinating content development, technical development, and partnerships, the role ensures these platforms complement each other to advance UNHCR’s supervisory function, facilitate legal analysis, and strengthen protection for refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons.
Key Responsibilities
1. Development and Integration
- Coordinate RiMAP and Refworld as complementary tools, ensuring interoperability with other UNHCR platforms (e.g., unhcr.org, Orion).
- Oversee technical development, usability, and search functionalities for both platforms in collaboration with the Information Technology Service (ITS), the Global Data Service (GDS), the Division of External Relations (DER), the Innovations Service, and – externally – the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC).
- Oversee the expanded external release of RiMAP.
- Pursue AI-driven solutions to enhance user experience, including:
>RiMAP Virtual Legal Assistant (VLA).
>Refworld search and navigation improvements.
- Identify and manage outsourced development tasks for both platforms.
2. Content Management and Expansion
- RiMAP:
>Lead content development for RiMAP across its rights categories (including asylum, documentation, education, family life, freedom of movement, health, housing/land/property, liberty/security, nationality/public affairs, social protection, work rights) for multiple countries across all regions.
>Ensure integration of:
IDP legal analytical framework (with IDP Section).
Statelessness legal analytical framework (with Statelessness Section).
- Refworld:
>Maintain and expand the Refworld collections (legal instruments, case law, policy & guidance, and research & reports), including RiMAP-related material;
>Ensure the Protection Manual is kept up-to-date;
>Ensure the Thematic Areas are updated and, where relevant, expanded;
>Manage multilingual content in Refworld (English, Russian, Spanish) with respective teams.
- Collaborate with other DIPS Sections, UNHCR’s Sustainable Response Service (SRS), regional bureaus, country operations, and external partners (academic institutions, pro bono law firms).
3. Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement
- Maintain strong collaboration with:
>Internal stakeholders: DIPS, SRS, DER, Innovation Service, GDS, ITS, regional bureaus and country operations.
>External partners: Academic partners (including currently University of Essex, Cape Town University, Universidad del Pacifico, and others), PROSPECTS Partners (ILO, UNICEF, IFC) and pro bono law firms (including DLA Piper) and others as relevant.
- Foster partnerships to expand RiMAP and Refworld content globally and strengthen UNHCR’s legal and policy impact.
4. Communication and Resource Mobilization
- Develop and implement communication strategies to promote RiMAP and Refworld internally within UNHCR and externally to stakeholders, partners, and users, including through the Refworld LinkedIn page and Refworld Newsletters.
- Prepare advocacy and promotional materials, presentations, and reports to highlight the platforms’ value and impact.
- Engage donors and partners to secure sufficient funding for the maintenance, development, and innovation of RiMAP and Refworld.
- Coordinate with UNHCR’s fundraising and donor relations teams to integrate RiMAP and Refworld into broader resource mobilization efforts.
Strategic Impact
- Advance UNHCR’s supervisory role and reinforce the impact of law and policy work for refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons.
- Facilitate national, regional, and cross-regional legal analysis and protection and solutions programming through integrated platforms.
- Support informed, high-quality decision-making on international protection claims.
3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
The below outputs and milestones are all subject to securing the necessary funding.
Measurable Outputs
1. RiMAP Development
- External release of RiMAP with content for a critical number of countries across 11 rights categories for refugees and asylum-seekers by end Q1 2026.
- Integration of IDP and Statelessness legal frameworks into RiMAP by Q3 2026.
- Launch of Virtual Legal Assistant (VLA) prototype by Q4 2026.
- Longterm management plan for RiMAP, ensuring regular updates, quality control and content development.
2. Refworld Development
- Implementation of enhanced search functionalities and usability improvements by Q2 2026.
- Integration of RiMAP-related content into Refworld by Q3 2026.
- Multilingual content updates (Russian and Spanish) completed quarterly.
3. Communication and Fundraising
- Delivery of a promotional campaign per year.
- Secure minimum funding targets (to be defined with donor relations team) for maintenance and innovation of RiMAP and Refworld by end of the year.
4. Partnership Engagement
- Formalize collaboration agreements with academic institutions or other relevant entities.
- Conduct annual stakeholder meetings to review progress and gather feedback.
Milestones
Q1 2026: Finalize RiMAP content for 40–50 countries; complete technical readiness for external release.
Q2 2026: Launch improved Refworld search functionalities; first fundraising report delivered.
Q3 2026: Integrate IDP and Statelessness frameworks; RiMAP–Refworld interoperability tested.
Q4 2026: Release VLA prototype; publish annual performance and impact report.
4. Qualifications and Experience
a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)
Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree (Masters or Doctorate/PhD) in law or related area of study.
b. Work Experience
- 6 Years work experience if with Bachelor’s degree, 5 years with Masters degree, or 4 years doctorate/PhD degree, in the field of law and policy analysis.
- Excellent analytical skills: including the capacity to develop analytical frameworks, collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources to produce meaningful analysis for external reporting.
- Exposure to digital platforms and information management systems, including AI applications, and familiarity with data structuring and usability design.
- Demonstrated organizational and coordination skills: the ability to work independently and productively in a fast-paced environment with multiple and diverse internal and external stakeholders.
- Engagement with IT teams and software developers.
- Experience in partnership building and collaborative projects.
- Experience in fundraising, donor management and preparing advocacy materials.
c. Key Competencies
- Understanding of international refugee and human rights law, and related frameworks.
- Ability to synthesize complex legal information into accessible formats.
- Strong planning, organizational, and coordination skills.
- Ability to manage multi-phase projects with strict deadlines.
- Being digital literate.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences.
- Ability to develop promotional strategies and donor proposals.
- Strong interpersonal skills to maintain effective relationships with internal teams and external partners.
- Capacity to negotiate and influence stakeholders.
- Fluency in English. Proficiency in Spanish and/or French would be an asset.
- Flexible work attitude: the ability to work productively, independently, and to handle requests or issues as they arise, particularly from a distance.
- Ability to communicate sensitively and effectively across different constituencies.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
Location and Conditions
This is a full-time assignment and the successful candidate will be homebased.
Shortlisted candidates might be required to sit for a written test. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified. No late applications will be accepted.
The remuneration level and the applicable entitlements and benefits may differ based on the residence of the most suitable selected candidate.
Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).
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.
Standard Job Description
Required Languages
English
,
,
Desired Languages
,
,
Additional Qualifications
Skills
Education
Bachelor's: Law (Required)
Certifications
Other information
This position doesn't require a functional clearance
Remote
Yes