Senior Protection Associate

March 16, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

FamilyUNOPS LICA7

2026-03-011. Operational Context
The Senior Protection Associate is a key member of the Protection Unit and reports directly to the Head of National Office. The Philippines provides a generally favorable protection environment as a State Party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions. Within this context, UNHCR works closely with government counterparts, local authorities, civil society partners, communities, and development actors to ensure that asylum seekers, refugees, stateless persons, and populations at risk of statelessness can access protection mechanisms, assistance, services, and durable solutions that uphold safety, dignity, and human rights.

The operational environment in the Philippines is increasingly shaped by efforts to broaden pathways to protection and solutions for refugees, asylum-seekers, and stateless persons. In this landscape, the Senior Protection Associate plays a pivotal role in advancing UNHCR’s work on Complementary Pathways, strengthening local integration prospects, and improving access to inclusive services and opportunities for communities of concern.

A key priority is the expansion and deepening of complementary pathways programmes, including education mobility, labor mobility, family reunification, and humanitarian admissions. This requires close coordination with government partners, local authorities, academia, the private sector, and civil society to identify and remove administrative barriers; promote policy innovation; and ensure that pathways are protection-sensitive, sustainable, and scalable.

The incumbent will also support the Office’s efforts to grow and operationalize the Cities with Refugees initiative in the Philippines. This includes supporting local governments in strengthening inclusive services, promoting refugee participation in local development planning, and advancing municipal commitments toward social cohesion, economic inclusion, and climate resilience. The role requires sustained engagement with local authorities to develop and implement policies that enhance refugees’ access to documentation, education, decent work, skills development, and financial services.

UNHCR’s protection work in the Philippines also increasingly prioritizes financial inclusion, livelihood and economic inclusion, and education access. The Senior Protection Associate contributes to national and local systems strengthening by supporting policy dialogue, developing technical guidance, and forging partnerships with industry associations, educational institutions, and development actors to expand opportunities for refugees and stateless persons. This includes identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to banking, mobile money, employment, entrepreneurship, certification, and accreditation.

A strong foundation for these efforts is effective registration, identity management, and data harmonization. The incumbent supports the implementation of national and local strategies that enhance the integrity, interoperability, and utility of protection data systems. This includes capacity-building for authorities, engagement in working groups on civil registration and information management and advocating for data-sharing arrangements that uphold protection principles.

The Senior Protection Associate provides technical advice to government counterparts on local integration pathways, helping them develop evidence-based approaches that support sustainable socio-economic and legal inclusion for cases without prospects for return. This includes preparing analysis, supporting monitoring, and contributing to area-based assessments and solution strategies.

Climate impacts increasingly affect displacement dynamics in the Philippines. The incumbent supports UNHCR’s efforts to integrate climate action and climate resilience into protection programming, municipal engagements, and solutions-oriented initiatives. This includes participating in inter-agency climate and disaster-risk governance mechanisms and ensuring that refugees and stateless populations are included in climate adaptation and preparedness measures.

To deliver these responsibilities, the role requires regular engagement with affected communities, local governments, national authorities, financial institutions, private-sector actors, development agencies, and civil society partners. The Senior Protection Associate contributes to capacity development by preparing training packages and guidance materials, while also promoting meaningful participation of communities of concern in decisions that shape their access to pathways, inclusion opportunities, and durable solutions.

The Senior Protection Associate is expected to uphold UNHCR values of professionalism, integrity, and respect for diversity, and must perform duties within delegated authorities and in full compliance with UN Charter principles, UN Staff Regulations, and UNHCR policies and accountability frameworks.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Senior Protection Associate, reporting to the Head of National Office, plays a central role in advancing UNHCR’s protection and solutions agenda in the Philippines, a country with a generally favorable protection environment as a State Party to the Refugee and Statelessness Conventions. Working closely with government counterparts, local authorities, civil society, development actors, and communities, the incumbent leads efforts to expand complementary pathways, including education and labor mobility, family reunification, and humanitarian admissions, while supporting the growth of the Cities with Refugees initiative and promoting inclusive municipal policies on documentation, education, livelihoods, skills development, and financial services. The role also strengthens national and local systems for financial inclusion, economic opportunity, education access, registration and identity management, and data harmonization, and provides technical advice on local integration pathways for individuals without prospects for return. The Senior Protection Associate contributes to the responsible and protection-sensitive use of artificial intelligence by supporting the development of guidance, identifying risks and opportunities for AI-enabled inclusion and service delivery, and engaging with partners to ensure that emerging technologies benefit refugees and stateless persons in safe and equitable ways. In addition, the incumbent supports the integration of climate action and resilience into protection programming and municipal engagement, participates in inter-agency mechanisms, and builds the capacity of partners through training and technical guidance, ensuring meaningful participation of communities of concern throughout.

The Senior Protection Associate will be expected to:

3. Duties and Responsibilities
- Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
- Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.
- Provide advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation.
- Assist in conducting eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.
- Contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
- Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
- Assist the supervisor in implementing and monitoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
- Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection.
- Monitor and assist the supervisor with intervening in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
- Assist in identifying durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
- Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
- Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners.
- Facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on PoC and their problems.
- Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
- Assist the supervisor with intervening with authorities on protection issues.
- Provide assistance to the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
- Assist the supervisor with enforcing compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
- Recommend and prepare payments to individual cases.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G7 - 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Law; Political Science; or other relevant field.

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Computer skills (in MS office) including advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, data management, etc).

Excellent oral and written communication and strong interpersonal skills
Desirable Qualifications

Advanced coursework in law, social sciences, international relations, development studies, public policy, data science, or related fields.

Experience in refugee protection, asylum systems, statelessness, or human rights, preferably with government, UN, or NGOs.

Hands-on experience with Complementary Pathways, including education or labor mobility, family reunification, or humanitarian admissions.

Experience working with local governments on urban inclusion, service access, social protection, education systems, or local development planning.

Knowledge of financial inclusion and economic inclusion frameworks, including engagement with private-sector or regulatory actors.

Familiarity with registration, identity management, civil documentation, or data harmonization processes.

Experience or training in responsible and ethical use of AI, digital inclusion, or emerging technologies in humanitarian or development contexts.

Exposure to climate action, disaster risk reduction, or resilience programming, especially relating to displacement.

Strong analytical, coordination, and partnership-building skills, including experience producing policy or technical guidance.

Proven ability in capacity-building, facilitation, and supporting community participation and feedback mechanisms.

Functional Skills
IT-Computer literacy
CL-Protection & Solutions Awareness
PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework

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

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

Cross-Functional Competencies
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness
Stakeholder Management

Eligibility:
Only Filipino citizens or permanent residents holding full legal authorization to work in the Philippines at the time of the vacancy closing date are eligible to apply.

Remuneration:
A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances, and benefits, please visit the portal of the International Civil Service Commission at: http://icsc.un.org

UNHCR strongly encourages qualified female applicants for this position. UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. UNHCR is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

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.

UNHCR has a zero-tolerance policy against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). SEA is unacceptable behavior and prohibited conduct for UNHCR personnel. It constitutes acts of serious misconduct and is therefore grounds for disciplinary measures, including dismissal. Any concerns or suspicions about a possible case of SEA should be reported immediately to the Inspector General’s Office (IGO) at inspector@unhcr.org through the online complain form at https://www.unhcr.org/php/complaints.php or by confidential fax: +41 22 739 73 80.

 

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

English

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Remote

No