Information Counselling Legal Assistance Specialist DR Congo At Norwegian Refugee Council

Context

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an international non-governmental organisation of Norwegian origin, present in more than 25 countries worldwide. It has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2001. Its programmes focus on Education, Rapid Response to Population Movements (RRM), Protection from Violence , Shelter, Water and Sanitation (WASH), Food Security and Livelihood, and Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) for displaced populations.

ICLA is the flagship sector of NRC. It is a protection service that uses legal concepts to promote and protect the rights of people in situation of displacement. On the one hand, it helps target populations to claim and exercise their rights. On the other hand, it provides them with the means to rebuild their lives by creating conditions conducive to early recovery. Limited access to and conflict generated by competition for control over land and related resources, widespread insecurity of tenure, forced evictions, and lack of access to birth registration complicating access for children to education are among the most pressing challenges in the DR Congo. The ICLA programme in the country is designed to fill the gaps around these issues and revolves mainly around four axes: improving access to land and documents, including civil status documents; consolidating security of tenure; preventing forced evictions with a particular focus on due diligence services; and collaborative resolution of land-related conflicts. In addition, NRC is the leading agency of the Housing, Land and Property Working Group within the Protection Cluster worldwide and in the country.

What you will do:

The purpose of the ICLA Specialist position is technical development of the ICLA programme, provision of strategic direction and quality assurance, and developing the ICLA strategy. The ICLA Specialist is responsible for mentoring, training and capacity building of staff on ICLA technical capacity.

1. Identify country programme priorities, problems and challenges from an ICLA perspective and adopt a problem-solving approach, in collaboration with other core competencies, support departments, and senior management
2. Lead on assessment design and analysis for ICLA
3. Support and contribute to multi sector assessments and response designs
4. Assess and analyse context, identify and monitor risks, constraints, opportunities, technical issues and priorities of the ICLA core competency for timely action by the management
5. Lead on ICLA concept note, proposal and budget developments
6. Support and contribute to multi sector donor reports, both narrative and financial
7. Train and capacitate ICLA staff on technical procedures applied in PCM (Project Cycle Management)
8. Support in the recruitment of ICLA staff and development of their work roles and responsibilities
9. Promote culture of shared learning within the ICLA core competency and across core competencies
10. Enable and guide the mainstreaming of gender, protection and environment into the ICLA strategies and operational practices
11. Implements and strengthens the local partnership approach of the ICLA program
12. Liaise with relevant donors and representatives
13. Participate in and contribute to cluster/sectoral coordination structures
14. Contribute to the strengthening of the position of NRC in DR Congo by liaising with relevant authorities, UN agencies, donors, other NGOs and partners, and protection sector actors
15. Responsible for conducting CDR (Collaborative Dispute Resolution), HLP (Housing Land and Property) and other thematic trainings in the programme
16. Support the area teams with advice on ICLA project implementation challenges.

What we are looking for:

• Minimum 4 years of experience within human rights / legal assistance / displacement area of expertise in a humanitarian/recovery context
• Strong understanding of relevant human rights frameworks, including refugee rights, IDP rights and humanitarian law
• Solid knowledge of and experience applying protection principles within humanitarian responses
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Professional Fluency in French and advanced level in English, both written and verbal

Context/specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of the context in DRC / Great Lakes Region
• Experience engaging in/related to legal reform processes
• Experience in gender issues and programming
• Experience from protection and advocacy work within ICLA/legal assistance sector
• Solid experience form managing and implementing ICLA-type of responses in both volatile and recovery contexts
• High level of experience in programme management associated to legal assistance, land rights, and civil documentation
• Strong capacity in leading proposal development
• Documented experience working with donors and conversant with their technical frameworks, strategic priorities and reporting requirements (e.g. ECHO, BHA, EU, NORAD, SIDA,…)
• Advanced understanding and experience on M&E processes and analysis with ability to devise and adapt tools to context
• Experience from leading multi sector assessments and analysis
• Ability to work closely together with other field staff and across sectors
• High level of communication, representation, flexibility, and negotiation skills

Please find the full job descriptionhere.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility. At NRC we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

EADLINE TO APPLY: 19/2/2025

What we offer:

1. Contract of 12 months
2. Grade 9 in NRC scale
3. Location: Goma (non-familyt duty station)
4. An opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause
5. A chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• Internal candidates only: please click on the suitcase icon labelled “I am an employee” to be redirected to NRC’s internal careers site.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English or French for French-speaking countries, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We receive many applicants for each vacant position.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email cwa.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity

Learn more about NRC