Project Director – Urban Refugee Project (JRS Thailand) At Jesuit Refugee Service

Job Title: Project Director
Project: Urban Refugee Project (URP)
Reports to: Country Director
Location: Bangkok, Thailand (onsite)
Duration: 1 year (possibility of renewal)

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and is present in over 50 countries. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support of an international office in Rome. The style of JRS service is direct and personal, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced persons, while not neglecting their immediate and urgent needs. JRS offers opportunities to a wide variety of staff, local and international, while maintaining a realistic and localised scheme of salary/stipend, insurance, etc.
In Thailand, JRS manages four programmes spread throughout urban and rural areas serving refugees and asylum seekers. JRS Thailand country office is in Bangkok, with Project offices Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and in Bangkok. The main areas of work include education, psychosocial services, protection, and emergency assistance. For more information about JRS in Asia Pacific and Thailand, visit: http://www.jrsap.org

Project Description:
About half of the world’s refugees live in urban areas such as Bangkok. Guided by Pedro Arrupe’ s vision for JRS – to go where no one else is working and serve the most forgotten – JRS Thailand is dedicated to serving, accompanying, and advocating for urban refugees and asylum seekers. Established in 1990, the Urban Refugee Programme in Bangkok supports urban refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok through education, emergency and casework assistance, psychosocial counseling, and community capacity building. In the last year, the number of people arriving in Bangkok and claiming asylum have increased dramatically. There are about 5,100 urban refugees, asylum seekers registered with UNHCR in Bangkok (as of October 2019), of which 17% are asylum seekers and 83% are refugees. In addition, there are a large number of people awaiting registration at UNHCR. The majority of asylum seekers and refugees are from Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia), South Asia (Pakistan), the Middle East (Iran, Iraq), and Africa (Somali).

Role:
The Project Director is responsible for the direction and implementation of a local JRS project and its staff. The responsibilities of this position include developing new initiatives and project proposals; implementation and evaluation of the approved proposal; administration of the project’s finances; and care for the JRS team and its relations with the local refugee population and with local authorities. The Project Director directly supervises a team of Caseworkers, Psychosocial Counsellors, Administration, Reception and Interpreter staff. The Project Director reports directly to the Country Director.

Responsibilities:

Management of project and personnel

• To safeguard the vision, identity, and unity of JRS at the project level.
• To know and understand well JRS policies and to implement them at the project level.
• To implement the project according to the JRS annual project management cycle, including needs assessment, proposal development, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting of all project activities.
• To provide feedback and analysis to the Country Director and Program Manager on project needs, strategies and activities.
• To supervise and support project team in conducting casework management, counseling and protection assistance, and other essential needs of asylum seeker and refugee communities.
• To take new initiatives and to develop project proposals for submission to the Country Office for approval.
• To implement all aspects of the project according to the approved proposal.
• To cooperate with the Country Office to ensure overall effective management and coordination of the project, including in the areas of Programmes, Finance, and Advocacy/Communications.
• To support team members in their work including facilitation of regular team meetings and reflection.
• To implement an annual performance evaluation with each team member.
• Together with the Country Office, to make decisions regarding human resources for the project.

Advocacy and accompaniment

• To advocate to local Thai communities, Government Agencies, and UNHCR for the rights of urban refugees living in Bangkok.
• To monitor policies affecting asylum-seekers and refugees in Bangkok, paying special attention to particularly vulnerable or marginalized groups.
• To advocate, particularly with UNHCR and the Thai government, on salient protection issues relating to asylum-seekers and refugees in Bangkok.
• To represent JRS at meetings at field level and as requested by the Country Director.
• To maintain strong working relationships with UNHCR, Thai authorities, INGO, CBOs and church groups working on urban refugee issues.
• To coordinate project and site visits for JRS teams, donors and external visitors.
• To build and maintain strong relationships with asylum seeker and refugee communities in Bangkok.

Finance/Administration

• To monitor and maintain strong financial records and procedures as per the JRS Finance policy; approve all project expenses; ensure maintenance of all JRS assets; and ensure proper financial documentation of all activities.
• With the support of the Country Office, to develop and submit the annual project budget in conjunction with the annual project proposal.
• With the support of the Country Office, to administer the project’s finances, guaranteeing a proper accounting and audit of project expenses.

Communication/Reporting

• To communicate regularly with the Country Director, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within the team.
• Together with the project team members, to develop/complete project proposals and reports (6-month and annual) according to JRS format as well as write other project/situation reports as required.
• To participate in annual project reviews and planning workshops and assist in preparing relevant reports.

Conditions:
JRS offers a localized salary and benefits. Details will be discussed with short-listed candidates; salary depends on the status and qualifications of the successful applicant.