Regional Protection Delegate At Netherlands Red Cross

We help to strengthen resilience of vulnerable people exposed to hazards and crisis situations and we respond to disasters and conflicts to save lives and alleviate suffering. In the Netherlands with more than thirty thousand volunteers and internationally through technical assistance, supplies and money. Together we act before, during and after disasters to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people.

We do this without regards to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion. Our seven principles guide our humanitarian work: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

The International Assistance department is responsible for all Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) international support for victims of disasters and conflicts and for vulnerable people exposed to hazards.

The International Assistance department has opened the vacancy for Regional Protection Delegate:

Position title: Regional protection Delegate Overseas Branches

Duty station: Trinidad & Tobago IFRC Secretariat cluster office

Time period: 10 months

Starting Date: Asap

Status: Single posting

Purpose of the position

The Regional Protection Delegate (RPD) will support and advice the overseas branches (OSB) and HQ team of the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) on activities and strategy in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.. This will enhance the impact, reach and efficiency of response operations through the integration and coordination of protection, gender and inclusion (PGI) activities and approaches. This includes specialised Protection activities (such as those regarding migration, trafficking in human beings, immigration detention and Restoring Family Links (RFL), Protection Gender and Inclusion mainstreaming, advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy and capacity building. Together with the Red Cross branches, the delegate will strengthen relationships with key stakeholders incl. government. Moreover, (s)he will coordinate with IFRC and ICRC plus Movement partners where relevant in light of RFL and the IFRC ‘Emergency Appeal Americas: Population Movement’.

Background

The Netherlands Red Cross has overseas branches on 6 Caribbean islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius). These branches are part of the NLRC and focus on direct emergency aid after disasters and the provision of assistance to vulnerable groups on the island. One of these groups consists of vulnerable migrants. In Aruba and Curacao, an estimated 40.000 Venezuelan migrants have arrived since 2017 due to the regional population movement in the Americas. Others have arrived on Bonaire (in smaller numbers) and Sint Maarten (from various origin). According to estimates of the Red Cross and UNHCR, a large percentage of this group is in a vulnerable position. Due to minimal protection policies and many restrictions on the possibility to apply for regular stay, many migrants do not have access to basic services. On top of these circumstances, the COVID pandemic and resulting restrictions negatively impacted the economies of the islands. Already vulnerable groups amongst the local population are hit the hardest and the branches address the basic needs of both vulnerable residents and migrants.

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Position in the organization

• The Regional Protection delegate reports to the Protection and Migration Program Manager Caribbean branches (PMPM) of the NLRC Caribbean desk in the Hague.
• The position requires close linking and collaboration with local branch managers, volunteers and staff, especially Red Cross Aruba, Red Cross Curacao, Red Cross Bonaire and Red Cross St Maarten. Collaboration will occur with relevant regional partners (like IFRC, ICRC and other humanitarian actors) and with the NLRC Response Preparedness delegate based in the region.
• The position is based at the IFRC cluster office on Trinidad & Tobago. The RPD will coordinate with the local PGI officer and the head of Cluster to ensure alignment of activities and training with the regional approach to migration and PGI policies. For up to 20% of her time (s)he can contribute to migration and PGI related IFRC activities (for example on missing migrants, community engagement and accountability (CEA), (lobby) strategy development, assessments and regional training).

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Summary statement and key responsibilities

Support branches on Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St Maarten, Saba and Sint-Eustatius with:

• Protection mainstreaming: Ensure that branch activities, proposals and policies meet Movement minimum Protection standards (including emergency response)
• Ensure understanding and implementation of the ‘do no harm principle’ across all services of the OSBs
• Identify PGI needs and desires per island and translate these to concrete activities per island
• Organize training, webinars, awareness raising and capacity building on (data) protection for staff, volunteers and board
• Promote the minimum protection approach (while remaining focused on service provision, the NS is able to identify and address the protection needs identified through service provision and community engagement):

a) Establish and maintain internal escalation pathways and protection focal points. This requires creating internal leadership support and understanding, as well as training and capacity building of OSB staff and volunteers on protection;
b) Establish and maintain an effective and safe external referral mechanism (with protection actors) for individual cases and issues ensuring informed consent of the individual(s) concerned;
c) Support OSBs in dialogue and advocacy with authorities and other interlocutors on individual or systemic protection concerns where possible and appropriate;
d) Directly meet individuals’ needs arising from protection concerns through service provision

• Ensure updated mapping per island, of key actors and legal framework for referral, information and lobby on protection concerns.
• Perform or contribute to data gathering and needs analyses from a protection perspective
• Support, advise on, and monitor the quality of specialised protection activities performed by volunteers and staff (such as prevention of trafficking in human beings (THB) project, immigration detention visits, RFL, eligibility criteria for (cash) support to vulnerable individuals)
• Integrate data protection safeguards (in collection, storage and analysis of disaggregated data), in coordination with information managers and support the development and proper use of case management systems and tools by the OSBs
• Monitor protection related activities (healthcare, sheltering, food, education) of the OSBs under NLRC supervision and proactively communicate with HQ about new protection needs.
• Support the roll-out of the OSB strategy (workplan), in particular the outputs related to PGISupport the development of lobby and advocacy messages of the OSBs for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations on the islands, in coordination with the PMPM Caribbean Branches

In addition, specifically on Aruba:

• Support and lobby for structural access to, training on, and needs assessment and activities in immigration detention
• Train, support and monitor quality and speed of implementation of the 3FM THB project. Responsible for budget and reporting to HQ
• Advise on safe housing of victims of protection violations
• Train and monitor minimum RFL capacity

Minimum frequency visits (at least 4 working days):

• 5 visits to Aruba and Curaçao branch
• 3 visits to Bonaire branch
• 2 visits SXM branch
• 1 visit and upon request to Saba and St Eustatius branch

IFRC Secretariat:

• Align PGI support to the OSBs with the regional IFRC approach through coordination with the local IFRC PGI staff and head of the cluster office TT.
• Provide and support regional joint trainings, webinars, information exchange, evaluations/lessons learnt and assessments, CEA, and (lobby) strategy development related to PGI
• Maintain contact with ICRC Caracas RFL department and IFRC Migration team/advisors in Panama on (regional) activities and protection concerns, in coordination with the PMPM Caribbean branches

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Candidate profile

The Red Cross seeks employees with talent and excellent competencies for a position and is not guided by cultural background, physical limitations, gender identity, religious beliefs, orientation or age.

Key qualifications

• Academic qualification or equivalent professional training in migration law, human rights, gender studies, or related field
• 3-5 years of experience in a protection, migration, human rights, RFL, social inclusion related role, with minimum of 1-year fieldwork experience
• Previous experience in a delegate or advisory role
• Demonstrated experience in an organisation within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement or in an international humanitarian organisation
• Demonstrated facilitation skills
• Demonstrated experience in applying humanitarian protection/migration/gender/accessibility standards and guidelines
• Experience in developing and delivering training courses
• Experience in reporting
• Knowledge of the Red Cross Movement tools
• Fluency in English and Spanish required, Papiamentu is an advantage
• Experience in working with volunteers
• Willingness to travel between the overseas branches
• Experience in working in politically sensitive environments
• Practical computer skills (including excellent command of Excel spreadsheets, Windows, Word processing, internet and email)
• Affinity with the Caribbean Region

Key competencies

• Able to work in a team
• High degree of integrity, discretion, and personal conduct
• Strong communication and training / coaching skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Hands-on mentality
• Flexible and adaptable to changing working conditions
• Self-motivated, with good judgment and initiative
• Ability to manage broad responsibilities with attention to detail
• Good interpersonal skills
• Stress resistant
• Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines

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We offer

• A full-time appointment (based on 40-hour work week) for 10 months on Trinidad and Tobago)

• A flexible and human-centered working environment in an international environment with a variety of local and regional organizations.

• Well balanced employment conditions with space for initiative and development