Repatriation Expert, Consultant At UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a consultancy full time position within the International Protection and Solutions Unit in our Sub Office in Kananga.

The consultancy will be within UNHCR’s International Protection and Solutions Section, in Kananga Sub Office. UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Repatriation Expert

Duty Station: Kananga

Duration: 6 months

Contract Type: Consultant

Closing date: 11^th April 2022

Start date: 01^st May 2022

Organizational context

Nature of the position

As of 28 February 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosts 519,466 Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the country, including 210.980 Rwandan, 210.414 CAR, 56.351 South Sudanese, 40.529 Burundian and other 1.192 refugees.

DRC also hosts more than 5 million IDPs located mainly in the provinces of Ituri, Kasai, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika. As Protection Cluster lead, UNHCR continues to play a key role supporting the DRC Government in implementing a durable solutions strategy in order to help end the cycles of protracted displacement in the country. As of today, the operation manages 14 field offices (1 Branch Office, 5 Sub Offices, 7 Field Offices and 2 Field Unit) and has a field presence in the provinces of Kasai, Ubangi, Kivu (north and south) and Haut Uele/Bunia.

The Greater Kasai region is home to about 20,000 returnees and approximately 411,800 people deported from Angola of whom 11,800 arrived as of September 2021. This eviction has further weakened the situation of access to basic social services, including health, education, water and sanitation, as well as security and peaceful coexistence already precarious for IDPS and their host communities. These returnees and deportees are in addition to the 1,360,000 displaced persons from the Kamuina Nsapo crisis of whom 1,172,000 have returned to their areas of origin while the others continue to reside in places of displacement.

The position

The Repatriation expert will be a focal point for voluntary repatriation and related issues in the UNHCR Sub-Office of Kananga and will report to the Senior Protection Cluster Coord. Officer. The incumbent can provide functional guidance for repatriation staff, which may include staff within the functional groups of repatriation and reintegration. S/he will be working closely with protection, programme and field staff and ensures operational standards and practices in repatriation in the area of responsibility.

The Repatriation expert is relied upon to ensure the advancement of repatriation activities. The Repatriation expert should ensure that the country operation has an effective voluntary repatriation programme, in compliance with requisite standard operating procedures and in line with regional and comprehensive solutions strategies. S/he should contribute to ensuring that all repatriation movements respect the principle of voluntariness and occur in safety and dignity, with the full participation and support of persons and communities of concern.

All consultants are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in the terms of reference. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

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.

Duties and responsibilities

The ideal candidate will :

• Implement activities in accordance with the voluntary repatriation strategy, with a view to ensuring that the return is voluntary and takes place in safety and dignity.
• Liaise with other UNHCR country offices and other key partners in the region to ensure appropriate cross-border cooperation and a harmonized voluntary repatriation process.
• Monitor the implementation of the voluntary return operation through consultations, regular field visits and monitoring tools, suggesting amendments to the plan as necessary.
• Gather and analyse data related to return movements and conditions in areas of return for planning, evidence-based advocacy and protection interventions.
• Ensure that specific needs of vulnerable categories of returnees are duly addressed during the return movement.
• Monitor and advise implementing partners on activities related to return.
• Actively participate in inter-agency coordination processes and mobilize partners’ political and financial support, to ensure complementary interventions to voluntary repatriation/return programmes.
• Provide functional guidance and support for repatriation in line with relevant standards.
• Mainstream AGD in all areas of work and ensure the full participation of returning refugees in matters relating to their own protection
• Comply with UNHCR’s policy priorities, such as those related to persons with particular vulnerabilities.
• Implement initiatives that build the protection capacity of the local governments, partners and civil society as well as refugees in asserting their rights in situations of return.
• Implement an effective system to assess conditions of return
• Assess needs of persons of concern; plan and secure adequate human and financial resources for voluntary repatriation operations through inclusion into the country operation plan.
• Identify, monitor and advise implementing partners on on-going activities related to return.
• Participate in the design and implementation of the voluntary repatriation strategy.
• Draft and regularly update Voluntary repatriation-related SOPs, in close consultation with UNHCR staff and partners, including refugee representatives.
• Authorize expenditure on projects and individual payments for voluntary returns.
• Represent UNHCR with relevant external partners in-country and across the border, as applicable
• Initiate interventions with relevant counterparts across the borders to address incidents at all stages of voluntary repatriation and to ensure safe and dignified movements.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Certificates and/or Licenses

Protection Learning Programme,

Management Learning Programme

Desirable

Work experience in large returnee operations is an asset. Diverse field experience desirable. Ability to understand and implement UNHCR’s policy and global strategic priorities, including as related to AGDM, IDPs, Statelessness, and HIV/AIDS, in the area of responsibility where applicable at appropriate level.

Location

The successful candidate will be based with the team in Kananga Sub-Office

Conditions

Kananga is a small city with an estimated population of 1,000,000. The city lies near the Kasai and Lulua Rivers. A main commercial center, the city now serves as an area producing diamonds, livestock, and large quantities of coffee and cotton, Palm oil, rice, cassava, groundnuts, bananas, and pineapples are also produced and processed in the city. Other industries include brewing and printing.

Kananga is a capital state of Kasai Central province, commercial city linked by around 1.300 kms of road to Kinshasa via Kikwit and Tshikapa. The liaison between Kananga and Kinshasa is assured by commercial flights, Congo Airways being the only approved by UNDSS. Congo Airways do normally schedule 2 flights per week, therefore booking has to be done much in advance, Otherwise the travels between the two cities is done most of the time by road spending 3 days before reaching Kananga.

The area of coverage of operation is so large. UNHCR operate in five provinces across the Kasai region. The road conditions are so bad. We need at least 8 hours to complete 200 km.

With MONUSCO withdrawal there is no adequate medical facilities in the town. With regard to COVID 19, Kananga registered on 27th January 22.800 cases with 27 deaths.

Kananga has the main active airport for humanitarian and commercial flight in the Region.

International staff reside in commercial accommodation.

There are limited medical facilities in Kananga, but Air ambulance evacuation can be organized for life threatening emergencies during daytime. Candidates with conditions requiring regular treatment or medical supervision should be appropriately advised. Malaria is common in the region due the high presence of mosquitoes. For the basically medical needs including the stabilization of a patient, UNHCR in Kananga has in its premises a paramedical staff (a nurse).

Telephone networks are not very reliable, but the Office has Wi-Fi and PAMA. Kananga is currently a security level 3 duty station.