ThaiNGO

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Representation in Thailand

Vacancy Announcement No. 29/2016     

Internal/External Circulation

Availability of the Post    As soon as possible

Scope of Assignment

The Monitoring Assistant (Statelessness) is supervised by the Associate Protection Officer (Statelessness). The benchmarks listed below will enable the UNHCR Representation in Thailand to assess progress made by the incumbent and provide appropriate feedback.

a. The Monitoring Assistant (Statelessness) will work closely with ADRA and/or any other implementing or operational partners to monitor and ensure the project activities are appropriately undertaken, as well as the services and assistance are effectively delivered to the targeted population of concern. The deployment of a Monitoring Assistant (Statelessness) to project sites is crucial for the evaluation of the project. He/She will work with the Community Stateless Workers in the field and provide guidance. The Monitoring Assistant (Statelessness) will be tasked to observe the processing of nationality applications and the acceptance of the project in order to draft recommendations for adjustments, if needed, and identify additional areas to which the project could eventually expand.

b. Under the supervision of the Associate Protection Officer (Statelessness), the incumbent will - among other tasks - monitor the Statelessness Reduction and Community Sensitization project. Moreover, the incumbent will support the oversight of all projects on statelessness supported by UNHCR, focusing on identifying challenges and opportunities, especially in and around the implementing areas with the respective project manager and team members. The incumbent will also monitor the work of legal advisors, community mobilizers and volunteers to ensure smooth workflows and completion of agreed targets. Besides working with the project team members, the incumbent will work on establishing and strengthening good relationships with school representatives, community leaders, and any other relevant actors, to create a positive attitude, better understanding and good working environment for the project implementation. The incumbent will meet and keep a close cooperation with the government counterparts at the local level: District Chief, Deputy District Chief and Head of District Registration Unit.   

c. The incumbent is based at the Representation in Bangkok and is expected to undertake frequent missions to the implementing areas. The incumbent will evaluate the efficiency of the implementing partner and propose possible adjustments.  The Monitoring Assistant will receive queries from and provide counselling to leaders at the community level, as well as stateless persons. He/She will regularly provide the Protection Unit with accurate information on the current stage of the project implementation. He/She will document best practices and also areas needing improvement.

d. Bi-weekly Media Scan on Statelessness and Reporting: National media have been reporting a variety of issues faced by stateless persons and covered a number of national and regional events relating to the acquisition of nationality and access to human rights. The incumbent is tasked to compile a bi-weekly Media Scan containing information such as headlines, a summary of the content, the publishing company followed by a brief analysis of possible synergies with UNHCR funded programmes, if needed. Furthermore, the incumbent will support internal and external reporting processes, including but not limited to statistical reports.

e. Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualification Requirements

Thai national only.

Education:

- Bachelor degree in political science, international public law, international private law or similar is essential.

- Master degree in the above mentioned specializations is a strong asset.

- Any additional degree or qualification certifying legal, political, ethnological or sociological skills are a strong asset.

Work Experience:

- Previous work experience with UN agencies, non-governmental organizations or research networks is an asset.

- Previous exposure to thematic fields relating to access to nationality, civil registration, legislation on nationality is a strong asset.

- Experience in working with hill tribe communities and ethnic minorities in border areas will be helpful in order to monitor the implementation of the project in remote areas of multi-cultural communities.

- Knowledge of minority groups (in particular Akha, Lahu, Karen, Hmong, Mien and Lisu) and exposure to projects for ethnic minorities, in particular on statelessness related issues is an asset.

- Work experience on statelessness related thematic fields is suitable, as well as familiarity with the situation of persons with legal status issues, the nationality application process, the issuance of civil status documentation, birth registration and the general situation in remote border areas.

- Knowledge of the national legal framework on nationality and civil registration is an asset, as well as in-depth knowledge of the international public law framework aiming at the protection of stateless persons and the prevention of statelessness.

Key Competencies: 

a. Language Skills: Fluency in English both (oral and writing) is essential. Knowledge of a minority language will help to monitor the project in remote areas and increase the interaction with persons of concern. Experience in translating written content and interpretation (Thai/English) during meetings and conferences will be a meaningful resource.

b. IT Skills: The incumbent should be experienced in using Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents and should be able to prepare legal analysis, monitoring reports, tracking sheets, overviews, briefing notes, briefing kits and other documents using these software.

c. Flexibility: The Monitoring Assistant is expected to spend a considerable amount of time travelling to project sites where monitoring activities are undertaken. Mission often take place over weekends and request to stay overnight in remote locations. Willingness to travel over long period of time and upon short notice is expected.

d. Reporting: The Monitoring Assistant is expected to prepare monitoring reports reflecting the progress made by the implementing or operational partners. The Monitoring Assistant is expected to draft and structure reports and related content to be shared with stakeholders and counterparts.  He/She will also support internal reporting requirements, as abovementioned.

Please submit your P.11, resume and motivation letter, indicating vacancy announcement number and position title to THABAHR@unhcr.org

Application will not be acknowledged.  Only successful candidate will be notified of the outcome of the selection process.

P.11 form can be downloaded from: http://unhcr.or.th/sites/default/files/p11.doc