ThaiNGO

Position: Project Director
Project: Urban Refugee Project
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Reports to: Country Director, JRS Thailand, Bangkok
Starting date: February 2018(or sooner if possible)
Contract duration: 2 years

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 has a presence 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 human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced people, while not neglecting their immediate or 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 has field offices in Bangkok and Mae Hong Son. The main areas of work include education, psycho-social services, emergency assistance, and advocacy. For more information about JRS in Asia Pacific and Thailand, visit: http://www.jrsap.org.

Project Description:

Although half of the world’s refugees live in urban areas such as Bangkok, the vast majority of assistance is focused on refugees living in camps. 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, asylum seekers, and migrants. Established in 1990, the Urban Refugee Programme in Bangkok supports urban refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Bangkok through emergency and casework assistance, psychosocial counselling, and community capacity building. There are over 2,000 urban refugees, asylum seekers and other persons of concern registered with UNHCR in Bangkok, of which half are asylum seekers. The majority of asylum seekers are from South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. .

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 Caseworker, Psychosocial Counsellor, Admin Assistant and Interpreter staff. The Project Director reports directly to the Country Director.

Responsibilities:

Managing the work of JRS at the field level
• 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 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 analyse the needs of the asylum seekers and refugees and to suggest new initiatives to the Country Office.
• To facilitate reflection on and evaluation of the project by the JRS team.
• 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 cooperate with the Country Office and Regional Office to ensure overall effective management and coordination of the project, including in the areas of Programmes, Finance, and Advocacy/Communications.
• To coordinate project and site visits for donors, Country Office/Regional Office staff, and external visitors as approved.

Programmatic/Technical
• 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 develop, implement and monitor a case management system to identity vulnerable asylum seekers and arrange for appropriate assistance.
• To assist casework staff, when necessary, to interview clients, conduct home assessment and determine their eligibility and needs for services.
• To provide social counselling to asylum-seekers, including information that can facilitate adaptation to life in Bangkok and appropriate decision-making about future options.
• To direct or accompany asylum seekers to government offices, UNHCR, or other service providers as needed.
• To build and maintain strong relationships with asylum seeker and refugee communities in Bangkok.

Policy/Advocacy
• 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 in collaboration with Legal and Advocacy Officers.

Finance/Administration
• With the support of the Country Office, to develop and submit the annual budget to the Country Office in conjunction with the annual project proposal.
• With the support of the Country Office, to administer the project’s finances, guaranteeing a proper accounting of all project expenses.
• 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.

Communication/Reporting
• To communicate regularly with the Country Director, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within the team.
• To meet with the Country Director on a regular basis.
• To submit monthly activity reports to the Country Office.
• 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.

Staff Care
• 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.

Qualifications & Experience:
• University degree in social work, counseling, social science or related profession.
• Advanced university degree desirable.
• At least 2 years’ of direct case management experience.
• At least 2 years’ experience working with NGOs or humanitarian agencies.
• Expertise in mental and psychosocial support and stress management are an asset.
• Compatible with the vision-mission of JRS.
• Prudent to maintain professional boundaries.
• Understanding of and empathy with migrant and refugee communities.
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
• Strong teamwork skills, able to work successfully in a multi-cultural and flexible environment and to handle multiple priorities.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office.

This position offers a localised salary with insurance, health and other benefits. Interested candidates must apply by sending cover letter and CV (including 3 references) and address how they satisfy the criteria described above. Applications are to be sent to job.urp_pd@jrs.or.th. Applications close on the 12 January 2018. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.