ThaiNGO

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Representation in Thailand

Vacancy Announcement No. 24/2015     

Internal/External Circulation

Availability of the Post    As soon as possible

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Within the frame of an innovative Pilot Project for the Reduction of Statelessness UNHCR deployed Community Statelessness Workers tasked with profiling communities with a high prevalence of statelessness and supporting stateless persons in completing nationality applications and compiling supporting documents.

The Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness) is tasked to coordinate the pilot project, provide guidance if and when requested, ensure smooth workflows and function as interface between the project, district administrations in the area of implementation and the Statelessness Unit at the Representation.

The deployment of a Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness) to project sites is crucial for the evaluation of the project in order to assess whether the current format of the support to communities and respective district administrations effectively enables stateless persons to access the nationality application procedure.

The deployment of two Mobile Offices by UNHCR and DoPA to two pilot districts in 2015 will increase the need for monitoring. The Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness) will then be tasked to observe the processing of nationality applications and the acceptance of the project in remote communities in order to draft recommendations for adjustments if needed and identify additional areas to which the project could eventually expand. 

The Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness) will be tasked to analyse the legal framework and report on legislative initiatives and policy changes impacting on the situation of stateless persons in terms of access to nationality and legal status in Thailand. This includes to establish reliable channels of communication and a strenghtened interaction between the Statelessness Unit at the Representation and key counterparts at governmental and civil society level. Tasks will include to draft and present recommendations for streamlined application procedures and approval processes and incidently design a strategy aiming at preparing the ground for an accession to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, as well as the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness) will oversee a wide range of capacity building measures jointly designed and implemented with the Bureau of Registration Administion (BoRA) under the Department of Provincial Administration. This includes close intercation with counterparts in both administration and follow-up on joint initiatives, the orgnization of events including logistical arrangements for participating agencies.

Qualification Requirements

Thai national only

Education:

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

- Further qualifications in the above mentioned specializations represent an additional asset.

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

- The working language at the UNHCR Representation is English and the working language with external counterparts is Thai. A high level of proficiency in drafting legal analysis and correspondence in both languages, as well as strong presentation skills are a pre-requisite for a successful deployment as Senior Protection Assistant (Statelessness).

Work Experiences:

- 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.

- 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 and coordinate statelessness projects 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 Senior Protection 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 Senior Protection Assistant is expected to prepare regular progress reports for national and international counterparts.

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