Hybrid Head of Bureau Protection and Solutions Service bei UNHCR

H (no hardship)

FamilyFamily

DI1

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2025-10-01

August 8, 2025

Head of Bureau Protection and Solutions Service

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The incumbent heads the Protection and Solutions Service in the Regional Bureau and reports to the Bureau Director. S/he has direct supervisory responsibility for protection staff in the Bureau and may supervise other staff.

The incumbent ensures coordination of regional protection and solutions support and acts as a senior advisor to the Bureau Director and to Country Operations in the region on all protection and legal matters and accountabilities, including durable solutions. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, registration, asylum systems building and refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring the centrality of protection in all of UNHCR's activities.

The incumbent works in close collaboration with relevant Divisions.

He/she maintains close working relations with senior protection staff in all countries in the region as well as regionally based UN entities, other intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organisations, embassies, donors, international financial institutions, academic institutions and the media and represents the Organization on protection and legal matters.

The incumbent is responsible for ensuring, in an effective and efficient manner which supports the Organization's Mandate, overall quality assurance and managerial support of operations, in line with the Bureau's 2nd line function, within the three lines of defence conceptual framework for effective control and risk management adopted by the UN system.

S/he will, further, cover the full spectrum of managerial oversight, manage performance and monitor the adherence of Country Operations to UNHCR's rules and regulations, monitoring, identifying and addressing any emerging issues and risks as appropriate. The incumbent also promotes a culture that is results-oriented, efficient and based on trust and pursues measures to ensure that inclusion, gender balance and diversity are taken into due consideration in staffing, resource allocation and representation at all levels throughout the region.

As a key custodian of the organization's standards of conduct, s/he will proactively establish a working environment where all personnel feel safe, heard, equipped and empowered to speak up; demonstrate no tolerance for sexism, gender inequality, discrimination of any kind, abuse of power, harassment or sexual harassment; foster ongoing dialogue on those matters; take seriously all issues of inappropriate behaviour and actions reported, whether formally or informally; and seek guidance and support as necessary to ensure that appropriate follow-up is taken, working on the basis of zero tolerance for any form of misconduct.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. 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.

Duties
- Provide strategic guidance to the Bureau Director on all protection matters.
- Develop a regional protection and solutions strategy consistent with UNHCR's priorities and commitments; support regional and country programming for protection from planning to evaluation including contingency planning and advocate for adequate resource allocations.
- Ensure the continued functioning of the protection service under her/his supervision as one strong team, guided by common strategic, principled and practical protection objectives, working towards increased protection impact.
- Coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless persons in the region including emergency responses. Facilitate overall harmonization, coherence and application of the Bureau's protection strategies, policies and operations.
- Engage in regional fora and forge regional partnerships with broad cross-section of stakeholders to advocate for key protection and mandate issues, to ensure effective protection leadership and strengthen regional and national protection frameworks plans and capacities. Coordinate development of the Bureau's strategic protection partnerships with selected institutions, including regional organizations, relevant NGOs, civil society and academic institutions. Advocate for protection within regional coordination mechanisms.
- Maintain a functional link and oversight of the most senior protection staff in Country Offices. Coordinate and provide legal, technical and policy advice to Country Operations and enforce Country Operations' compliance with, and operationalization of, UNHCR's global protection policies and standards, priorities and commitments.
- Support Country Offices in identifying and taking up opportunities to influence legislative, institutional and judicial processes in relation to asylum, statelessness and internal displacement; ensure quality comments are provided on draft legislation and policies and to Human Rights mechanisms; review judicial interventions and engage with legal and judicial institutions as relevant.
- Guide and support Country Operations in the development of strategies to build and further develop national asylum/RSD systems with a view to ensuring their fairness, efficiency, adaptability and integrity.
- Support Country Operations in the preparations of Exchange of Letters, Tripartite Agreements, and other agreements as required.
- Support Country Operations and ensure they meet their complementary pathways objectives and resettlement quotas. Support local integration objectives and well as efforts to promote social inclusion.
- Guide and support risk management related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), fraud, data protection, and human rights due diligence at country level, in consultation with relevant Divisions (as appropriate).
- Consolidate and share analysis of emerging protection risks and recommended practices with DIP for global analysis and consult DIP on sensitive protection issues and when proposed regional/local UNHCR policy/position could affect global coherence and accountabilities.
- Coordinate efforts to harmonize and ensure the effectiveness of the Bureau's external protection communications with key counterparts including donors and the media.
- Develop protection capacity of senior protection and legal staff in the region through protection training and regional consultations; promote reviews and evaluations across all areas of protection and identify, document and disseminate promising practices.

- Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For D1 - 17 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 16 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 15 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
International Public Law; International Refugee Law; Political Science; International Human Rights Law; Refugee and Forced Migration; International Relations;

or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Minimum 12 years of previous work experience in progressively responsible functions in an organisation or institution that assists asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and/or IDPs, preferably within the UN. Thorough knowledge of International refugee law and its application; ability to analyse and advocate the application of various regional legal instruments for the benefits of the persons under UNHCR's mandate. Proven and outstanding track record and intimate familiarity with UNHCR's protection doctrine and operational experiences, including experience of application of protection doctrine in highly political context, senior level protection management, leadership in coordination within UNHCR and the UN and with government counterparts. Excellent drafting and analytic skills.

Desirable
Solid UNHCR experience from both the Field (including Hardship Duty stations) and Headquarters.

Functional Skills
*PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators
*PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
*PR-Developing Strategic Protection Framework
*PR-Comprehensive Solutions Framework
*PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

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.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

The ideal candidate will be a seasoned and principled leader with extensive management experience, coupled with a robust academic and professional background pertaining to international protection and solutions in headquarters and field duty stations, including beyond the Europe region. The candidate must have demonstrated ability to successfully bring together teams and streams of work to formulate integrated protection and solutions strategies and deliver results in politically sensitive and operationally diverse contexts. The individual should have a strong understanding of European institutions, politics and policy orientations and demonstrate previous success in building effective relationships with policy makers in support of UNHCR’s protection and solutions priorities. Robust experience in the following areas is required: international refugee law and protection frameworks; asylum system strengthening; responses to mixed population movements; and solutions, with an emphasis on strengthening socio-economic inclusion and supporting voluntary return. The incumbent will also provide managerial oversight of the Regional Bureau’s, Athens-based, DIMA pillar and therefore should be familiar with UNHCR’s data, information management and analysis frameworks and show past success in guiding the appropriate collection and use of data to inform UNHCR protection response and advocacy engagement. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong judgment, solid negotiating skills, diplomacy and tact. These skills will be demonstrated in strong, and compelling, public speaking abilities and sound drafting skills. Working alongside the Bureau’s Deputy Director, and in support of the Regional Director, the individual is required to demonstrate a high degree of strategic vision and operational leadership with an emphasis on ensuring policy and protection programme coherence and alignment with UNHCR’s global strategies through a collaborative and effective multifunctional team approach.

The candidate should possess:

- Strong political acumen and negotiation skills, with the ability to engage effectively with senior government officials, intergovernmental bodies, donors, NGOs and other key stakeholders.
- Proven capacity to lead and coordinate regional protection and solutions responses, particularly in contexts impacted by mixed population movements and transitioning from emergency response.
- A leadership style that is inclusive, collaborative, and grounded UNHCR’s multifunctional approach and core values of integrity, respect for diversity, and accountability.
- Proven ability to analyze political situations and provide strategic advice on a broad range of issues.
- Strong communication skills, including preferably the ability to offer compelling public interventions in more than one UN official language most used in the European context (English, French, German and Spanish)
- Capacity to oversee and provide guidance regarding regional data, information management and analysis efforts.
- Capacity to act as Officer-in-Charge for the Bureau, in the absence of the Regional Director and his Deputy.

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

By end-2024, the number of refugees in Europe reached 12.0 million and the number of internally displaced persons was 4.9 million, with close to 9 million of them corresponding to refugees and IDPs from Ukraine displaced since February 2022. Two European countries are among the top five largest refugee hosting countries in the world, namely Türkiye (2.9 million) and Germany (2.7 million). In addition, by end-2024, countries in Europe were hosting close to 1.5 million asylum-seekers pending a decision and an estimated figure of 0.5 million stateless persons.

Prior to February 2022, and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the majority of operations in Europe were small protection-advocacy operations focused on strengthening asylum systems and facilitating solutions, in particular refugee inclusion. The significant humanitarian needs arising from massive outflows from Ukraine in 2022 affected many of UNHCR’s operation in Europe, with the most significant impact felt in neighboring countries requiring the rapid expansion of UNHCR’s operational footprint and protection activities. Since February 2022, UNHCR has looked beyond immediate emergency response needs in neighboring countries to seek solutions, and a sustainable response, from the start. These efforts, now accelerated by reduced donor funding to countries neighboring Ukraine, continue with an emphasis on strengthening the socio-economic inclusion of refugees from Ukraine. Furthermore, while the war in Ukraine continues, preparations for increased voluntary returns to Ukraine continue to be a focus of many states across Europe. UNHCR remains engaged in this regard, while continuing its support to the humanitarian response in Ukraine as well as to early recovery efforts where conditions allow. UNHCR also continues its engagement in the Russian Federation which continues to host a large number of Ukrainians, particularly from the Temporarily Occupied Territories in the east of Ukraine.

Within the context of continued mixed population movements to the external borders of the European Union, support to states in strengthening asylum and migration management in line with the framework provided by the organization’s Route-Based Approach and the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, entering into force in June 2026, remains a key area of work. Mixed movement along the three key maritime routes to Europe, and the associated challenges of search and rescue, pushbacks and access to territory, continue to require attention and engagement.   

Recent developments in the Syrian Arab Republic have significantly impacted UNHCR’s operational engagement in Türkiye.  UNHCR is working closely with the Government of Türkiye to facilitate  voluntary returns, in line with UNHCR’s operational framework for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons.

UNHCR remains committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. This commitment is realized through close collaboration with civil society, regional organizations and individuals with lived experience of statelessness.

The incumbent of the position heads supervising a multidisciplinary team within the Regional Bureau for Europe comprising of Protection, Solutions (inclusion) and DIMA teams.

Living and Working Conditions:

Geneva is a HQ duty station offering high standard living conditions with a relatively high cost of living.
With the exception of nationals of the European Union (EU), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Principality of Andorra, San Martin, Singapore and Vatican, nationals from other countries are subject to the visa requirement for taking up employment. In the absence of a Swiss long stay entry visa, the Swiss mission cannot issue them a Carte de legitimation (equivalent to a work and residency permit). The same rule applies to family members who, depending on their nationalities, must enter Switzerland with a visa for family reunion purposes.

Identifying accommodation will be a priority before arriving at the duty station. Staff members assigned to Geneva have also been granted the opportunity to reside in neighbouring France on the understanding that the preconditions to acquiring a French residency permit are respected. Medical care is up to international standards. Under the Swiss Federal Health Insurance Act health insurance coverage is compulsory for all persons domiciled in Switzerland within three months of taking up residence or being born in the country. International staff members and their family members holding a Carte de legitimation or an attestation delivered by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs are exempt from this compulsory insurance provided that they are covered by another health insurance scheme (i.e. UNSMIS).

With regard to educational facilities in the Geneva area, international schools (La Grande Boissière, Châtaigneraie and Pregny) have difficulties to find places for new admissions. It is therefore advisable to make requests for admission for children as early as possible. For more information on this subject, staff can contact the Association Genevoise des écoles privées in Geneva (www.agep.ch), tel: (+41 22 735 7671).

Staff members at the grade of P-5 and above, who reside in Switzerland, enjoy diplomatic status in Switzerland and may purchase goods tax-free in Switzerland. They are also entitled to the Swiss petrol card and CD plates.

Switzerland is in general a safe place with little violent crime.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD), PR-Comprehensive Solutions Framework, PR-Developing Strategic Protection Framework, PR-Gender Based Violence (GBV) Coordination, PR-Protection-related guidelines, standards and indicators

Bachelor of Arts: International Human Rights Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Public Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Refugee Law, Bachelor of Arts: International Relations, Bachelor of Arts: Political Science, Bachelor of Arts: Refugee and Forced Migration Studies

Certifications

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Stakeholder management, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Add. 2 to the Bi-Annual 2025 Compendium - Part A

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance Jetzt bewerben