Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
A (least hardship)
- Family Type (not applicable for home-based)Family
- Staff Member / Affiliate Type
UNOPS IICA1
- Target Start Date

- Deadline for Applications
December 23, 2024
- Terms of Reference
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
- This position is offered under UNOPS International (IICA) contract until 31/12/2025 with possibility of extension.
- Remuneration: A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For more information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the Office of HR Management of United Nations. UNHCR also offers comprehensive medical insurance and pension plans.
- All UNHCR workforce 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.
1. General Background
(Brief description of the national, sector-specific or other relevant context in which the individual contractor will operate)
UNHCR continues to observe a high number of asylum claims being submitted in Mexico by citizens of countries of Northern Central America and from other origins, including a significant number of people with specific protection needs, such as LGBTI persons, women at risk, other survivors of violence and unaccompanied and separated children, among others.
Within this context,



UNHCR protection activities consist mainly of (i) providing information as well as legal and basic material assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers, through local partners and ensuring access to a fair and efficient refugee status determination (RSD) procedure, including those in detention; (ii) promoting livelihoods and local integration; and (iii) the delivery of training activities to different governmental staff and civil society organizations on basic principles of International Refugee Law, in particular staff of the Mexican Refugee Commission (COMAR), Migration officials (INM) and the Child Protection Authority (Procuraduría de la Niñez).
In UNHCR Mexico, since 2019, the Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI) team consists of a group of experts with proven field experience in specific areas from Registration to RSD and Refugee Statistics, to provide technical guidance and support to COMAR, the governmental institution in charge of the National Asylum System. Through QAI, assessments are conducted to evaluate and advance the quality and efficiency of the asylum system procedures. QAI recommendations aim to increase capacity and quality of the asylum system with a view to improving its efficiency, fairness, adaptability and integrity. In line with the yearly workplan,



through partnership agreements that set ground to the collaboration between UNHCR and COMAR defining the main objectives and actions to be implemented to strengthen COMAR’s case processing capacity, QAI consultants have the responsibility to accompany COMAR’s directors to reach the objectives mutually agreed.
2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
(Concise and detailed description of activities, tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken, including expected travel, if applicable)
Under the overall supervision of the RSD Officer, the Assistant Protection Officer will be required to:
- Stay abreast of political, social, economic, and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
- Know the authorities’ local and internal mechanisms and context in which COMAR operates.
- Develop and maintain trustful bonds with counterparts in COMAR (Directors and heads of offices) to conduct capacity development activities.
- Conduct needs assessments to evaluate the quality of the asylum procedure’s steps, such as in reception, registration, identity management and data recollection and reporting steps in COMAR.
- Draft recommendations based on QAI assessments, to make the national asylum system more efficient and fairer and to reduce processing times, always aiming at the international quality protection standards and regional best practices.
- Assist COMAR´s directors in developing protocols, guidance, and training material to homologate asylum processes and best practices at the national level.
- Ensure the implementation of the yearly Partnership Agreement´s activities, working together with other QAI experts and UNHCR operative units (Supply, Administration, Program) in a transversal, collaborative and cohesive way.
- Support and ensure the sustainability of the Digital Transformation projects, overseeing whether the systems administratio

📌 Associate Protection Officer (QAi/registration) - Unops Iica-1 (Ciudad de México)
🏢 United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (Unhcr)
📍 Ciudad de México