Expedited: Migrants Protection Officer (P)

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants. 

IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.

IOM invites candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process when required. Learn more about IOM’s workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

This is an expedited recruitment process, open for applications from internal and internal-equivalent candidates only. 

Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Mission (CoM), and the direct supervision of the Senior Emergency Coordinator, the Migrant Protection Officer will be responsible and accountable for providing technical and programmatic  guidance and coordination of International Organization for Migration (IOM) Haiti’s migrant protection activities within reception and post-arrival assistance interventions, while facilitating effective inter-agency coordination and coordinating protection-sensitive, rights-based screening, referral and post-arrival support for deported and other vulnerable returnees. 

1. Provide technical and programmatic guidance and coordination of IOM Haiti’s migrant protection component within reception and post-arrival assistance interventions in the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince, ensuring that activities are implemented in line with IOM standards, protection principles, applicable inter-agency guidance, and rights-based and do-no-harm approaches. 
2. Manage programme implementation, including financial monitoring, disbursement rates, identify course correction measures if required, and comply with reporting requirements.
3. Develop, adapt and monitor vulnerability screening and identification procedures at points of arrival to facilitate timely identification of deportees and returnees with specific needs, including unaccompanied and separated children, persons at risk of violence, exploitation or abuse, persons requiring psychosocial support, persons with disabilities, undocumented individuals, persons with urgent protection concerns, and others requiring priority support.
4. Provide technical guidance on referral pathways and protection case management processes, including the development and regular updating of service mapping, referral protocols, eligibility and prioritization criteria, escalation pathways, accompaniment arrangements where relevant, and follow-up mechanisms to monitor referral completion and identify service gaps.  Handle high-risk cases if necessary.
5. Lead the child protection technical interface of the response, in coordination with the Institut du Bien-Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR) and other competent actors,  implementing procedures for the identification, family contact support, safe referral and follow-up of unaccompanied and separated children and other at-risk children, in accordance with child safeguarding principles, family tracing and reunification standards, and best interests considerations, while respecting the statutory mandate of relevant government institutions.
6. Undertake and regularly update protection risk analyses related to onward movement and post-arrival conditions, in close coordination with programme, operations and security colleagues, and provide recommendations to mitigate risks linked to armed violence, exploitation, kidnapping, family separation, exclusion from services, unsafe travel and other protection threats affecting deportees and vulnerable returnees.
7. Mainstream protection across relevant reception and post-arrival assistance activities, including registration, information provision, health screening interfaces, temporary accommodation, transportation assistance, legal identity and documentation support, and community feedback mechanisms, with particular attention to dignity, confidentiality, informed consent, safety, accessibility, non-discrimination, age, gender and diversity considerations, and data protection.
8. Contribute substantially to the integration of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and safeguarding standards across migrant reception and protection activities by reviewing procedures, service delivery modalities and reception arrangements; promoting awareness-raising and accessible information for affected populations; contribute to awareness-raising and provide information to staff and counterparts understand on safe identification, safe disclosure, reporting pathways and expected standards of conduct.
9. Coordinate the development, revision and operationalization of protection SOPs, guidance notes, tools and workflows, including screening tools, referral pathways, confidentiality and consent protocols, temporary accommodation criteria, procedures for the identification and referral of undocumented returnees for legal identity and civil documentation support, incident escalation processes, and inter-institutional coordination arrangements.
10. Provide technical guidance, coaching and capacity building to relevant project staff, field teams and government counterparts on migrant protection, vulnerability screening, safe referrals, case management principles, child protection, protection mainstreaming, PSEA, data protection, communication with affected populations, and related topics, including through practical training, on-the-job support and preparedness exercises.
11. Act as IOM focal point on migrant protection in relevant coordination mechanisms and represent IOM in relevant Protection Cluster discussions, inter-agency coordination forums, and technical meetings with national authorities, United Nations agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders, as appropriate.
12. Support the strengthening of inter-institutional coordination mechanisms among the Office National de la Migration (ONM), Ministry of Public Health and Population, IBESR, Office National de l’Identification, Direction de l’Immigration et de l’Emigration, Archives Nationales d’Haïti and other relevant actors to improve the quality, predictability and coherence of reception, referral, legal identity/documentation support and post-arrival protection arrangements.
13. Produce and contribute to protection analysis, internal briefings, donor inputs and programme recommendations based on operational experience, referral trends, vulnerability profiles, access barriers and emerging risks, in coordination with Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and other relevant units, while providing technical interpretation and facilitating operational use of relevant findings.
14. Participate actively in contingency planning and preparedness for increased return movements, sudden changes in access or security conditions, and operational disruptions affecting reception and post-arrival assistance, ensuring that protection concerns are adequately reflected in scenario planning and response adaptation.
15. Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

• Master’s degree in Human Rights, International Law, International Relations, Humanitarian Assistance, Migration Studies, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Political Sciences, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience; or,
• University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.

• Demonstrated experience in migrant protection and/or humanitarian response in crisis, displacement, post-conflict or other fragile operational contexts;
• Experience in vulnerability screening, referral mechanisms, protection case management oversight, or related protection programming in migration or displacement settings;
• Experience liaising and coordinating with government authorities, United Nations agencies, NGOs and other relevant institutional stakeholders;
• Experience supporting inter-agency coordination mechanisms and providing technical guidance, capacity building or operational support in protection-related responses.

• Knowledge of movement operations and familiarity with IOM administrative, financial and business rules and practices is desirable;
• Demonstrated knowledge of migrants’ protection standards and their practical application in reception and post-arrival assistance contexts;
• Sound understanding of rights-based programming, protection mainstreaming, AAP, PSEA, child safeguarding, confidentiality and data protection principles;
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective referral pathways and inter-institutional coordination mechanisms.
• Proven analytical, planning, coordination and communication skills, including the ability to draft clearly, facilitate effectively and adapt to fast-changing operational environments;
• Proficiency in standard office applications is required; familiarity with operational data collection and information management processes is an advantage.
   

IOM’s official languages are English, French and Spanish. All staff members are required to be fluent in one of the three languages.

For this position, fluency in English and French is required (oral and written).

Working knowledge of Haitian Creole is an advantage. 

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile. Please refer to this link for guidance on IOM Job Category. Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation. This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations. Recommended candidates will remain eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.

Appointment will be subject to all clearances, including medical and security as well as accreditation, any residency or visa requirements. Vacancies close at 23:59 local time Geneva, Switzerland on the respective closing date. No late applications will be accepted.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and any forms of discrimination. IOM is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

IOM conducts reference checks and background verification, including through system wide databases such as ClearCheck, to help ensure that candidates have no record of misconduct, including on sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, or fraud. Candidates are expected to uphold these standards and principles at all times.

IOM does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process—whether for application, interview, processing, training, or otherwise—and does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM WAVE system (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies