Deputy Director of Refugee Legal Aid Program

StARS - St. Andrew s Refugee Services

StARS Mission: Driven by a commitment to solidarity and human dignity, StARS works both as displaced people and for displaced people to support the resilience and leadership of individuals and communities in their pursuit of an enhanced quality of life.

StARS Vision: StARS envisions a future where displaced people and the societies they join stand in solidarity, recognizing the strength and leadership of refugees. In this world, the displaced thrive with dignity, claiming their rights and enriching our shared human experience.

Standard of Professional Conduct: StARS and all its staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in StARS Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Policy, and PSEAH policy.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: StARS is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. StARS expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.

We serve people from many places, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

To learn more please visit our website: www.stars-egypt.org or our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/standrewsrefugeeservices?fref=ts

Description of the Program

The Refugee Legal Aid Program provides advice and representation to refugees seeking recognition by UNHCR through registration and refugee status determination procedures in Egypt, and assists refugees to address protection risks they face in Egypt and access durable solutions to safe third countries. The Refugee Legal Aid Program comprises a team of approximately 40 full-time staff, 10-12 volunteers, and a team of 20 staff and consultant interpreters.

Role

Under the supervision of the Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program, the Deputy Director supports management of program services implementation focused on legal advice and representation to urban refugees in matters of refugee status determination, protection, and resettlement. The Deputy Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program supports all matters relating to day-to-day running of services, staff supervision, and coordination with other StARS programs and partners. The Deputy Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program supports the program s Coordinators in introducing new services and implementing changes in services to respond to evolving needs and changes in UNHCR processing and the protection context.

Responsibilities

All duties are carried out under the supervision of the Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program. The Deputy Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program performs a range of duties including the following:

Legal and Technical

• Provide legal counselling and assistance to refugees regarding their applications for UNHCR registration, refugee status determination, protection, and resettlement, particularly on complex and sensitive cases. The Deputy Director is expected to maintain a caseload of clients in Refugee Status Determination, protection, or resettlement matters.
• Provide legal and technical guidance to the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators on the development of services, improving service quality, and efficiency of services and internal systems.
• Monitor and support smooth functioning of the Refugee Legal Aid Program services to ensure interventions are provided in a timely and effective manner, and to ensure adherence to and consistency with the Refugee Legal Aid Program s established guidelines and procedures.
• Support development and review of Refugee Legal Aid Program manuals and policies and procedures, ensuring staff maintain a standard of quality of services and productivity to maximize the availability of legal services to refugees and vulnerable migrants.
• Ensure program monitoring and evaluation systems are in place, that programming is reviewed based on results and emerging needs, and prepare and support the implementation of new services through needs assessments, work plans, and proposals.
• Provide technical and legal guidance on country-of-origin information in support of individual refugee and protection claims, as well as for general organizational research purposes.
• Maintain detailed knowledge and understanding of the current political and social situations in the countries of origin of StARS clients, as well as in the country of asylum.
• Maintain good working knowledge of UNHCR guidelines, processes, and procedures.
• Ensure systems are in place for Refugee Legal Aid Program staff to assess legal and extra-legal client needs and refer to other StARS programs or external organizations as appropriate.
• Ensure that comprehensive case management practices are adhered to, including maintaining and updating electronic databases and records for each client, and keeping detailed notes of all casework activities.
• Support the Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program to guide recruitment processes, and support Refugee Legal Aid Program management with recruitment of senior staff positions within the program, and within other StARS programs as needed.
• Support oversight of development and regular review and updates to induction training programs for new staff and volunteers to ensure consistency in the quality of legal advice and services provided to clients.
• Coordinate with Director of the Refugee Legal Aid Program and program Coordinators to arrange ongoing training for Refugee Legal Aid Program staff and volunteers on UNHCR Registration, Refugee Status Determination, protection, resettlement, and legal matters, as needed.
• Support coordination with StARS Community Outreach Department on training and supervision program for community paralegals supported by StARS and working at partner refugee-led organizations.
• In coordination with the Community Outreach Department, support system to deliver legal workshops for refugee communities.