International Protection Officer

Nonviolent Peaceforce

To implement civilian protection and violence-prevention programming for those affected by the crisis/violent conflict in Iraq.

The International Protection Officer will implement community-based violence reduction and prevention programming in various locations in Iraq, in the context of on-going civil conflict and high levels displacement, GBV, and familial violence. You will be a person with a genuine commitment to working at the community level; someone who is skilled at building trusting relationships in an extremely polarized political climate. You are someone who is not deterred by the complexity of conflict; you are able to analyze conflict dynamics; you are motivated and unendingly persistent in finding and implementing protection and prevention strategies. You will be responsible for working together with other international and national colleagues to directly implement the project and to participate in reporting and documentation. You are comfortable living and working in a physically demanding environment, living full-time in a shared compound environment.

The successful candidate combines creativity, innovation and demonstrated knowledge of conflict and violence prevention, protection, and/or peacebuilding and social cohesion. S/he is experienced and skilled at converting violence prevention, social cohesion, and/or conflict analysis theory into practical and locally appropriate solutions that effectively increase the safety and security of civilians affected by violence. S/he has excellent interpersonal skills and flair for connecting and building trust with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. S/he is solutions focused, strategic, and is driven by a keen interest and personal commitment to civilian protection. S/he is fluent in English and Arabic.

KEY OBJECTIVES/RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Commitment to NP Principles
   
   • Facilitate a full-time approach to ensuring a positive image of the organization
2. Programme Implementation
   
   • Information gathering and context analysis
     
     • Continuously monitor local conflict situation in order to track violence and conflict trends and identify protection needs.
     • Assess security risks and develop conflict mitigation strategies for both host and IDP communities and returnees
     • Work and live within conflict affected communities to build trust, to establish deep contextual understanding and to effect nonpartisan position
   • Community Engagement
     
     • Facilitate active participation and leadership of women in community peace and security strategies
     • Build relationships with key stakeholders, including government, security, and tribal leadership
     • Identify and flag communities or individuals in need of specialised support services, maintain updated referral pathway, ensure effective dissemination of information
     • Establish and support community protection mechanisms, including intensive follow-up and support.
   • Training
     
     • Provide technical skills training in conflict analysis, nonviolent conflict resolution and community-based protection strategies or other technical areas based upon previous experience (GBV, at-risk youth, Child Protection)
     • Develop training materials and tailor existing training materials to field-level contexts to be used with local communities
   • Protective presence, accompaniment, and other interventions
     
     • Design and implement protection interventions appropriate to context and need within parameters of mandate and projects
     • Provide protective presence and accompaniment to vulnerable groups and persons with specific needs, with particular focus on combating gender-based violence.
     • Facilitate communications and relationships between communities or individuals in conflict, providing proactive engagement to mitigate potential conflict including facilitated dialogue and shuttle diplomacy
     • Manage cases of individuals who are vulnerable or under threat, including working with other service providers and managing a follow-up process.
   • Administration and Operation:
     
     • Reporting
       
       • Produce activity, field and training reports and support the Team Leader in internal and external reporting as needed
     • Security
       
       • Support the team in consistent security analysis and development of security protocols.
       • Ensure all project work is consistent with agreed safety and security policies and procedures
     • Logistics/Finance
       
       • Complete team-level finance reports as requested and support monitoring of team cash, spending and financial documentation
       • Support team-level logistics and operations, including completing procurement requests, supporting asset management and compound management
       • Assist with procurement of supplies or other logistical matters when delegated by the Team Leader
     • Other
       
       • Perform any other work duties assigned by the Team Leader
       • Be available to work in any field site as needed by the organization.