Protection Assistant - Emergency

Project Background

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is an international humanitarian organization with operations in over 40 countries, committed to assisting, protecting, and finding solutions for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and other conflict-affected communities. As part of our continuous effort to improve humanitarian responses, we are increasingly focusing on anticipatory action (AA) to mitigate the impacts of disasters, both climate-related and conflict-induced, before they unfold. Following a gradual scale-up strategy, DRC has piloted this approach in nine countries to date, driving innovation in displacement forecasting and anticipatory action for human mobility. In Uganda, DRC has been present since 1997, implementing projects across the country in Protection, Economic Recovery Humanitarian Disarmament, and Peacebuilding with a current focus on the refugee situation in the West Nile and southwest regions.

Overall, Purpose of the Role:  

The Protection Assistant will be responsible for supporting the implementation of the implementation of protection activities within the framework of this project. In particular, The Assistant will support strengthening the quality of protection outcomes by catalyzing community actions around the affected persons and promoting Anticipatory action initiatives through working with community-based structures. The position will report to the Project Manager ( Direct Supervisor) and will be pivotal in expanding DRC’s anticipatory action initiatives in close collaboration with partners at the West Nile level. You will work closely with Rhinio and Imvepi teams, local government bodies, and stakeholders to design, implement, and scale anticipatory action projects that enhance preparedness and improve the resilience of communities at risk of displacemen.

Responsibilities:

1. Program Implementation

• Support protection activities such as awareness-raising, case management, and community engagement.
• Assist in delivering services to vulnerable populations (e.g., psychosocial support, legal referrals).
• Facilitate training sessions on protection principles.
• Work in close collaboration with the reception center focal persons and other relevant settlement stakeholders such as OPM, and RWC to ensure community support and collaboration in the provision of emergency relief to new arrivals, refugees, and other protection cases.
• Strengthen capacities of the community-based structures, and participate in training, mentorship, and reflective sessions with the structures such as the RWC, CDW, and HDW to achieve optimal performance.
• Strengthen linkages between members of the community, partners, and different service providers, breaking barriers to access to services by persons of action.
• Ensure mobilization and creation of protection information in the community so that persons of concern and communities are well-informed and can take precautionary actions against protection risks and make informed decisions.
• Identify gaps in terms of protection and community services and generate ideas to address them with a strong impact on the beneficiaries.
• Participate in conducting needs and programmatic assessments in targeted locations
• Identify and intervene on protection cases in the settlement with technical support from their line manager.
• Refer protection cases to partner agencies and seek to solicit services for them.
• Ensure all protection activities and cases re individually documented, filed and up to date
• Ensure quality data collection, analysis, and storage in line with the Protection Information Management principles.
• Ensure a daily monitoring of protection trends in his area of assignment
• Contribute to the preparation of monthly and weekly activity and spending plans in close collaboration with Protection Officer Community Based.

2. Coordination and Collaboration

• Liaise with stakeholders, including community leaders, NGOs, and government agencies, to align protection efforts.
• Participate in coordination meetings to ensure integrated approaches.
• Build relationships with local actors to strengthen response mechanisms.
• Develop relationships with a range of key stakeholders, Local Government, and other stakeholders on the Anticipatory Action thematic areas at the field level in close liaison with the Protection team.
• Representation of DRC and active participation in the local Community-Based working groups and any other meetings as requested.
• Close coordination in project implementation with partners (UN agencies and national/international NGOs), including referrals, community services gap analysis, and advocacy.
• Work closely with the other program components to maximize program output and impact.

Support management:

• Follow up on all DRC Procedures for Security, Finance, Logistics, HR, and Administration.
• Uphold DRC’s international code of conduct and principles of accountability.
• Any other tasks as may be assigned from time to time.

3. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

• Collect data on protection outcomes and document cases.
• Support the development of progress reports and ensure compliance with project goals.
• Monitor the impact of interventions and suggest improvements.
• This role ensures that anticipatory actions are effectively implemented, responsive to community needs, and well-coordinated with broader protection initiatives.
• Collaborate with the AA coordinator, MEAL team, and PM on Monitoring and evaluation activities at field level.
• Identify, document, and disseminate relevant project success, and challenges and follow up on the implementation of the project’s action points
• Assist in participatory needs/vulnerability and capacity assessments of affected communities.
• Participate in project evaluations and assist in the analysis of results in close collaboration with MEAL.

Experience and Technical Competencies:

• Degree in a related field, such as social work, social sciences, or development studies.
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience working in international humanitarian and/or development aid, preferably with displaced populations.
• Technical expertise and experience in social work, protection, and Anticipatory Action.
• Robust Engagement and planning skills.
• Demonstrable track record of meeting or exceeding program targets, whilst maintaining technical quality
• A demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, partners and local organizations
• Fluent in written and spoken English

Education:

Degree in social work, social sciences or development studies, or other relevant field.