Saint Andrew’s Refugee Services, Cairo
Vacancy Announcement: Senior Legal Intake Officer
Founded in 1979, StARS is a refugee service provider in central Cairo that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through five broad program areas: education, psychosocial, legal, community outreach and unaccompanied youth and children support services. We provide high-quality services meeting the unaddressed needs of refugees, and we provide a safe and inclusive space for displaced people to come together as a community. We work for refugees, with refugees, to make rights recognition a reality.
StARS’ Mission: Driven by a commitment to justice and fairness, StARS works as displaced people and for displaced people to respect human dignity and enhance quality of life.
StARS’ Vision: Displaced people lead in the creation and implementation of responses to different forms of migration to establish safe, just, welcoming, and inclusive communities globally.
We serve people from many places, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Project Description: Refugee Legal Aid Program
The Refugee Legal Aid Program provides advice and representation to refugees seeking recognition by UNHCR through refugee status determination procedures in Egypt and assists refugees in accessing resettlement to safe third countries. The Refugee Legal Aid Program is seeking a Senior Legal Intake Officer to supervise conducting initial screenings of refugees approaching Refugee Legal Aid Program for assistance with refugee status determination, protection, and resettlement related inquiries.
Current Sudan Context
In light of the recent and ongoing civil war in Sudan, StARS is experiencing a high influx of persons forcibly displaced from Sudan. This includes Sudanese nationals and other nationalities previously displaced from their country of origin to Sudan. StARS remains flexible and reactive to changes in the local asylum-seeking environment as influenced by the Sudan conflict. The Refugee Legal Aid Program is seeking to increase its capacity to provide adequate legal advice and representation in accordance with UNHCR procedures, to best assist those affected by this ongoing conflict.
Role
Under the supervision of the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators, the Senior Legal Intake Officer is responsible for the supervision of the Refugee Legal Aid Program drop-in and emergency response clinic in StARS main site. The Senior Legal Intake Officers is also responsible for the supervision of Legal Intake Officers conducting assessments and providing advice to refugees and vulnerable migrants approaching StARS for emergency legal support and referrals. This includes planning and logistical support for the smooth operation of Refugee Legal Aid Program drop-in and emergency response clinic. The Senior Legal Intake Officer will be responsible for reviewing intake conducted by Legal Intake Officers and ensure accurate follow-up and/or advice is provided to refugees and vulnerable migrants. The Senior Legal Intake Officer will be responsible for training Legal Intake Officers on preparing detention reports, referrals for legal assistance or registration inquiries, and referral to Refugee Legal Aid Program Refugee Status Determination or protection case management services. Further responsibilities include coordination on referrals to and from drop-in and emergency response clinics of other StARS Programs.
Responsibilities
All duties are carried out in coordination with the Resettlement Program and Refugee Status Determination Program Coordinators.
Legal and Technical
- In collaboration with Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators, review and improve intake and screening procedures for identifying at-risk refugees and vulnerable migrants to be prioritized for Refugee Legal Aid Program services.
- To monitor on a daily basis the progress of Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response services to ensure that clients are seen on the same day they approach Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response clinic.
- To adapt the assignment of Legal Intake Officers to respond to unusual high number of clients approaching the Refugee Legal Aid Program drop-in and emergency response clinic.
- To supervise and review emergency and drop-in intakes of potential clients.
- To review recommended follow-up actions and advice provided by Legal Intake Officers to clients accessing Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response clinic.
- To maintain good working knowledge of UNHCR policies and procedures.
- To support Legal Intake Officers, prepare referrals to other services on behalf of clients accessing the Refugee Legal Aid Program drop-in and emergency response clinic.
- To support Legal Intake Officers in drafting, and reviewing detention reports and referrals for legal assistance to UNHCR’s Protection Unit.
- To support Legal Intake Officers by reviewing referrals to UNHCR’s Registration Unit to resolve registration related hurdles.
- To support Legal Intake Officers with follow-up communication and inquiries to UNHCR regarding legal, registration and resettlement cases.
- To supervise the general legal counseling and advice provided to refugees regarding their applications for registration, protection, and resettlement with UNHCR.
- To supervise Legal Intake Officers in providing general assistance and counseling to refugees regarding access to complementary pathways and family reunification.
- To ensure that assessments conducted through the drop-in and emergency response clinic assess extra-legal needs of clients.
- To support Legal Intake Officers in referring clients to other StARS Programs or external service providers as appropriate.
- To undertake comprehensive case management practices including maintaining and updating electronic databases and records for each client, and keeping detailed notes of all casework activities.
- To adhere to the Nairobi Code of Ethics, the StARS Policies and Procedures Manual, and the StARS Code of Conduct.
Programmatic
- To assist the Refugee Legal Aid Program coordinators in development and implementation of team policies and procedures.
- To develop a three-months shift coverage schedule for Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response clinics.
- To develop contingency plans to ensure appropriate coverage of Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response clinics.
- To ensure that no backlog of clients pending follow-up is built up from the Refugee Legal Aid Program drop-in and emergency response clinic.
- To provide case reporting data to the Refugee Legal Aid Program coordinators as requested for purposes of accurately reporting work to senior management, funders, and others.
- To undertake
- To attend and contribute to team meetings and other staff meetings.
- To build and maintain strong relationships with refugee communities in Cairo.
- To build and maintain relationships with psychosocial and education staff and operational partners.
Supervisory
- To supervise the Refugee Legal Aid Program Legal Intake Officers.
- To assist the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators in the recruitment of volunteer legal advisors and other staff.
- To assist the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators in conducting intensive two-to-three-week training for new volunteers and staff two to three times per year.
- Under the supervision of the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators, to supervise and train Legal Intake Officers.
- To assist the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators in the management of staff caseloads, and the provision of case specific advice.
- To engage proactively in promoting self-care among volunteers and other staff.
- To ensure high quality legal advice and representation and a refugee rights-based approach.
Finance and Administration
- To undergo probation and regular performance appraisals.
Communication and Reporting
- To communicate regularly with the Refugee Legal Aid Program Coordinators, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within the Refugee Legal Aid Program.
- To conduct trend analysis through a quarterly review of Refugee Legal Aid Program’s drop-in and emergency response services, including the number of clients accessing services, the reasons for clients to seek Refugee Legal Aid Program’s assistance, and the follow-up services provided by Refugee Legal Aid Program.
- To promote information-sharing within the Refugee Legal Aid Program and StARS on all issues affecting the populations we serve.
Qualifications and Experience
The ideal candidate will be energetic, articulate, and comfortable interacting with diverse segments of society. She or he will have demonstrated a firm commitment to human rights and refugee issues.
Essential qualifications:
- Current or previous lived experience of forced displacement
- English being the official language of UNHCR Cairo and StARS, the Legal Intake Officer must have a strong command in oral and written English.
- Fluency in Arabic or another language spoken by refugee communities in Egypt.
- A minimum of two year of experience in working with refugees in legal or protection issues Or undergraduate university degree in a related field (international development, international law, development or political studies) OR a qualified lawyer in any jurisdiction (J.D., LLB or equivalent) with one year relevant experience
- Excellent legal research, analytical, and drafting skills.
- Knowledge of UNHCR guidelines and procedures.
- High computer literacy level.
- Knowledge of the general protection situation and vulnerabilities of refugees in Egypt.
- A demonstrated commitment to and sensitivity toward vulnerable or displaced people.
- Ability to live and work in a fluid security environment.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment, well organized, self-motivated, and reliable.
- Demonstrated compassion for refugees and displaced people.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a team as well as individually.
- A positive attitude and sensitive manner when dealing with clients including a range of interviewing skills for dealing with challenging scenarios, particularly in advocating for survivors of violence, trafficking, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence.
Desirable Characteristics:
- Experience designing and conducting training for non-technical audiences.
- Managerial experience or familiarity with volunteer oversight.
- Life and work experience in the Middle East or Egypt or with an urban refugee population.
Working Hours: The Senior Legal Intake Officer is expected to be at work for 40 hours per week), between the hours of 9am and 5pm, from Sunday to Thursday. Longer hours, evening and weekend work are sometimes necessary. Work will be conducted both in StARS premises and also in refugee communities and centers.
Supervised by: Resettlement Program Coordinator.
Salary: 13,500 EGP/month, rising to 15,000 EGP/month following successful completion three-month probationary period. Plus 4,020 EGP/year Health Coverage and 100 EGP/month Saving Scheme Contribution upon completion of probationary period.
Additional official benefits as stipulated in StARS Staff Handbook Guidelines.
This position is subject to a three-month probationary period, at which time the employee’s performance will be reviewed and probation may be extended.
Closing date for applications: 12 September 2023
Anticipated Starting date: 1 October 2023
To apply: Please send your Cover Letter and CV and brief legal writing sample to [email protected] using the subject line “Senior Legal Intake Officer”. All applications should provide contact information for two professional/academic reference (referees will only be contacted after interviews).
***Note:***Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.
