Regional Protection Coordinator

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified Regional Protection Coordinator who will act as the most senior technical lead for the region, being part of a diverse team based in Tbilisi with a direct contact with colleagues in DRC Operations across Asia & Europe region.

About the job

The Regional Protection Coordinator is responsible for supporting DRC in quality protection programming at the regional and country level (Myanmar, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Kosovo, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, reducing to 6 countries in 2025). This includes providing support, advice, and quality checks on protection aspects of country and regional strategies, as well as on programming initiatives and projects. As the technical focal point for country protection leads, the DRC Regional Protection Coordinator will lead all regional initiatives involving protection activities and needs and lead initiatives focused on enhancing DRC’s policy responses upholding human rights and promotion of durable solutions. The position will overall support DRC’s work in the region, which is grounded in protection of people and communities affected by displacement.

A commitment to protection is at the core of DRC’s mission. The Regional Protection Coordinator is the organisation’s regional expert within the protection sector in the region. In the Asia Europe region, protection concerns facing refugees, returnees, IDPs, as well as people in mixed migration movements, are central to informing DRC’s programme and policy interventions. The purpose of the Regional Protection Coordinator role is to strengthen protection in DRC’s programmes and response.

The Regional Protection Coordinator is responsible to lead on the development of regional protection strategy and trends analysis, technically support Protection staff in country programmes, support in building technical capacity, contributing to programme and proposal development, and represent DRC with key regional partners, stakeholders, and forums. The position will also support DRC’s wider work in the region, through collaboration with the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP) and the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC – Asia and Europe), which is grounded in protection of persons and communities affected by displacement and migration trends; coordinating regional programming in Europe (PRAB); and technical lead for regional programming in Asia (PriA).

The most direct counterparts for the RPC in her/his daily work will be country-level protection coordinators or managers. The RPC will have an advisory and technical supervisory role vis-à-vis the in-country protection lead/coordinator/specialist. The RPC will report to the Regional Head of Programme for DRC AERO and have a technical compliance reporting line to Head of DRC’s Global Protection Unit (GPU) in HQ.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT:

• Develop, in consultation with key stakeholders, a regional protection strategy, including mixed migration programming. Provide technical support for Country Offices to develop their own protection strategies, based on protection analysis.
• Seek out opportunities (research, cross-border projects) in collaboration with ADSP, MMC Asia, MMC Europe, Regional Advocacy and other relevant stakeholders in the region on protection.

PROTECTION TRENDS ANALYSIS:

• Develop a regular regional protection trends analysis and briefs for the region to help inform programming, policy, advocacy and preparedness and technical support to country programmes to ensure quality protection analysis, strategies, and responses are in adherence with global standards and principles.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT, CAPACITY BUILDING, & PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT:

• Lead the development and/or roll out of global and regional DRC protection standards and guidance; development of strategic protection documents, Standard Operating Procedures, and capacity-building tools at the regional level. To this end, provide technical support/guidance to country offices, which includes the following programmatic areas: legal aid, protection information management (PIM), protection monitoring, case management, psycho-social support, gender-based violence, community-based protection, and gender sensitive and gender transformative practices and approaches.
• Provide technical review and/or support the development of proposals at CO-levels to ensure the centrality of protection, harmonization of protection standards, and that protection principles are integrated across technical sectors, specifically, DRC’s humanitarian disarmament and peacebuilding and economic recovery sectors.
• Ensure country capacity on protection programming and Protection Information Management (PIM) is of a good quality and standards. Collaborate with the Regional MEAL Coordinator to ensure development and operationalization of quality Protection IM systems in the region.
• Provide technical review and input to regional and country programmes on advocacy and policy papers to ensure the integration of centrality of protection and harmonization of protection approaches across the different countries in the region.
• Alongside ADSP and MMC, identify and design regional programme opportunities and manage regional protection initiatives, including technical support to regional implementing partners.
• Responsible for the identification of pilot projects for the further development of the protection sector in the region, specifically in facilitating engagement and developing designs for cross-border and multi-country programming, particularly related to mixed migration.

CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL EFFORTS:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of protection policies, guidance and resources in collaboration with the GPU in HQ.
• Contribute to the adaptation of DRC’s protection programme approaches and the development of guidelines, tools and innovative approaches based on research of trends and the learning from the country offices.
• Represent DRC in regional protection coordination meetings when relevant.
• Contribute to training, awareness-raising, reporting and response processes in relation to Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
• Act as the interface between countries and GPU for specific requests coming from the field.

About you

• To be successful in this role we expect you to have a minimum of 5 years of senior level experience in Protection at field level for an I/NGO. Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

• Documented skills in project and budget development for Protection programming
• Documented skills in technical writing, including writing policy and advocacy papers
• Documented skills in capacity building
• Proven experience working with local partners
• Proven experience in data collection, analysis, data protection

Desirable

• Field protection experience from one of the concerned countries is a strong advantage
• Having a clear understanding of the regional protection concerns in the region

Education

• Advanced academic qualification in a relevant field (law, social sciences or related disciplines).

Languages

• Fluency in English, verbal and written
• Fluency in any of the languages of the COs in the region would be an advantage

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: Till 31 December 2025

Band: Non-Management F

Designation of Duty Station: Unaccompanied, Family duty station

Start date: 01 September 2024

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriate & National; please refer to drc.ngo under Vacancies. For questions regarding the vacancy please contact jeoung.hong@drc.ngo