Protection Officer - Consultancy

Tags: Human Rights international relations Law
  • Added Date: Friday, 19 September 2025
5 Steps to get a job in the United Nations

Nature of the consultancy:ย Technical and advisory role focused on migrant protection, including counter-trafficking, child protection, and GBV, with responsibilities for capacity building, policy support, and program implementation.

Project Context and Scope:ย Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. IOM has been operating in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 2001, working on complex emergencies, providing humanitarian relief, and building capacity of the Government. Operating through its head office in Port Moresby and field offices throughout the country, IOMโ€™s programmes focus on disaster management, emergency preparedness and response, counter-trafficking in persons, assisted voluntary return and reintegration, migration and border management, migration health, Protection, and integration.ย 

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing:ย Protection Unitย 

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Mission and in close collaboration with other units as well as the relevant units at the Regional Office and Headquarters (HQ), the Protection Officer will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:ย 

ย  ย  ย  ย  ย ย Category A Consultants: Tasks to be performed under this contractย 

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Act as the primary focal point for IOM protection initiatives, including counter-trafficking and protection in emergency programming, ensuring strategic alignment with institutional priorities and coordination with key government counterparts, including the Department of Justice & Attorney General (DJAG), and Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA). Engage in regular work planning activities with key IOM partners to identify and operationalize responses to partner priorities in the protection space. Support government to advance key protection priorities. Lead the implementation and oversight of protection-related activities under IOMโ€™s active projects, including protection-focused programming and programmes with protection components, managing financial, operational, and reporting components in compliance with donor and IOM standards, and ensuring timely delivery of results. Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and practical tools for the identification, referral, and assistance of vulnerable migrants, particularly victims of trafficking, in close collaboration with national authorities and service providers.Establish relationships and operational engagement with key civil society and community-based organizations.ย  Establish and manage referral mechanisms and direct care services, ensuring coordinated, survivor-centered support for victims of trafficking and other vulnerable groups, in partnership with government and civil society actors. Build the capacity of IOM staff, government counterparts, and partners through training and technical guidance on protection principles, counter-trafficking, victim identification, case management, and reintegration support. Integrate cross-cutting protection principles, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV), child protection, disability inclusion, gender equity, and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), into IOMโ€™s regular programmes and emergency responses. Coordinate closely with government entities, UN agencies, development partners, and humanitarian actors, contributing to national and inter-agency protection strategies, representing IOM in relevant forums and technical working groups (e.g., National Anti-Human Trafficking Committee (NAHTC), protection sector, child protection sub-sector, and GBV sub-sector), and contributing to joint planning. Represent IOM in meetings and events and ensure close communication and coordination with relevant units and departments of IOM HQ and Regional Office, as well as external humanitarian and protection partners and government counterparts, as well as participate in Sector, Inter-Sector, and Working Group meetings on protection and ensure the coordination of protection activities in the framework of global protection and IOM standards and procedures.ย  Develop a Protection strategy for the Mission and draft Action Plan facilitate sufficient mainstreaming of protection into all IOM PNG programmes in line with IOM internal guidance on the issue.Support information management and data protection efforts, including the development of secure databases aligned with MIMOSA and IOM Data Protection Principles, and contribute to communication and visibility initiatives. Monitor protection trends and emerging risks, providing technical input into programme design and identifying opportunities for collaborative programming with government entities, UN agencies, and other relevant partners. Identify and advise on donorsโ€™ priorities and strategies and the possibility to develop follow up initiatives; initiate new programme development processes in Papua New Guinea and prepare project proposals in relation to needs, government and development partner priorities and in line with the IOMโ€™s Global, Regional, Sub-Regional and Country strategies, and in coordination with the IOM PNG Programme Support Unit. Coordinate with IOMโ€™s Communication Team to develop appropriate and regular visibility materials on IOMโ€™s protection work.Undertake duty travel as required, including to field locations, for project assessments, stakeholder engagement, and implementation support, in line with security protocols.ย  Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

ย 

ย  ย  ย  ย  ย Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

Timely implementation of assigned protection activities in accordance with work plans and project timelines. Quality and accuracy of technical inputs provided for project development, implementation, and reporting. Effective coordination and collaboration with government counterparts, UN agencies, and other stakeholders.

ย 

ย  ย Education, Experience and/or skills required

Masterโ€™s degree in Political or Social Sciences, International Relations, Law, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or, University degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience. Experience in project or programme management in the field of counter-trafficking, protection, and/or migrantsโ€™ rights; Experience supervising and managing a team; Operational and field experience in the areas of project development, advocacy, and capacity-building; Experience as a trainer, facilitator, and presenter on the topics of human trafficking and protection overall;ย  Experience in liaising with government counterparts and officials at the policy and senior management levels and in organizing stakeholder meetings and workshops; and, Thorough understanding and experience working with international human rights instruments, tools, and standards, with the adaptation and implementation of the same in developing countries. Background in institutional capacity-building; Understanding of complex social-political environments; and, Sound knowledge of the project cycle. Travel required Travel is required Required Competencies ย  IOMโ€™s competency framework can be found atย this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process. ย  Valuesย - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these three values: Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion. Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct. Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges. Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance. Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated. Core Competenciesย โ€“ behavioural indicators Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results. Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes. Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate. Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organizationโ€™s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work. Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way. Notes Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation. Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, verification of residency, visa, and authorizations by the concerned Government, where applicable. IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work. IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts. IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM online recruitment system. The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application. For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website:ย IOM Careers and Job Vacancies

Recommended for you