umanitarian aid, Refugees and IDPs
Location: Kyrgyzstan (Bishek)
Closing date: 13 Jan 2008
Job Description

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is resuming and expanding its refugee protection and civil society activities in the Central Asian region. Thus, DRC seeks a Programme Manager/Asylum expert to be based in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan.

The main objective of our project is to increase the capability of Central Asian migration authorities and to promote refugee legislation and protection in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This is done by enhancing the understanding of refugee protection and refugee status determination (RSD) within authorities, as well as by strengthening civil society organizations and the dialogue between state and civic actors.RESPONSIBILITIES

The overall goal of the deployment of a Programme Manager/Asylum expert (time division 1/3 and 2/3) is to

- coordinate DRC’s activities and involvement in the region, both as regards civil society (Dolina Mira Network) and as regards protection related activities (Advocacy, support to Trainers’ Corps and training of judges);

- and via direct deployment to the national immigration offices in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to contribute to improvement of the quality of the national RSD procedures in these countries by coaching the staff and reviewing the existing internal procedural guidelines.

The specific RSD activities are carried out in close cooperation between State Committee for Migration and Employment (SCME), Kyrgyzstan and State Migration Committee (SMS), Tajikistan and UNHCR, Bishkek and Dushanbe.

DUTIES

As Manager:

- to undertake overall responsibility for both DRC components and coordination with partners in the region
As RSD expert:
- To support the RSD procedures in SCME and SMS through on-the-job training of the Refugee Section staff and to strengthen the understanding of international RSD standards
- To update existing RSD manual
- To support DRC Regional Trainers’ Corps and facilitate expansion of this group
- To, jointly with DRC HQ, plan and facilitate training of second instance judges in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

QUALIFICATIONS

- University law degree
- Solid professional experience of asylum and refugee law and practical experience of RSD work preferably within a European context
- Experience of civil society networking activities
- Fluency in written and spoken English and good knowledge of Russian.
- It is important that you can work independently, that you possess diplomatic skills and that you enjoy engaging in work relations with actors from civil society, state authorities and international organisations.

CONDITIONS

Commencement: As early as possible, hopefully no later than 1. March 2008

Duty station: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Contract: 15-18 months depending on funding.

Salary and conditions in accordance with the Danish Refugee Council “Terms for Employment for Expatriates” (available at http://www.drc.dk under vacancies). Salary for this position is placed at level A3.

FURTHER INFORMATION

You are welcome to contact Mette Honoré, direct phone +45 33 73 50 14 for additional information about the position.

BACKGROUND

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, humanitarian organisation covering all aspects of the refugee cause. Our aim is protection and promotion of durable solutions to refugee and displacement problems, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. We work on the basis of the Code of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief, and the UN Conventions on Refugees.
Vacancies Contact
job@drc.dk
APPLICATION AND CV
Only motivated applications in English that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications sent together with a CV will be considered.
CV-only applications will not be considered.
We do not operate with standard formats for applications or CVs.
It is very important for us to know where you first saw this vacancy posted, so we kindly ask you to supply us with that information in your application. Thank you.
Please forward application and CV, in English and marked “PM/RSD”, no later than Sunday 13. January 2008 to job@drc.dk
Interviews will be held during week 4 in 2008.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING YAHOO-ACCOUNTS
Yahoo.com is blocking all mails sent from Danish Refugee Council, so if you have a Yahoo.com or Yahoo.dk-account, please include alternative email-addresses by which we can reach you. Thank you.