Protection of Family Links Field Officer

Context of the Role

The Protection of Family Links (PFL) can be broadly defined as the range of activities aimed at preventing family separation and disappearance of persons, restoring and maintaining contact between family members, reuniting families, and contributing to clarifying the fate of persons reported missing.

 The ongoing International Armed Conflict in Ukraine that started in February 2022 has generated dire humanitarian needs, including due to separation and disappearance. Although the exact scale of the issue and the needs are unknown, hundreds of families have been approaching the RCRC Movement in Ukraine and abroad, seeking support.

 Additionally, more than 800 people are still reported missing to the ICRC and the URCS due to the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that started in April 2014. Since then, ICRC PFL teams on both sides of the contact line have been working with national and local authorities, Ukrainian Red Cross and other organisations to search for missing persons, restore family links, and accompany the families.

Your Responsibilities

As the PFL Field Officer, you are part of the Protection team in Kyiv and under the supervision of the Kyiv PFL Team Leader, you support the implementation and monitoring of ICRC PFL activities in ICRC’s Kyiv area of responsibility. Specifically, you receive and process tracing enquiries from families of missing persons, collect tracing requests, undertaks tracing activities to search for missing persons, ensure a proper follow up of the missing cases and family enquirer under your responsibility, and support multidisciplinary assessments of the needs of the families of missing persons and response to them. You support the delegation’s PFL response in other areas of responsibility, as and when required.

Tracing and Caseload management - 70%

• Develop and maintain contacts with the families of missing and/or other enquirers: understand their situation, needs and requests.
• Have in-depth knowledge of the missing caseload, analyse cases and propose follow-ups (cross-departmental/integrated approach). 
• Ensure proper filling and Prot6 management of the Missing caseload at a central level, in coordination with the Data Administrator Operator, and provide regular updates/analysis of the Missing caseload.
• Provide advice and support on matters both at KYI AoR as well as for the sub delegations on matters of compliance with internal Missing cases procedures. Assess and propose alternative solutions/updates to improve the existing procedures and guidelines.

 Accompaniment for families of missing – 20%

• Support in the different activities to respond to the different needs of the families of the missing persons (The ICRC direct and indirect services).
• In line with the Mapping and Referral Pathway of Services for the families of missing persons, support the ICRC Sub Delegations in providing technical guidance regarding the mapping exercise and providing updated information to their beneficiaries. 
• Provide advice and support on matters both at KYI AoR as well as for the sub delegations on matters of Mapping and Referral Roadmap of Services. Assess and propose alternative solutions/updates to improve the referral of services.
• Proactively and based on the needs of the FoM, support families’ gathering in KYI AoR and in Sub Delegations. 
• Caseload accompaniment programme FoM: identify possible referrals to ICRC services, including but not limited to, i.e. Mental Health and Psychological Support, Forensics consultation or external services, referral to other authorities/institutions, in accordance with the need of the FoM. 

Others - 10%

• Participate and support the organization of field trips.
• Participate in external meetings whenever required by the department. 
• Write field trip reports and minutes of meetings when required.
• Act as an interpreter during meetings and translates documents whenever needed by the department. 
• Arrange and/or conduct meetings if required by the Protection department.
• Receive visitors of the Protection Department.
• Carry out the translation from Ukrainian, Russian to English language or vice-versa of different documents whenever requested by the department. 

Your Profile

To be successful as a Protection of Family Links Officer, you possess the following qualifications and experience and have the following characteristics:

• You bring 2-3 years of work experience.
• Having a university degree is an asset.
• Your communication skills are excellent, including empathic active listening and, persuasive speaking, non-conflict interaction with people. You hold empathy towards civilian victims and their family members. 
• You are fluent in written and spoken Ukrainian and Russian. Knowledge of English language is an asset. 
• Your computer skills are excellent – you are at ease with technology and bring a good knowledge of MS Office and excellent knowledge of Excel.
• You possess a strong sense of ethics, including the ability to handle confidential information appropriately.
• You can create a good working relationship in an international environment, knowledge of the ICRC and Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an advantage.
• You bring good interpersonal skills, cultural awareness and commitment to delivering a beneficiary-centred approach.   

 We expect you to have the ability to work with different groups, partners and nationalities. You are self-motivated with a strong commitment to teamwork and humanitarian principles. You have a welcoming attitude and politeness. You are flexible, enthusiastic and have the willingness to learn from others. You can work methodically and demonstrate some contextual thinking skills and a proactive approach to protecting family links. You have the proven ability to organise and prioritise multiple tasks and cope with competing demands under tight deadlines.

Position Details:

• Start date: Immediately
• Location: Kyiv (with regular travel to the field)
• Type of contract: Permanent

Our Offer?

• A unique and rewarding opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment in the humanitarian sector.
• A competitive salary and benefits based on the ICRC Compensation and Benefits framework.
• Training and development opportunities to strengthen and grow within the organisation and your professional field. 
• An opportunity to develop and strengthen the quality of the services provided to our beneficiaries and support our staff members’ professional and personal development. 

Application Process

Yes? Then apply! Please send us an e-mail at: Відправити резюме  

Your application should be submitted by 15 May 2022 and contains the following:

• Please use the following subject line for your e-mail message: PFL_KYI_042022 Family Name, First Name
• A cover/motivation letter (in English) setting out briefly your motivation and suitability for the position. The ICRC will pay special attention to it while shortlisting the applicants.
• A complete and up-to-date CV (in English) 
• The contact details of three professional referees and your salary expectations. 

Due to the urgency of the position, the ICRC reserves the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, irrespective of ethnicity, race, gender, disability, or age, as part of the recruitment policy of the ICRC.