Founded in 1979, St Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) is a refugee service provider in central Cairo that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through four programs: adult and children’s education, legal, and psychosocial 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.
Our missionis to enable refugees and migrants to recognize their potential by encouraging self-motivation and independence through quality, client-centered programming.
Our visionis that every refugee and asylum seeker is entitled to health, security, dignity.
We serve people from many places, including Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Syria.
Project Description: Refugee Legal Aid Project
The Refugee Legal Aid Project (RLAP) 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. RLAP is seeking a Legal Fellow to assist vulnerable refugees in their applications. Read more at http://stars-egypt.org/rlap/
Role - Legal Fellow
Under the supervision of the RLAP Director, the RLAP Legal Fellow is responsible for the provision of legal advice and representation to urban refugees in matters of protection, RSD, and resettlement, with an emphasis on increasing RLAP’s role in RSD. This includes: assessment of initial requests for assistance; the screening of refugee cases to identify those of heightened vulnerability, specific need, or strategic importance; preparation of detailed written statements addressing accounts of persecution in countries of origin; drafting legal briefs in support of refugee claims at appeal, reopening, and resettlement; and communicating with UNHCR, IOM, USCIS, and others concerning client cases and additional support. The RLAP Legal Fellow is also expected to contribute to advocacy efforts regarding the urban refugee population and to supervise and train volunteer staff. The RLAP Legal Fellow is a member of a team of approximately 15 legal staff and reports to the RLAP Director.
Responsibilities
All duties are carried out under the supervision of the RLAP Director, or the Executive Director of StARS.
Legal
- To record all requests for legal appointments made by urban refugees and decide on appropriate follow-up action.
- To screen and prioritize clients for legal representation in RSD and resettlement procedures.
- To identify clients appropriate for basic legal counseling and receipt of self-help kits.
- To identify cases appropriate for expedited consideration by UNHCR and to draft such requests.
- To provide general legal counseling and assistance to refugees regarding their applications for registration, protection, RSD, and resettlement before UNHCR.
- To prepare and draft affidavits and statements on behalf of clients and witnesses.
- To prepare and draft requests for review to USCIS, and other resettlement applications.
- To prepare clients for registration and RSD interviews and represent clients in such interviews as needed.
- To undertake country of origin research in support of individual claims and for general organizational research purposes. To maintain good working knowledge of the current political and social situations in the countries of origin of StARS’ clients.
- To draft legal arguments in support of client applications at appeal, reopening, and resettlement.
- To maintain good working knowledge of UNHCR guidelines, processes, and procedures.
- To assess extra-legal client needs and refer to other StARS teams or external organizations 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 prepare and facilitate RSD preparation workshops and Know Your Rights trainings for refugee communities.
- To adhere to the Nairobi Code of Ethics, the StARS Policies and Procedures Manual, and the StARS Code of Conduct.
Programmatic
- To assist the RLAP Director in development and implementation of team policies and procedures.
- To assist other members of RLAP and StARS programs regarding issues related to the urban refugee population.
- To provide case reporting data to the RLAP Director as requested in order to accurately report work to senior management, funders, and others.
- To attend and contribute to RLAP 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 to ensure the smooth running of the project.
- To communicate with refugee communities, other service providers, and UNHCR to facilitate the communication of accurate information leading to the fulfillment of refugee rights.
Supervisory
- To assist the RLAP Director in the recruitment of volunteer legal advisors and other staff.
- To assist the RLAP Director in conducting intensive one week training for new volunteers two to three times per year.
- To supervise volunteer legal advisors in RSD and resettlement legal work, including detailed review and providing written and oral feedback on written submissions and other work.
- To assist the RLAP Director in the management of volunteer 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.
Policy/Advocacy
- To assist the RLAP Director in advocacy with Embassies, external rights advocates, and UNHCR regarding the situation of urban refugees.
- To monitor policies and external developments affecting refugees in Egypt, paying special attention to particularly vulnerable or marginalized groups.
- To advocate, particularly with UNHCR, on salient protection issues relating to urban refugees.
Finance/Administration
- To monitor and maintain strong financial records and procedures as per StARS financial rules, and ensure proper financial documentation of all activities.
- To undergo probation and regular performance appraisals.
- To meet monthly with the RLAP Director regarding case management and self-care.
Communication/Reporting
- To communicate regularly with the RLAP Director, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within RLAP.
- To submit activity reports as requested.
- To promote information sharing within RLAP and StARS on all issues affecting the populations we serve.
Qualifications & 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:
- English being the official language of UNHCR Cairo and StARS, the RLAP Legal Fellow must be fluent in oral and written English.
- Fluency in Arabic or a refugee language is an advantage. Common refugee languages in Cairo include Amharic, Arabic (Sudanese and Levantine dialects), Oromo, Somali (Mathiri dialect), Tigrinya, & Tigre.
- J.D. or equivalent. 2015 graduates are encouraged to apply.
- Excellent legal research and drafting skills.
- Ability to live and work in a fluid security environment.
- Proven experience drafting client affidavits, memoranda of law, and legal arguments.
- Knowledge of or familiarity with UNHCR guidelines and procedures, and UNHCR mandate RSD.
- Ability to exercise sound legal judgment, well organized, self-motivated, and reliable.
- Demonstrated commitment to and compassion for vulnerable 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 SGBV.
Desirable Characteristics:
- Experience designing and conducting trainings for non-technical audiences.
- Managerial experience or familiarity with volunteer oversight.
- Life and work experience in Egypt, the Middle East, or Africa.
- Experience working in any capacity with an urban refugee population.
- Experience with asylum and refugee law, human rights law, or US immigration law.
- Flexibility and a sense of humor.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested applicants should send a cover letter, CV, and brief legal writing sample torlap.applications@stars-egypt.org. Please write “Legal Fellow” in the subject line.
Closing date for applications: 15 April 2015; applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Anticipated starting date and duration: August 2015 for a period of one-year.
The RLAP Legal Fellow is expected to work 35 hours per week (with overtime as required) between the hours of 8:30am and 6pm from Sunday to Thursday.
Salary: This is an unfunded position. RLAP will provide a letter of support and other assistance necessary for the Legal Fellow to secure funding, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the applicant.
