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 mission is to enable refugees and migrants to recognize their potential by encouraging self-motivation and independence through quality, client-centered programming.
Our vision is 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.
To learn more, please visit http://stars-egypt.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/standrewsrefugeeservices?fref=ts
Project Description: RLAP
RLAP provides advice and representation to refugees and other vulnerable migrants in matters relating to protection, Refugee Status Determination, and resettlement under UNHCR’s mandate.
Role
Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the RLAP Director is responsible for the management of RLAP and its staff in the provision of legal advice and representation to urban refugees in matters of protection, Refugee Status Determination (RSD), and resettlement. In consultation with the Executive Director, the RLAP Director shall be responsible for determining the strategic direction of StARS’ legal services to refugees. The RLAP Director shall be responsible for all matters relating to staffing, supervision, discipline, and day-to-day running of StARS legal services. The RLAP Director is tasked with improving the delivery of quality legal advice and representation, and engaging in advocacy that advances refugee rights in Egypt and more widely. The RLAP Director leads a team of approximately six fulltime staff, 10-15 volunteer legal advisors, and a team of interpreter-consultants.
Responsibilities
All duties are carried out under the supervision of the Executive Director of StARS. Effective communication with the Executive Director, and other members of the StARS’ leadership team, is essential to the success of this role.
Legal and technical
· To maintain a caseload of between one and three clients in RSD or resettlement procedures.
· To ensure that all requests for legal appointments made by urban refugees are recorded and decide on appropriate follow-up action.
· To supervise the screening and prioritization of clients for legal representation in RSD and resettlement procedures.
· To put in place procedures and guidelines to identify clients appropriate for basic legal counseling and receipt of self-help kits.
· To put in place procedures and guidelines to identify cases appropriate for expedited consideration by UNHCR and to review such requests.
· To provide general legal counseling and assistance to refugees regarding their applications for registration, protection, RSD, and resettlement before UNHCR, and to supervise the work of the Legal Officers and Volunteer Legal Advisors.
· To prepare and draft affidavits and statements on behalf of clients and witnesses, and to supervise the work of the Legal Officers and Volunteer Legal Advisors.
· To prepare and draft requests for review to USCIS, and other resettlement applications, and to supervise the work of the Legal Officers and Volunteer Legal Advisors.
· To prepare clients for registration and RSD interviews and represent clients in such interviews as needed, and to supervise the work of the Legal Officers and Volunteer Legal Advisors.
· 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, and to review the work of staff in this regard.
· 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 ensure that comprehensive case management practices and adhered to, including maintaining and updating electronic databases and records for each client, and keeping detailed notes of all casework activities.
· To oversee the delivery of 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, while ensuring compliance by all RLAP staff and volunteers.
Programmatic
· To develop, implement, and ensure adherence to RLAP 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 Executive Director as requested in order to accurately report work to senior management, funders, and others.
· To plan, schedule, run, and minute 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, particularly program directors, and operational partners to ensure the smooth running of the project.
· To communicate with refugee communities, other service providers, and UNHCR to facilitate the transmission of accurate information leading to the fulfillment of refugee rights.
Supervisory
· To recruit, train, supervise, and support paid staff and Volunteer Legal Advisors, ensuring that RLAP operates effectively and efficiently.
· To coordinate and manage caseloads, by assigning cases and periodically reviewing/analyzing the efficiency and quality of caseload distribution.
· To provide casework supervision for Legal Officers and Volunteer Legal Advisors by reviewing and editing legal submissions and statements, and coordinating reviewing of cases and supervision of Volunteer Legal Advisors amongst Legal Officers.
· To provide feedback on case strategies and recommendations for further action, directing RLAP staff on COI research, legal developments, and monitoring caseloads.
· To meet regularly with RLAP staff to coordinate caseloads, assign cases, improve team protocols, and monitor progress on RLAP programming and the strategic plan.
· To carry out periodic performance evaluation and annual appraisals for RLAP, including Volunteer Legal Advisors.
· To assist in coordination and provision of intensive two-week training for new Volunteer Legal Advisors and psychosocial workers twice per year or as needed.
· To ensure all new staff members are well-trained so as to provide high quality legal advice and representation.
· To participate in external training opportunities or, where appropriate, assign other members of the RLAP to participate.
· To arrange on-going training for members of staff on RSD, protection, and resettlement matters.
· To attend continuing education provided for all StARS staff.
· To ensure that all members of RLAP carry out tasks in accordance with StARS’ policies, procedures, and standards, in particular ethics, conduct, confidentiality, anti-discrimination, and the prevention of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse.
· To administer disciplinary procedures, staff leave, reimbursements, and budget expenditure.
· 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 advocate 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 Executive Director regarding the work of RLAP and self-care.
· To revise the strategy of RLAP in response to changing situations and participate in annual work planning.
Communication/Reporting
· To communicate regularly with the Executive Director, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within RLAP.
· To be an active member of the leadership team and to provide all necessary support to other Program Directors and to StARS.
· To provide monthly and quarterly reports to the Executive Director, as requested, including problems and solutions, supervision issues, case studies, statistics, and notes on progress towards implementation of RLAP programming and the strategic plan.
· To contribute input on RLAP activities to grant proposals and donor reports.
· To submit activity reports as requested.
· To promote information sharing within RLAP and StARS on all issues affecting the populations served by StARS.
Requirements
Technical
· English being the official language of the UNHCR RO Cairo as well as of StARS, the RLAP Director must be fluent in both oral and written English. Arabic or a refugee language is an advantage.
· LLB, LLM, JD, or equivalent legal education; master’s/graduate level legal education or practical experience as a legal advocate.
· Three years experience in representing refugees.
· A track record of team building or similar management experience.
· Knowledge of various models and methods of providing legal aid to marginalized, indigent, and vulnerable populations.
· Ability to closely supervise the work of team members and provide necessary follow-up.
· Highly developed written and verbal communication skills.
Personal
· A demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, supervise, guide, support, and discipline team members as well as cooperate with peers.
· Belief in and commitment to non-discrimination on the basis of gender, race, disability, religious belief, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
· Diplomacy and assertiveness; the ability to confront and discuss sensitive issues with respect and care.
· Skilled in obtaining information necessary to accomplish duties.
· Able to prioritize work, multi-task, and meet deadlines.
· Problem analysis and problem resolution at both a strategic and functional level.
· Able to express technical ideas and concerns in a non-technical environment.
· Understanding of human rights and client-centered approach.
· Ability to develop effective systems considering organizational effectiveness and impact on people.
· Strong organization and planning skills, detail oriented.
· Ability to handle conflicting priorities in a fast-paced environment while working with limited resources.
· A positive attitude and collaborative approach to dealing with clients, volunteers, and staff.
Hours: 8 hours/day, 5 days/week (Sunday – Thursday), and other hours as required.
Supervised by: Executive Director
Salary: EGP 5000-7000/month, depending upon experience (plus EGP100 monthly medical allowance, and EGP50 pension contribution).Benefits: All StARS official benefit policies as stipulated in StARS Policies and Procedures Guidelines
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send a resume and cover letter addressing the role and requirements to ceades@stars-egypt.org. Use the subject line ‘RLAP Director’.
