Egypt: Volunteer Legal Advisor for Unaccompanied Children and Youth

Vacancy Announcement: Volunteer Legal Advisor for Unaccompanied Children and Youth

Founded in 1979, StARS is a refugee service provider in central Cairo that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through five broad program areas: education, psychosocial, legal, community outreach and unaccompanied youth and children support 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.

StARS’ Mission: Driven by a commitment to justice and fairness, StARS works as displaced people and for displaced people to respect human dignity and enhance quality of life.

StARS’ Vision: Displaced people lead in the creation and implementation of responses to different forms of migration to establish safe, just, welcoming, and inclusive communities globally.

We serve people from many places, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

To learn more please visit our website: www.stars-egypt.org or our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/standrewsrefugeeservices?fref=ts

Project Description: Refugee Legal Aid Program

The Refugee Legal Aid Program 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.

StARS has established a full-service center dedicated to meeting the education, protection, support and advocacy needs of unaccompanied children and youth in Cairo. Refugee Legal Aid Program is seeking a group of Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors to work as part of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program within the center to provide specialized legal representation and advice the Unaccompanied Children and Youth refugee population in their Refugee Status Determination process and on protection matters. The Unaccompanied Children and Youth population in Egypt is made up of approximately 4,000 children and youth (16% Somali, 48% Eritrean, 17% Ethiopian), of which StARS serves a majority within its programming.

Role

Each year, Refugee Legal Aid Program offers several unpaid internships for qualified candidates who can join us for six months. Under the supervision of the Refugee Legal Aid Program Unaccompanied Children and Youth Coordinator and Unaccompanied Children and Youth Senior Legal Officers, the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors will be responsible for the provision of legal advice and representation to refugee children and youth in matters related to their Refugee Status Determination procedures with UNHCR Egypt and on protection matters.

Among other responsibilities, Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors will conduct Refugee Status Determination workshops to educate Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients about the Refugee Status Determination process in Egypt; conduct screening interviews to assess merits of representation with Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients seeking assistance at first instance, in appealing the rejection of their Refugee Status Determination claims, or seeking to reopen their UNHCR files; accompany Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients to Refugee Status Determination interviews at UNHCR; represent Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients in all Refugee Status Determination procedures; serve as an on-call legal advisor, providing information and assistance to Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients on a walk-in basis; conduct screening interviews with Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients with protection needs, including providing protection advice and drafting referrals to the UNHCR Child Protection Unit.

Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors are responsible for their own caseloads of Refugee Status Determination and protection cases and get extensive direct experience representing refugees. Following the completion of their six-month commitment, Volunteer Legal Advisors have gone on to work with UNHCR, IOM, and other international non-governmental organizations.

The Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors are part of Refugee Legal Aid Program team of approximately 40 legal staff and volunteers.

Responsibilities

All duties are carried out under the supervision of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Coordinator and Senior Legal Officers.

Legal and Technical

• Responsible for managing own caseload spanning the spectrum of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program’s work.
• To conduct workshops with groups and individual Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients regarding the Refugee Status Determination procedures at UNHCR Egypt.
• To conduct individual screening and intake interviews with Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients seeking representation and advice in Refugee Status Determination and protection matters.
• To serve as on-call resources for Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients seeking legal advice on a walk-in basis, providing counseling to Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients regarding registration, protection, and Refugee Status Determination procedures at UNHCR.
• To maintain good working knowledge of UNHCR policies and procedures in Refugee Status Determination matters, particularly as they relate to unaccompanied children and minors.
• To maintain good working knowledge of the current political and social situations in the countries of origin of StARS’ Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients.
• To assess extra-legal client needs and work collaboratively with other StARS teams or refer to external organizations as appropriate, keeping in close communication and cooperation with StARS Unaccompanied Children and Youth caseworkers for counseling and follow up.
• 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 adhere to the Nairobi Code of Ethics, the StARS Policies and Procedures Manual, and the StARS Code of Conduct.

Programmatic

• To attend and contribute to Refugee Status Determination team meetings.
• To build and maintain relationships with StARS psychosocial and education staff.
• To attend training and orientation as required.

Communication/Reporting

• To communicate regularly with the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Coordinator and Unaccompanied Children and Youth Senior Legal Officer, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field and within Refugee Legal Aid Program.
• To submit activity reports as requested.
• To promote information sharing within Refugee Legal Aid Program 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, and a demonstrated interest in working with children and young people.

Essential qualifications:

• English being the official language of UNHCR Cairo and StARS, Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisors must be fluent in oral and written English.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Well organized, self-motivated, and reliable.
• Willingness to commit to a minimum service period of six months.
• Commitment to and sensitivity toward vulnerable or displaced people.
• Ability to live and work in a fluid security environment.
• Ability to work in a team as well as individually.
• A positive attitude and sensitive manner in advocating for children and youth, clients who are survivors of violence, trafficking, torture, and SGBV.

Desirable Characteristics:

• Fluency or working knowledge of Arabic or a refugee language is an advantage.
• Knowledge of UNHCR guidelines and procedures.
• Knowledge of the general protection situation and vulnerabilities of refugees in Egypt.
• Knowledge of the general situation of the countries from which StARS clients’ originate.
• Life and work experience in the Middle East or Egypt.
• Experience working with children and young people.

Working Hours: The Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisor is expected to be at work for 40 hours per week, between the hours of 9am and 5pm, from Sunday to Thursday. Longer hours, evening and weekend work are sometimes necessary. Work will be conducted both in StARS premises and also in refugee communities and centers.

Supervised by: Unaccompanied Children and Youth Coordinator and Unaccompanied Children and Youth Senior Legal Officer

Contract Term: Six months.

Compensation: N/A

Closing date for applications: 22 November 2022

Potential starting dates: January 2023

How to apply

To apply: Please send your CV and Cover Letter and brief legal writing sample to applications@stars-egypt.org Using the subject line “Unaccompanied Children and Youth Volunteer Legal Advisor”. All applications should provide contact information of two professional/academic references (referees will only be contacted after interviews).

The cover letter should address your qualifications for the internship and why you are interested in working with Refugee Legal Aid Program. It should also outline any time commitments you will have outside of our office during the period of your internship (whether you are seeking to work part-time or full-time), and for what time period you would be available to volunteer.

***Note:***Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.