Saint Andrews Refugee Services, Cairo

Call for Applications: Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program, Senior Legal Officer

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 solidarity and human dignity, StARS works both as displaced people and for displaced people to support the resilience and leadership of individuals and communities in their pursuit of an enhanced quality of life.

StARS Vision:StARS envisions a future where displaced people and the societies they join stand in solidarity, recognizing the strength and leadership of refugees. In this world, the displaced thrive with dignity, claiming their rights and enriching our shared human experience.

Standard of Professional Conduct:StARS and all its staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in StARS Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Policy, and PSEAH policy.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion:StARS is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. StARS expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.

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

To learn more please visit our website:www.stars-egypt.orgor our Facebook pagehttps://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, advises refugees on protection matters, and assists refugees in accessing resettlement to safe third countries. The Refugee Legal Aid Program is seeking an Unaccompanied Children and Youth Senior Legal Officer to assist vulnerable refugees in these processes.

Current Sudan Context:In light of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, Saint Andrews Refugee Services is experiencing a high influx of persons forcibly displaced from Sudan. This includes Sudanese nationals and other nationalities previously displaced from their country of origin to Sudan. Saint Andrews Refugee Services remains flexible and reactive to changes in the local asylum-seeking environment as influenced by the Sudan conflict. The Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program is seeking to increase its capacity to provide adequate legal advice and representation in accordance with UNHCR procedures, to best assist those affected by this ongoing conflict.

Role

Under the supervision of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program Coordinator, the Director and Deputy Directors of Refugee Legal Aid Program, the Senior Legal Officer is responsible for the provision of legal advice and representation to refugee children and youth in matters related to refugee status determination and protection procedures. This includes: assessment of initial requests for assistance, the screening and reviewing of refugee cases to identify those of heightened vulnerability and protection concerns to access refugee status determination legal representation or protection and resettlement referrals, preparation and reviewing of detailed written statements addressing accounts of persecution in countries of origin and country of asylum for refugee status determination and resettlement purposes, drafting and reviewing legal submissions in support of refugee claims in all stages of the refugee status determination process, supervision and training of legal officers and volunteers, and support with managing different aspects of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program caseload. The Senior Legal Officer is also expected to contribute to advocacy efforts regarding the Unaccompanied Children and Youth refugee population.

Responsibilities

All duties are carried out under the supervision of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program Coordinator and the Director and Deputy Directors of Refugee Legal Aid Program.

Legal and Technical

• To develop and supervise the screening and intake of potential Unaccompanied Children and Youth clients for representation in refugee status determination, protection, and resettlement matters.
• To contribute to the management and oversight of the Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid Program caseload in refugee status determination and resettlement matters, ensuring timely provision of assistance and follow-up on client cases as necessary.
• To provide general legal counseling and assistance to refugees regarding their applications for registration, protection, refugee status determination, and resettlement before UNHCR.
• To prepare clients for different UNHCR interviews including, registration, refugee status determination, protection, and resettlement and accompany clients in such interviews as needed.
• To draft and review legal submissions and witness testimonies and other evidence in support of refugee claims in at first instance, appeal, and reopening.
• To serve periodically as an on-call legal advisor, assisting clients by providing legal advice and assistance on a walk-in basis.
• To undertake country of origin research in support of individual claims and for general organizational research purposes and to maintain good working knowledge of the current political and social situations in the countries of origin of Unaccompanied Children and Youth Legal Aid clients.
• To assess extra-legal client needs and refer to other StARS teams or external organizations as appropriate.
• To maintain good working knowledge of UNHCRs refugee status determination and resettlement policies and procedures, particularly as they relate to children and youth.
• To review and assist in the preparation and submission of resettlement referrals to UNHCR for