The IRC's Geneva, Switzerland, office manages the Surge Project, intended to provide crucial staff support to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to protect refugees during crises.
Joining forces to strengthen protection
Providing protection to refugees and other persons of concern is the core mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is also an incredibly complex and human resource-intensive activity, one in which short-term gaps in protection field staffing can have wide-ranging effects on the well-being of persons of concern. It is in light of these discrete but persistent non-emergency protection staffing gaps that UNHCR asked the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to assist in the recruitment and deployment of short to medium-term protection officers to UNHCR offices in the field.
The Surge Roster
The Surge Project was launched in 2001 to create a roster of highly qualified junior-level protection professionals who can be efficiently deployed to UNHCR field offices to meet short to medium-term protection needs in non-emergency settings. Recruited staff are IRC employees but are seconded to UNHCR and report solely to UNHCR staff. They receive the status of “expert on mission” to the United Nations for the duration of their mission. Deployment lengths vary but all are capped at 11 months.
Hitting the ground running
A key objective of the Surge Project is to ensure all deployees possess the protection skills, knowledge, and attitude they need to be immediately effective in the field. This is accomplished through a sometimes lengthy vetting process for the roster, which includes a written test, two interviews, and a thorough reference check. Deployment length is shorter than for regular posts, thus Surge deployees have to have maximum impact in the shortest possible time. Prior to deployment all deployees come to Geneva for a two day orientation session with IRC and UNHCR.
Quick turn-around time
Although Surge is not an emergency deployment scheme, requests for protection officers are frequently urgent. The project was designed with this in mind, with the average total response time being 36 days from IRC’s receipt of the deployment request to the deployee’s arrival in the field.
A diverse and balanced workforce
IRC recruitment for the roster is based solely on merit. The project is widely advertised and applicants are vetted based on their qualifications, with minimum criteria strictly followed. Despite the merit-based nature of recruitment, the roster continues to be incredibly diverse, with 62 nationalities currently represented and with a good distribution among regions. Additionally, both the roster and ultimate deployments are balanced with regard to gender, with over 50% being women.
A positive and sustainable impact
UNHCR Representatives and Senior Protection Officers have provided consistently positive feedback on the quality of Surge Deployed Members. One representative even said one Surge deployee “saved the UNHCR operation” during a large influx. To quote but a few examples from performance appraisals:
“Her accomplishments were noted and drew unusual praise from both Headquarters and the UNHCR covering the region. I should add her dedication, patience and ability to contribute in every situation earned her respect and admiration of all colleagues in the office. Her contribution was outstanding.” (UNHCR Malaysia)
“I witnessed the amazing improvements in the region, the strengthening of UNHCR’s role, improved coordination with NGOs and other partners, capacity building of authorities – and this is, very much thanks to Surge staff. The depth of knowledge and understanding that is going away with them will fortunately not be lost as they have shared it with others.” (UNHCR Afghanistan)
“Our deployee performed all her functions with great dynamism, professionalism and leadership. In parallel with the monitoring of the returnees, she managed to build an information network with UN agencies and NGOs working in Rwanda in order to collect accurate information to support an exhaustive assessment of the socio-political situation of the country.” (UNHCR Rwanda)
“Our Surge’s performance was excellent. He established and maintained excellent relations with both UNHCR colleagues and implementing partners, as well as with Government counterpart concerned, which facilitated our work considerably. His commitment to his tasks, his endeavour to the cause and the defence of asylum seekers rights was a great contribution to the organisation in general and to the UNHCR office in Muyinga in particular.” (UNHCR Burundi)
A global project
Since its inception in July 2001, the Protection Surge Capacity Project has filled over 200 deployments to over 120 field offices worldwide. Protection officers have been involved in various protection activities such as returnee monitoring, protection of refugees in camps, protection of internally displaced persons, border monitoring, gender-based violence issues, detention-related issues, registration, child protection, drafting national legislation, addressing property issues, and organising voluntary repatriation.
The IRC recruitment process
To be considered a candidate for the Surge Roster you must have:
- Two years of hands-on experience in protection or legal work on behalf of refugees, IDPs, or asylum-seekers
- A university degree, preferably in law or human rights
- Excellent knowledge of the international legal framework governing refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs and/or stateless persons
- Fluency in English and/or French or Spanish
The following are considered as assets:
- Previous UNHCR experience in a protection capacity
- Extensive field experience
- Excellent interviewing and drafting skills
- Fluency in other relevant languages and other UN official languages
Send a CV/resume and cover letter to Geneva@theirc.org
