Protection Team Leader - Legal Aid
& VA
(Yemen – Aden)
Who are we?
The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and
internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight
for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We
work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the
countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we
strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful
integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return
home.
The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in
1956, and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization
with more than 6500 staff. Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced.
All of our efforts are based on our value compass:
humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and
transparency.
About the role
Overall purpose of the
role:
Under the direct supervision of the Protection
Manager and technical supervision of the Protection Specialist, the Team Leader
will ensure the effective implementation of DRC’s intervention in Aden, Lahj
and Taiz Governorates. The Team Leader will be responsible to supervise DCR
Legal Aid and Victim assistance interventions in the assigned areas of
operation, as well as maintain effective working relationship with relevant
stakeholders. The Team Leader is responsible for ensuring excellent
organization and coordination of the legal aid and VA activities under his/her
supervision. S/he will provide technical and organizational support to legal
staff through daily guidance, coordination, capacity-building, follow-up,
monitoring, and reporting.
Responsibilities:
Grants Management
·
Ensure the successful implementation of legal activities under his/her
supervision, including appropriate and timely spending plans for activities to
achieve program goals, procurement, use and distribution of supplies and
resources;
·
Support
with project planning including work plans and target tracking to ensure timely implementation of
activities and successful achievement of targets;
·
Support
the monitoring of financial commitments and expenditures against budgets and
provide timely feedback on budget follow-up to Protection Manager;
·
Support Protection Manager by contributing to and providing field-related
inputs for legal aid proposals;
·
Monitor
and ensure the successful implementation of partners’ activities, including
appropriate and timely spending plans for activities and targets tracking to
achieve program goals.
Technical Support and Supervision
Legal Aid:
·
Collaborate
with the legal team to identify relevant legal topics for awareness-raising
sessions and develop them;
·
Ensure the
awareness-raising content is accessible, culturally appropriate, and tailored
to the target population's needs;
·
Establish
a schedule for regular legal consultation sessions in coordination with the
legal team and support conducting consultations for specific topics, ensuring
confidentiality and a safe environment for participants;
·
Document/track
the types of legal issues addressed to identify trends and inform future
programming;
·
Provide
accurate and up-to-date information on relevant laws, regulations, and
procedures to Legal Aid Officers and Assistants;
·
Remain
up-to-date on legal procedure, Yemen Law and policy developments, and support
to update legal guideline & SOPs' documents as needed;
·
Provide
technical support, supervision, and guidance to the legal team, and ensure that
legal activities and legal assistance are implemented in line with DRC SOPs and
best-practices;
·
Conduct
on-the-job coaching by undertaking field visits and providing feedback to legal
aid officers and assistants;
·
Identify
technical gaps in the activities and identify/implement solutions to address
these gaps;
·
With the
support of DRC Protection Specialist and Protection Manager, provide capacity
building to the legal aid team members according to the identified needs and
agreed capacity building plans;
·
Conduct
regular individual and group supervisions with legal staff to ensure that cases
receive all the necessary support, that lessons learned and best practices are
shared, and challenges are mitigated;
·
Ensure
and monitor the correct documentation of cases through review of legal files
and database;
·
Ensure
confidentiality of information, and that data protection and
information-sharing protocols are respected;
·
Review
staff caseloads to ensure they are manageable and respect sector's guidelines
and share challenges and feedback with Protection Manager;
·
Supervise
activities' implementation of local partners by providing technical support,
job coaching, and building capacities.
Victim Assistance:
·
Ensure
the effective implementation of high-quality protection programs, specifically
victim assistance, in line with proposals, budgets, work plans and DRC standard
operating procedures (SOPs).
·
Ensure
casefiles are complete, accurate and confidential in line with relevant DRC
standard operating procedures (SOPs).
·
Work
with the Quality Assurance Unit to implement monitoring and evaluation tools
and provide recommendations to the PM, South based on findings.
·
Undertake
field and site visits to monitor the quality of implementation.
·
Assess
hospitals and sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with qualifying hospitals
on an annual basis.
·
Provide
oversight of hospital payment process in coordination with relevant Support
units.
·
Work
with the PM, South to ensure appropriate and timely spending in line with
allocated budget and targets.
Staff management
·
Manage
the legal and VA staff, including officers and assistants;
·
In collaboration with the HR department, participate to
recruitment process(es) of protection/legal staff (shortlisting resumes,
correcting tests, conducting interviews, etc.);
·
Support
the staff in the implementation of all the VA and Legal activities, orient new
staff to DRC and the protection program in addition to day-to-day management
and supervision of the legal team;
·
Ensure the respect and implementation of HR procedures in
accordance with DRC Policies and Guidelines (i.e. daily management,
disciplinary procedures, performance appraisals, leaves management, trainings
and capacity building, etc.) in collaboration with the Human Resources
department and Protection Manager;
·
Ensure
the adherence of his/her staff to DRC Code of Conduct, policies, rules and
regulations.
Monitoring and Reporting
·
Submit to the Protection Manager weekly and monthly reports on all legal activities, developments in the external context and
humanitarian situation, and on project implementation progress;
·
On a
monthly basis revise all legal activities tracking sheets, remove confidential
data and share a compiled version with Protection Manager for revision and
approval;
·
On a
monthly basis submit the necessary data to Protection Manager to ensure timely reporting on Activity Info;
·
Regularly
coordinate with MEAL team to ensure PDM and PSM are conducted in a timely
manner, ensuring respect of confidentiality and following DRC SOPs and best
practices;
·
Revise
on a monthly basis partners’ report and submit them to the Protection Manager.
Coordination
and representation
- Develop and maintain effective working relationship with
relevant stakeholders including community members, local partners and CRA;
- Advocate
for the needs of vulnerable individuals both internally and through
coordination mechanisms through evidence-based advocacy;
- Train
hospital focal points and other stakeholders on DRC’s VA program and
criteria to facilitate an efficient and effect referral process.
- Liaise
with DRC Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (HDP) and other DRC
sectors to ensure an integrated approach.
- Maintain
an up-to-date service mapping of the legal service providers operating in
the area and share with the legal team;
- Attend Protection Cluster/s
and coordination meetings as requested by Protection Manager.
Other
- Any other duties relating to the nature of the job as directed by
the Protection Manager and Protection Specialist;
- The TL may be
requested to attend call for duty during emergencies, upon the decision of
line-manager;
- Maintain positive work relationship within the team, and promote
team-building efforts in coordination with the Protection Manager;
- Comply with DRC's Code of Conduct, program requirements and
operational policies at all times and report any concerns through the
appropriate mechanism;
·
Must treat all
partners and beneficiaries with dignity and respect clients’ confidentiality.
Experience and
technical competencies:
·
A minimum of three years of relevant experience in the
field of humanitarian response and protection or health, ideally for an I/NGO
or UN agency.
·
Experience in management of
a team with proven leadership qualities;
·
Familiarity experience with
persons of concern (including internally displaced persons, returnees,
refugees) would be a distinct advantage;
·
Excellent knowledge and understanding of international
protection and human rights legal standards, including familiarity with
International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights Law, Refugee law, National law and
customary rules;
·
Demonstrated interpersonal
skills and respect for people with specific needs and other vulnerabilities;
·
Ability to work in a multicultural
context as a flexible and respectful team player;
·
Ability to provide technical
support, trainings and supervision to Officers and Assistants;
·
Excellent writing,
reporting, and analytical skills;
·
Strong written and oral
communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external
parties;
·
Excellent organizational and
planning skills as well as communication and inter-personal skills;
·
Punctuality and respect for
applicable rules and procedures;
·
Strong ability to organize
work, meet deadlines, maintain composure, work independently and prioritize
work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks and maintain attention to
detail;
·
Self-motivation,
goal/result-orientation and team work;
·
Flexibility, creativeness,
tolerance and maturity;
·
Computer/IT literacy (OS
Windows, MS (Word, Excel in particular), etc.
Education:
·
Relevant University Degree (e.g., Law, Psychology,
Social Work, Medicine) or equivalent professional qualification.
·
Desirable qualifications: Master's degree in law.
Languages:
·
Arabic - Fluent,
reading and writing
·
English - Fluent,
reading and writing
Key stakeholders:
·
Protection
Staff Members
·
Other
DRC Departments (GFD, FSL, etc.)
·
Community
members
·
I/NGOs
and government services
·
CRA
·
DRC
Partner
·
Support
teams (logistics, finance, HR)
·
Protection
Cluster
All
DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:
·
Striving for
excellence: Focusing on reaching
results while ensuring efficient processes.
·
Collaborating:
Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.
·
Taking the lead: Taking ownership and
initiative while aiming for innovation.
·
Communicating: Listening and
speaking effectively and honestly.
·
Demonstrating
integrity: Upholding and
promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation
to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual
exploitation, abuse and harassment.
Contract length: April 30, 2027
Position Band: This
position will be placed in the Management (MG) band. Reports to Protection
Manager
Start date: ASAP
Duty station: Aden, Yemen
Salary and conditions will
be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s National Terms of Employment.
Application process
All applicants must upload
a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English.
Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Closing date for
applications: June 20, 2026, recruitment process is planned to start in maximum
2 weeks after the closing date.
For further information
about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.