Community Outreach Lead

Innovative Human Rights NGO Seeks for Community Outreach Lead

About Asylum Access

We are human rights advocates who support forcibly displaced individuals and communities as they reclaim their rights, agency, and power. Our unique combination of legal empowerment, policy advocacy, and global systems change creates conditions in which refugees can live safely, move freely, work legally, and go to school. Our work transforms the traditional approach of endless humanitarian handouts to a sustainable solution that honors refugees’ freedom, dignity, and autonomy, and equips them to make choices about their own lives.

Asylum Access’ global team and family of local civil society organizations advocate making human rights a reality for refugees throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Our national organizations are led and staffed primarily by community members in those countries, and there is strong mutual trust and respect between us and our clients. On the international stage, we work with established institutions to shift the global system to better uphold and promote refugees’ human rights. We can help catalyze and lead systemic transformation because, uniquely among NGOs in the refugee response sector, we focus exclusively on rights and governance.

Position Responsibilities:

Community Outreach Lead (COL) will be responsible for implementing planned community outreach activities including the delivery of Community Legal Empowerment and Protection Workshop, daily management of screenings / referrals, and movement towards building a team of advocates within the refugee community.

Key Responsibilities:

Duties may include but are not limited to:

1. Community Advocates Programme:

• Oversee and support the Community Advocate’s workload management through mentoring, regular team meetings and individual check-ins.;
• Coordinate the Community Advocate’s schedule, workload and to track progress of the Community Outreach teams’ deliverables;
• Provide basic information about RSD, UNHCR procedures, Malaysian law and human rights to asylum seekers and refugees in the community;
• Undertake and promote advocacy and information sharing in relation to domestic violence and SGBV, Child protection, and arrest and detention issues in the community;
• Communicate ideas and information to community members using interactive teaching methods;
• Conduct and arrange trainings and workshops;
• Develop and enhance the participatory nature of the CLEP workshops
• Monitoring and evaluation of the Community Advocate programme for reporting and advocacy purposes;
• Facilitate discussions and engagement with relevant stakeholders and communities on prevalent community issues and concerns;
• Participate in leadership meetings to provide updates on the planning and impact of the Community Advocates Programme;
• To conduct the programme in close collaboration with different teams across the organization.

2. Advocacy:

• Facilitate awareness raising and engagement in refugee-led advocacy throughout communities;
• Help to identify a pool of advocates from the refugee community that would be interested in advocacy and skills development.

3. Programme Case Work

• Acting as a focal point with AAM’s Community Advocates around questions of PRFs and SRFs;
• Identifying vulnerable cases through community referrals, SRFs, and internal referrals for urgent registration;
• Monitoring and providing feedback and support to the screening interviews for vulnerable cases that will be forwarded to UNHCR for expedited registration by CAs;
• Complete and approve the Partner Referral Forms (PRFs) on KOBO platform to UNHCR;
• Follow-up responses on urgent registration cases with UNHCR;
• Identifying and establishing new groups of refugees, including women and children, and providing them information to increase their access to support from AAM other providers;
• Investigate issues/problems in the community, collect the information and report to the AAM team (for a example, rumors, arrest, SGBV, referral for individual issues where the client cannot attend the AAM office);
• Fact-finding in relation to DV, SGBV, child abuse, and other legal issues occuring in the community
• Build good relationships with community leaders and help AAMs Community Outreach Team to contact them when they have an outreach or training in the community;
• Conduct home visits with members of AAM’s Community Outreach or legal team, when needed;
• Develop positive working relationships with Malaysian landlords, local authorities and or service delivery agencies, when possible;
• Give basic information to the client re: other organizations and referrals, to increase their knowledge of the options available to them.

Any other tasks as time to time may be assigned by the Community Legal Empowerment Manager and/or as required by the Community Outreach team

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant field (e.g., law, human rights, political science, public policy, international studies, social sciences, or other related fields);
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in community work;
• Knowledge of the dynamics of the global forced displacement sector, including the work of UNHCR, donor governments, and other key stakeholders;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Cultural competence and intelligence, ability to work in a diverse, multicultural workforce;
• Notable initiative and ability to take ownership of projects, manage multiple deadlines, and work effectively independently and collaboratively in a team environment;
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and maintain relationships with various stakeholders;
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple tasks and deadlines;
• Passion for social justice, advocacy, and driving positive change in society;
• Prior experience working with refugee-led organizations or involvement in community-led initiatives is an asset.

Additional Preferred Qualifications:

• Communication skills. Able to communicate clearly and persuasively with others;
• Leadership skills. Able to coordinate policies, people, and resources;
• Problem-solving skills. Able to identify and resolve issues within an organization. Recognize shortcomings and effectively carry out solutions;
• Time-management skills. Able to work with multi-tasks independently. Ensure that work gets done and that it meets the goals;
• Experience working with vulnerable populations, sensitive to their needs and associated risks;
• Attention to detail and willingness to learn new skills.

Start Date: As Soon As Possible

Salary and Benefits

The position comes with a competitive non-profit salary, and a robust benefits package. The monthly salary range is between RM5,000 - RM5,500

Hours and Location of Work

We anticipate this position will require 40 working hours per week, with the occasional requirement to work outside of normal business hours for events, meetings, and other work-related commitments. This is a full-time position physically working in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Instructions to Apply

Upload a cover letter, resume, and portfolios. In your cover letter, please describe your reasons for applying, relevant qualifications, and how this position with AAM fits into your career plans. If shortlisted, you will be expected to undertake a short written assignment, along with an interview. The final deadline for applications is on 15th November, 2024.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the recruitment process.

Asylum Access is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We value the expense of those who have experienced displacement and encourage people with such lived experiences to apply. For more information about our organization, visit www.asylumaccess.org.