JOB DESCRIPTION

August 25, 2025

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

Family

Internship

2025-09-15

Terms of Reference
Internship
Legal Unit, Protection

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship with the Legal Unit Section of the Protection Service at UNHCR Jordan.
Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.
Title: Legal Unit Intern
Duty Station Amman
Duration: 6-8 months
Contract Type: Internship
Closing date for application:
Earliest Hire Date: July 2025 (negotiable)
Target End date: December 2025
Organizational context
Jordan is neither a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, nor does it have any national legislation pertaining to the status and treatment of refugees. The 1998 MOU, as amended in 2014, is the guiding document between UNHCR and the Government and remains the legal basis for involvement with persons of concern. It contains the refugee definition and confirms the principle of non-refoulement. The UNHCR conducts registration, documentation and refugee status determination in Jordan. The MoU provides the legal basis for the stay of asylum-seekers pending status determination and allows mandate refugees a period of time after recognition during which a durable solution has to be found. As there is no possibility of local integration in Jordan, the durable solutions identified are resettlement or voluntary repatriation.
657,857 forcibly displaced were registered in Jordan as of 1 February 2025, and the highest percentage originate from Syria. As the Syrian crisis has evolved from an emergency situation to a protracted one, the UNHCR continues to enhance its protection capacity in order to ensure access to asylum, respect for the principle of non-refoulement and improve the quality of asylum.
In line with its Data Protection Policy, UNHCR in Jordan puts in efforts to ensure protection of personal data of persons of concerns, a critical aspect to the fundamental right to privacy, especially in the information age.
UNHCR Jordan is known for being an innovative operation, having initiated several services aimed at providing effective assistance to persons of concern. The intern will benefit from the operation’s extensive institutional knowledge in the field. In addition, the intern will gain practical knowledge in Legal Protection matters, development of training for adult methodologies, analysis of legal frameworks and documentation. Finally, the intern will benefit from in-house training exclusive to UNHCR staff.
The position
In Jordan Operation, within the Legal Unit the Intern will be under the direct supervision of the Snr Protection Officer and will closely work with the Heads of some of the Pillars that constitute the Legal Unit, namely the Protection Risks and Response, Law and Policy, and Capacity Development Pillars.
The Intern will be required to support activities (see specific tasks under “Duties and Responsibilities”) in line with relevant areas of the Jordan Operation protection strategy.
The ideal candidate should be enthusiastic and committed to upholding the core values of the United Nations; he should be able to collaborate effectively in a multicultural setting and possess strong analytical and communication skills.
Duties and responsibilities
• Become familiar with the Protection Strategy, the legal and operational framework, the work with partners, and the Unit’s Work-plan as relevant.
• Assist with the consolidation of reporting and contribute to drafting of relevant analysis, research and strategy papers, concept notes, internal guidance materials, as well as other notes pertaining to the Legal Unit’s areas of work.
• Supports Outreach activities, which may include visits or missions, besides participation in and support to meetings with refugee communities.
• Assist in compiling data and reports for the methodology and tools to measure efficiency and impact of UNHCR organised/implemented capacity development activities with focus on key Protection areas.
• Assist in developing training material in the areas of international refugee law, national legal framework, UNHCR’s mandate, Jordan Operational framework and UNHCR’s key activities in Jordan.
• Support in the preparation for and organization of UNHCR’s Protection and Solutions regular coordination meetings and other internal activities.
• Take part in online and in-house trainings.
• Other duties as required.
Minimum qualifications required
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO; and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.
• Demonstrated interest in International Refugee Law, Refugee Protection, UNHCR’s Mandate.

Desirable qualifications and skills
• First Required Language is English at B2 level
• Familiar with word, excel, power point (or similar suites)
Conditions
It is a full/part-time role with working hours starting from 8.00 am to 16:00 pm Sunday to Thursday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be assigned to support the team in Amman.
Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation and living expenses.
How to apply
Interested applicants should submit their application through www.unhcr.org/careers.html click on vacancies and search for JR Internship.
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing or training.
We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn”t require a functional clearance

Remote

No

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements