Access to Justice Programme Officer

Job Details

Global Refugee Initiatives seeks an Access to Justice Programme Officer to lead the establishment and implementation of the Access to Justice Programme in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. The Officer will lead designing and conducting the 2026 Needs Assessment, translating findings into the Justice First pilot and driving implementation through to results. The role requires strong understanding of legal and protection issues affecting refugees, experience working with communities and stakeholders and ability to translate field evidence into practical interventions. The Officer will work closely with community structures, government authorities, justice and protection actors, humanitarian partners and GRI staff, and will supervise the Access to Justice Associate as primary point of accountability for programme implementation, quality and results in Kiryandongo. The role requires independent, self-directed work with minimal oversight. Full-time, based in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Map the full justice and beneficiary ecosystem in Kiryandongo including government actors, legal aid providers, humanitarian agencies, community structures and informal justice actors; document full demographic profile of beneficiary population (refugees and host communities).
• Lead design of the 2026 Access to Justice Needs Assessment methodology and the full suite of data collection instruments.
• Coordinate and lead all field data collection across respondent categories: refugees, host community members, GBV survivors, RWC leaders, police & judicial officers, legal aid providers, detention officials, and health and psychosocial actors.
• Apply rigorous ethical and safeguarding protocols throughout data collection, including informed consent, confidentiality safeguards, survivor-centered GBV data collection approaches and referral protocols for protection risks identified.
• Analyse assessment findings, produce comprehensive assessment report and facilitate validation of findings with communities and key stakeholders.
• Use assessment findings to refine and guide implementation of the Justice First pilot, ensuring interventions are directly responsive to field data.
• Lead community legal literacy activities, including development of information materials in relevant languages, training workshops and community awareness campaigns.
• Build capacity of Refugee Welfare Council leaders and relevant community actors on legal literacy, available services and safe referral practices.
• Document case-level justice pathways, with particular attention to criminal defence processes, GBV reporting and referral chains and barriers faced.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date service mapping and referral pathway documentation across justice, legal, GBV, medical and protection services.
• Facilitate safe and appropriate referrals for individuals requiring specialised legal, justice or protection services in strict compliance with GRI confidentiality and safeguarding procedures.
• Establish and maintain professional working relationships with OPM, Uganda Police, court officials, legal aid providers, UNHCR and other humanitarian and community actors in Kiryandongo.
• Monitor programme implementation and results, track referrals, contribute to donor reporting and identify emerging needs or challenges requiring adaptation.
• Identify emerging access-to-justice needs, implementation challenges and lessons to inform programme improvement.
• Supervise and support the Access to Justice Associate and any short-term community mobilisers, interpreters or volunteers engaged by the programme.
• Ensure programme activities uphold confidentiality, safeguarding, survivor-centered approaches, non-discrimination and the principle of do no harm; perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Law or another relevant field; postgraduate qualification in law, human rights, refugee studies, international development or related area is an advantage.
• Minimum three years of relevant professional experience in access to justice, legal aid, legal research, protection, human rights programming or GBV in humanitarian or development settings.
• Demonstrated experience designing and conducting assessments, community consultations, legal/protection research or similar field-based work.
• Sound knowledge of Uganda's criminal justice system, refugee legal framework and the legal aid and protection landscape in Ugandan refugee settlements.
• Experience working with refugee communities, vulnerable populations or in humanitarian/community-based settings is highly desirable.
• Experience in GBV programming or case management and strong working knowledge of survivor-centred approaches and ethical data collection standards in GBV contexts is desirable.
• Practical experience working with or navigating state justice actors including police, court officials and ability to manage institutional sensitivities professionally.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination skills including ability to work with government, community structures and humanitarian/service providers.
• Strong analytical skills: ability to translate complex multi-source field data into clear actionable assessment report, and strong report-writing and documentation skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English; knowledge of languages spoken within Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement including Arabic and/or relevant local languages is a significant advantage.
• Ability to handle sensitive information professionally and maintain confidentiality.
• Strong commitment to human rights, safeguarding, inclusion and community-based approaches.
• Proven ability to work independently, manage a field programme with minimal day-to-day supervision and make sound decisions in remote-management context; ability and willingness to work regularly within refugee and host communities in Kiryandongo.
• Applicants must have no history of child abuse, sexual exploitation or abuse, harassment or other conduct incompatible with GRI safeguarding standards.