Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Associate

Deadline for Applications

June 23, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

B

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

NUNV National

Target Start Date

2026-07-01

Terms of Reference

General

1. Type of Assignment: National UNV Specialist

2. Type of Assignment Place: Huye Field Office

3. Assignment Title: Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Associate

4. Duty Station, Country: Huye, Rwanda

5. Duration (in months): 6 Months

6. Expected Starting Date: 01 July 2026

7. Host Agency/Host Institute: UNHCR

8. Sustainable Development Goal: 12. Responsible Consumption and Production

9. Organization mission and objectives

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.

The UNHCR Representation Office in Rwanda principally consists of a refugee population (mainly refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who have been on the Rwandan territory since 1996 and Burundian refugees who arrived in the country further to the volatile situation in Burundi since April 2015) as well as a significant returnee population of Rwandan refugees returning after many years in exile. UNHCR Huye Field Office is in the Southern Province of Rwanda. As of 31st January 2026, Huye Field Office currently hosts 27,291 refugees spread across two camps (Kigeme 14,259 and Mugombwa 12,267) hosting refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Huye Urban that hosts 765 Burundian urban refugees. UNHCR Huye field office currently works through 7 implementing partners and more than 23 operational partners offering services in the 2 camps, and in the urban area.

Within this context, UNHCR emphasizes strategic partnerships with government as well as bilateral and multilateral partners, including UN organizations and multilateral development agencies working in the Southern Province of Rwanda.

10. Assignment context

The Livelihood/Graduation and Economic Inclusion Associate reports directly to the Head of Field Office based in Huye. S/he may receive indirect guidance from other sections and units relevant to Livelihood and Development based at the Branch Office Kigali. Protection and Solutions are the key focus of the office with graduation and economic inclusion as strategic priorities. The incumbent will need to have strong proven leadership and communication skills to implement livelihood, graduation and economic inclusion strategy as well as to interact with Partners and authorities as needs arise.

The Livelihood/Graduation and Economic Inclusion Associate will collaborate closely with UNHCR livelihoods partners, government agencies, private sector and financial service providers as well as other relevant stakeholders to enhance the economic inclusion and improve self-reliance of both persons of concern (PoC) and host community members. The incumbent will also be expected to deliberately explore opportunities of collaboration with other UNHCR cross cutting areas such as protection, education, cash, partnerships, research and analytics, GBV, solutions, complementary pathways and more within the Southern Province. To document good practices, results and to generate knowledge, the Livelihood/Graduation and Economic Inclusion Associate will work closely with the supervisor to build on UNHCR databases and support regular information sharing and coordination among different humanitarian, developmental and governmental stakeholders. S/he will assist to mobilize refugees of different age, gender and background and to ensure that all stakeholders well understand the potential of graduation and economic inclusion of refugees and host community members, and to help communicate opportunities to persons we serve.

The incumbent is expected to work and keep regular/daily contacts with the Head of Field Office as well as colleagues of the livelihood and Development Unit at Branch Office, to consult, discuss strategic/operational issues, and to seek common grounds for solutions on activities and programmes of importance to UNHCR in Rwanda and with persons on matters of great importance to UNHCR’s programmes.

The incumbent of the position must demonstrate exceptionally strong technical, and data analysis skills as outlined in the Job Description and must have the necessary experience in development partnership in Rwanda to ensure effective country-level strategic approaches for advocating, developing, implementing and assessing collaboration with development agencies.

11. Task description

The incumbent will assist the operation in identifying potential opportunities and ensure complementarity between UNHCR's protection work, the graduation and economic inclusion objectives pursued by development partners and the government of Rwanda at district level. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply to this position.

S/he will also support relevant UNHCR staff to contribute to the Operation’s efforts to:

• Align policy, operational and programme priorities between humanitarian and development agen-cies.

• Establish and maintain reporting and knowledge, and information exchanges on key develop-ments among all interested stakeholders.

• Assist relevant UNHCR staff to engage in development planning, programming and coordination processes with local Government entities and development partners.

• Explore partnerships with relevant stakeholders to enhance graduation and economic inclusion of persons we serve. This includes working with humanitarian, private sector and development agencies to adapt their programmes to become inclusive of PoC to UNHCR. S/he will work closely with the private sector to enhance inclusion of UNHCR PoC in their labour force and supply chains, working with financial service providers to enhance financial inclusion, and work-ing with public and private sector service providers to include UNHCR PoC in supporting ser-vices (business development, micro-finance, training, saving accounts, poverty alleviation and so-cial protection, etc.).

• Work with the multi-functional team, more specifically with the Protection Unit, to collect in-formation about the legal framework for the right to work and rights at work.

• Support the implementation of graduation and socioeconomic inclusion o inform targeting, moni-toring and facilitation of the engagement of development programmes.

• Participate in necessary assessments in collaboration with relevant private and public stakehold-ers, including impact assessments on local economies and surveys that help to inform interven-tions and identify investment and funding opportunities that enhance the graduation and eco-nomic inclusion of UNHCR PoC.

• Work closely with stakeholders and provide technical assistance on livelihoods and graduation strategy interventions to ensure these project implementations are inclusive, market-based, and that the role of UNHCR has been strategically determined in consideration of its comparative advantage vis-à-vis other partners.

• Liaise with partners and authorities on livelihoods, graduation and economic inclusion (at district level) related issues under the technical guidance of the supervisor.

• Prepare field reports and other relevant reports relating to livelihoods, graduation and economic inclusion make recommendations for interventions that enhance refugee economic inclusion to the designated officer.

• Perform other related duties as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading rele-vant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);

• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host coun-try.

• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participa-tion in ongoing reflection activities.

• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.

• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers.

• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local indi-viduals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically pos-sible.

12. Requirements

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in, Development Studies, Business Administration, Social Studies ore related fields.

Minimum experience: 3 years

Skills and experience description

Language skills

English mandatory ☒ optional ☐

basic ☐ fair ☐ working knowledge ☒ fluent ☐ mother tongue ☐

French mandatory ☐ optional ☒

basic ☐ fair ☒ working knowledge ☐ fluent ☐ mother tongue ☐

Kinyarwanda mandatory ☒ optional ☐

basic ☐ fair ☐ working knowledge ☒ fluent ☐ mother tongue ☐

13. Competencies and Values:

☒ Accountability

☒ Adaptability and Flexibility

☒ Building Trust

☒ Client Orientation

☒ Commitment and Motivation

☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning

☒ Communication

☒ Creativity

☒ Empowering Others

☒ Ethics and Values

☒ Integrity

☒ Judgement and Decision-making

☒ Knowledge Sharing

☒ Planning and Organizing

☒ Professionalism

☒ Respect for Diversity

☒ Self-Management

☒ Technological Awareness

☒ Working in Teams

14. Driving license needed: No

15. Living Conditions:

Huye is not a duty station where staffs reside in UNHCR housing in terms of accommodation. Houses are available for rent and staffs are guided upon arrival to available housing options which are usually equipped with adequate facilities. The usual practice is to give at least a three-months deposit upon signing a rent contract. Huye has small private clinics that can offer consultations with general practicians or some specialists. There is a tertiary level facility (CHUB - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Butare) which is considered referral hospital at the national level. Limited education facilities are available for staffs' children. There are no accredited international schools in Huye but private schools offering teaching in English or French, following the national curricula. Security in Huye is at Level 1 and is a family duty station (category B) with low security risks. Banking facilities are available. Transport is available with (private) buses every 30min / every hour (depending on the time of the year) to Kigali. Concerning transport, even though motorcycle taxis are not recommended, they are the fastest way to get around the big cities. Helmets are provided, but it is better to have your own helmet. You can also take a standard taxi. Those with a yellow stripe will be run by individuals. Public transportation is the cheapest, and many of the buses are new and well-maintained. You can also take these buses farther afield; expect to pay a fare based on distance. Shops and markets are available with necessary items including imported goods, home furnishings and electrical appliances.

16. Conditions of Service

The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications, and other basic needs. Unified Conditions of Service for UN Volunteers can be accessed on the following link: https://www.unv.org/sites/default/files/unvpf/UNVcos2021 Complete hi-res- fi-nal_compressed_30.08.2021.pdf

UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Ser-vice, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate

Name of Hiring Manager: Olivier LOMPO

Title, Department: Head of Field Office, Management

Email of hiring manager: lompo@unhcr.org

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Work Experience

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Remote

No