National Protection Officer – Yaoundé

About the role

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cameroon is seeking a National Protection Officer to support the implementation of its protection portfolio. Reporting to the Chief of Mission and the Protection Officer, the incumbent will work closely with regional and headquarters units to ensure effective delivery of protection services for migrants, refugees, IDPs and other vulnerable groups.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate and monitor operational, administrative and financial aspects of protection projects, ensuring compliance with IOM policies, donor requirements and protection standards.
• Assist in developing work plans, budgets, M&E tools and SOPs, aligning them with protection principles.
• Support implementation and monitoring of partner agreements that include protection activities, promoting mainstreaming of protection across programmes.
• Collect, verify and analyse data for protection assessments and produce regular status updates for the supervisor.
• Identify gaps in protection delivery and propose corrective actions to strengthen programme effectiveness.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Political/Social Sciences, International Relations, Development Studies, Migration Studies, Human Rights, Law or related field with at least two years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree in the same fields.
• Demonstrated experience working with migrants, refugees, IDPs, trafficking victims or other vulnerable populations.
• Experience in protection programming, including gender‑based violence (GBV) and/or human trafficking.
• Proven ability to supervise teams, deliver trainings and collaborate with UN agencies, NGOs and other international partners.
• Background in project management, monitoring and evaluation.

Required skills

• Knowledge of protection programming and mainstreaming.
• Understanding of project development, reporting and donor compliance.
• Strong analytical, writing and communication abilities.
• Capacity to manage multiple tasks under pressure and meet deadlines.