UNHCR to hire Interoperability Coordinator for biometric programs

Biometrics and digital identity play a key role in programs developed by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. In September the organization published a lecture on how biometric technology and digital identity can be used to help refugees achieve social inclusion through work and financial inclusion. In partnership with Iraqi mobile wallet Zain Cash, UNHCR started using iris biometric technology from IrisGuard to register refugees arriving into Iraq from northeast Syria.

Last month, the UNHCR expanded its use of biometrics for food distribution to over 100 sites across eight countries, and registered an additional 2.4 million refugees with biometrics in 2018.

In order to make efficient use of its resources for these programs, the agency has opened a vacancy for an Interoperability Coordinator (IICA-3) within the Identity Management and Registration Section (IMRS) of the Data and Identity Management Service (DIMS) in UNHCR Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Present in more than 125 countries, UNHCR is committed to saving lives, protecting rights, and helping refugees live a better life. It is part of a project run by the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Labor Organization (ILO), The UN Children Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank Group and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The Population Registration and Identity Management EcoSystem (PRIMES) project is planned for Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda and will run until 2023.

The Interoperability Coordinator will assist the Chief of Identity Management and Registration Section in developing a strategy for the secure sharing and transfer of biographic and biometric data. This will be a key addition to the Interoperability Program, as the role is responsible with developing guidelines from a data protection and legal/regulatory framework perspective. The Interoperability Coordinator will work with data protection, digital identity and biometrics programs of work and country operations.

Other duties and responsibilities include developing operations in the eight focus countries and ultimately expand the program globally, making sure stakeholders in the project understand the objectives, and recommending technical solutions related to and not only the Primes Data Transfer Platform architecture and design.

It is a full-time position that runs from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020, with a possible extension up to December 31, 2020. The closing date for applications is November 25, 2019 (Midnight Copenhagen Time).

Article Topics

biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital identity  |  identity management  |  UNHCR