Legal Specialist

The Legal Group (LG) advises UNOPS management, project offices, regional offices and other specialized units within UNOPS on institutional, commercial, and administrative law matters. Legal Advisors at UNOPS provide legal advice in the areas of public international law, dispute resolution, commercial law and administrative law. This legal advice spans various topics, including host-country agreements, privileges and immunities, disputes with external parties, administrative/HR law, partnership agreements, grants, procurement contracts, and the establishment of hosted initiatives, joint programs, and multi-donor trust funds. It also involves working with outside counsel, pro bono law firms, and the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) as needed.

The Legal Specialist, Commercial, acts as a seasoned professional, independently providing in-house legal services within existing legal frameworks. S/he provides authoritative advice on the application of established commercial law policies and procedures, adapting them to meet emerging client or project needs. The Legal Specialist is responsible for solving complex legal problems, managing a specific portfolio of commercial legal work, and maintaining strong client relationships to ensure reliable service delivery, thereby protecting UNOPS from legal, financial, and reputational risks.

1. Legal Advice and Representation

• Advise Project Offices on commercial matters under LG’s purview, including review and negotiation of legal agreements, interpretation, alignment and development of the UNOPS legal framework.

• Provide legal advice and support to Project Offices in relation to partnership and framework or funding agreements, negotiation of model agreements with partners, procurement contract templates and grant agreements.

• Provide legal advice and support to Project Offices in relation to hosted initiatives, joint programmes and multi-donor trust funds.

• Provide timely advice and support actively finding solutions to everyday implementation challenges, based on policy and best practices.

• Represent UNOPS in negotiations with external parties on legal topics,  such as negotiations on contracts and agreements. 

• Coordinate interactions between business units and local legal retainers, external legal counsel and legal advisors from OLA or other UN agencies.

2. Policy Development and Implementation Support

• Recommend changes to policies, processes and operating standards based on the feedback and experience of the country offices.

• Ensure transparent and efficient project implementation, in line with policy and business needs.

• Work closely with other units within UNOPS to address mission-critical issues and find fit-for-purpose solutions and contribute with technical and practical knowledge to the development of strategies to improve efficiency and strengthen internal controls.

• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives to ensure that internal policies, procedures, systems and tools are consistent with the overall legal framework, practical, relevant and add value to organizational operations.

3. Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

• Support the systematic documentation and updating of legal precedents and templates.

• Contribute to research and coordination within the team and across the organization 

• Provide structured knowledge and subject matter expertise which is used across practice areas to provide coherent and tailored advice to the requesting offices.

• Stay informed about internal and external developments and best practices.

• Deliver and facilitate trainings on commercial matters to internal colleagues. 

4. Regional Focal Point Role (as assigned)

• Represent the LG Commercial Practice as the identified Focal Point by assuming the responsibilities for a specific region, liaising with the Regional Office and all regional actors (internal and external) for all legal matters related to the regional portfolio.

• Manage the regional workload, completing the above listed functions with a focus on a specific region.

• Foster and develop the relationship and collaboration with one specific region allowing for dedicated and tailored legal support, capacity building and solutions to the region.

• Coordinate and oversee the legal advice and support provided by other LG members (other than the Legal Specialist’s supervisees) to a specific region to ensure consistency; 

• Liaise and communicate with the other regional focal points on novel, high-risk and/or problematic issues to ensure consistency in strategy and advice across the LG Commercial Practice. 

Required:

• An advanced university degree (J.D. or Master of Laws or equivalent); or a first-level university degree in law (Bachelor of Laws or equivalent) from an accredited university in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Required:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience as a lawyer in commercial law, international law, public international law and/or, commercial dispute resolution, including legal analysis, advice, research and/or drafting of texts.

• Proficiency in legal drafting and ability to draft accurately, clearly and concisely under pressure is required.

• Experience in communicating complex legal concepts across a range of audiences is required.

Desired:

• Commercial law experience, preferably as legal counsel in a law firm or international organization.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.