Senior Legal Officer and Chief P5, LEGC (Public)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of extreme weather shocks.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Legal Office (LEG) is organized into three branches: LEGA (employment and administrative law), LEGM (maritime and transport law), and LEGC (contracts and constitutional law). LEGC is organized into two teams—one dealing with matters of a public nature and the other with matters of a private nature within the portfolio—each headed by its own Chief at the P-5 level. Accordingly, there are four such positions at the P-5 level, each responsible for a distinct area of legal specialization. The knowledge, skills, competencies, and professional experience required for each position are tailored to its substantive legal discipline and are not interchangeable across the branches and teams, as each position operates in a fundamentally different legal discipline requiring different substantive expertise.

This position is based in WFP Global Headquarters (GHQ) and covers WFP’s public facing portfolio, which focuses on public international law including privileges and immunities of WFP and its personnel, governance, public (including EU, international financial institution (IFI) and UN entities) and non-governmental organization (NGO) partnerships. The position interfaces regularly with the Executive Board secretariat, member state representatives, and other internal units concerning public partnerships (including those concerned with UN, EU and IFI relations), government relations, NGOs, internal oversight functions, and, where appropriate, the UN Office of Legal Affairs and FAO Legal Office. The portfolio supports all WFP offices and divisions at GHQ and in the field.

At this level, the job holder acts as leader of the branch, leading and managing a legal function, establishing strategic priorities and operational workplans, and is accountable for managing both people and resources to deliver results. The job holder provides authoritative legal expertise and operates with a high degree of delegated authority on sensitive and complex matters within the portfolio, including constitutional and governance matters, privileges and immunities, public international law, and public and NGO partnerships. As branch leader, the job holder typically directly supervises senior legal staff, while retaining overall supervisory responsibility across the branch and working with more junior colleagues on matters within the portfolio to deliver consistent, timely legal services across multiple workstreams, and will report, as appropriate, into the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel. The job holder serves as a knowledge focal point for legal matters within the portfolio, requiring deep subject-matter expertise to provide credible and robust guidance and to manage risk. Quality control is integral to the role, including reviewing and clearing key advice and written products, maintaining consistent legal positions, and supporting coherent guidance within the portfolio.

JOB PURPOSE

To serve as the Chief of Branch for the LEGC (Public) portfolio, providing authoritative legal advice on WFP’s governance and constitutional framework, public international law, including privileges and immunities, and partnerships with public donors and NGOs, and operational engagement with host states. The role advises on the interpretation and application of the General Regulations, General Rules, Financial Regulations, and related governance instruments, assists in their revision from time to time, and drafts and proposes rules and norms as required. The role leads legal support on host country relations, Executive Board documents and proceedings, and public partnership frameworks, Basic Agreements, and reviews internal instruments such as circulars, directives, and delegations of authority for constitutional and governance conformity. It also supports WFP’s representation in contentious matters and disputes within the portfolio, and advises on legal and reputational risks to inform decision-making. The role entails the development, supervision, and quality control of key advisory, transactional, and dispute-resolution outputs across the portfolio. This position requires judgment, discretion, strong branch leadership and people management skills, and a commitment to consistent quality control.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority)

• As leader of the branch, lead, supervise, and manage the branch’s professional and support staff through work planning, resource allocation, performance management, coaching, mentoring, knowledge-sharing, and staff development, enabling high performance and ensuring the effective delivery of legal services, timely and quality outputs, and achievement of organizational objectives, support workforce planning, succession planning, and recruitment within the unit, manage allocated financial resources to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the work programme, and take responsibility for an equitable and inclusive workplace consistent with WFP’s policies.
• Support the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and plans within the LEGC (Public) portfolio, aligned with the Legal Office’s, WFP’s, and wider UN system strategies, policies, and processes, to support effective delivery of legal services across headquarters and the field.
• Initiate and lead change processes within the branch, driving improved performance, championing the adoption of artificial intelligence and technology-enabled tools and their integration into legal workflows, and assuming responsibility for the effective implementation of the Legal Office’s cross-functional work practice to support staff development, knowledge sharing, and operational flexibility.
• Serve as a recognized expert on legal matters arising within the portfolio and independently handle the most complex, sensitive, and high-impact issues, including matters involving WFP’s constitutional instruments, public international law including privileges and immunities, and operational and partnership agreements with State entities, the EU, IFIs, the UN and, NGOs, while determining legal strategy to protect WFP interests and minimize legal and reputational risk.

• Act as the portfolio knowledge focal point providing technical expertise, guidance, and coaching to senior professional staff, maintaining coherent legal positions and guidance and exercising final technical clearance over key legal advice and written products within the portfolio.
• Brief, consult with, and take instructions from the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, and work closely with them on sensitive, high-risk, or high-profile  matters, including by escalating issues promptly and supporting decision-making on legal strategy and risk.
• Provide authoritative legal advice on the interpretation and application of WFP’s constitutional and governance instruments, including the General Regulations, General Rules, Financial Regulations, and Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board, assist in their revision as required, review internal instruments such as circulars, directives, and delegations of authority for constitutional and governance conformity, advise on Executive Board documents, and advise senior managers and institutional stakeholders on complex procedural and governance questions.
• Provide legal advice to inform the development, update, or amendment of governance instruments, circulars, directives, delegations of authority, Executive Board documents, host country agreements, operational and partnership agreements within the portfolio and related institutional documents, and draft and propose rules, norms, and standard provisions as needed.

• Lead legal support on contentious matters within the portfolio, including privileges and immunities claims, host country disputes, and public partnership and NGO disagreements, by developing strategy, leading negotiations, and coordinating proceedings as required.

• Provide legal advice on privileges and immunities claims, governance compliance, and sensitive institutional and public partnership matters, supporting consistent and defensible decision-making.
• Supervise the drafting, review, and quality control of legal submissions, opinions, correspondence, and legal research on matters within the portfolio, including governance, privileges and immunities, public international law, public partnerships and operations, and for relevant forums, and oversee the preparation of legal opinions, directing staff work and coordinating inputs from internal stakeholders and external counsel as needed.
• Promote proactive identification and mitigation of risks within the portfolio, including risks to WFP’s legal status and privileges, governance framework, public partnership or NGO matters, and institutional compliance risks, by issue-spotting, escalating material risks, and providing practical advice to internal clients.
• Maintain, develop, and quality-control templates, standard clauses, and practical guidance for recurring matters within the portfolio, and deliver targeted briefings/training to stakeholders to reduce repeat risks and improve consistency.
• Coordinate with relevant counterparts across the UN system and others, including through the UN Office of Legal Affairs, the FAO Legal Office, and inter-agency legal office coordination groups, and maintain relationships and collaborate cross-functionally with relevant WFP divisions and functions to align the branch’s activities with wider organizational programmes and priorities, ensuring a coherent approach that enables efficient delivery.

• Establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure that activities within the portfolio are continually assessed, oversee accurate and timely reporting that enables informed decision-making, and use findings to inform improvements in the delivery of legal services.
• Ensure that evaluation, audit, and compliance recommendations relevant to the branch are efficiently implemented.
• Promote the WFP mandate, mission, and objectives as well as those of LEG.
• Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency situations.
• Perform other duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Law, or first university degree in law with additional relevant experience and training.
• Must be qualified or admitted to practice law by a recognized national or state bar or law society, or have equivalent professional legal practice experience.

Experience: At least 11 years of progressively responsible legal experience, including substantial experience in legal matters relevant to the portfolio, in an international organization, law firm, or comparable institutional setting, with demonstrated expertise across the portfolio’s subject areas, and demonstrated ability to manage, motivate, and supervise a team.

Languages:

• Fluency (level C) in English.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or Portuguese, as a WFP working language.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Expertise in legal matters relevant to public international law including privileges and immunities of WFP and its personnel, governance, public (including EU, international financial institution (IFI) and UN entities) and non-governmental organization (NGO) partnerships. Familiarity with relevant international frameworks, standards, and institutional instruments is valuable.
• Ability to manage, coach and motivate diverse teams and to deliver results effectively through others.
• High-caliber negotiation, representation and influencing skills, including the ability to engage credibly with senior stakeholders within and beyond WFP.
• Ability to assimilate and analyse complex issues using independent judgement, anticipate strategic and operational implications, and provide clear, practical and risk-informed advice.
• Strong communication and drafting skills, including the ability to translate complex legal issues into concise messages tailored to different audiences.
• Broad understanding of organizational and business processes, with the ability to work effectively across functions.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This is an International Professional position (non-rotational) and is open to all nationalities.
• Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is, however, classified as non-rotational, which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year. This position is open to both internal and external candidates.
• WFP offers attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance. For more information, visithttps://icsc.un.org/.
• The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.