Legal Counselor

The Legal Counselor identifies legal needs and provides counseling and assistance with relevant administrative procedures as well as handles the representation of cases in Courts and other specialized service providers.

The Legal Counselor is responsible for conducting legal information sessions on protection, rights and entitlements, legal status, statelessness and other legal issues, as dictated by the needs of Livelihoods Center beneficiaries.

As part of the structure of the Livelihoods Center, the Legal Counselor focuses on a particular pool of beneficiaries from the surrounding catchment area, enabling him/her to conduct consistent follow-up with beneficiaries, as needed.

The Legal Counselor provides input for advocacy initiatives as required and engages in mediation and negotiation, as needed, especially with regard to employment related disputes, but also housing, land and property matters and ID/person confiscation.

Major Responsibilities:

• Identify legal needs and provide on-site counseling to Livelihoods Center beneficiaries;
• Under the guidance of the technical supervisor, assist persons of concern by representing them in relevant administrative bodies;
• Conduct case intake on site utilizing digital data collection systems;
• Deliver information sessions on protection, rights and entitlements pertaining to work, legal status and employer sponsorship, and other issues as dictated by the needs at field-level;
• Engage in mediation and negotiation as needed (e.g. in employment related disputes);
• Analyze data and highlight trends and legal protection needs
• Under the guidance of direct supervisor, facilitate one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions with refugees, host community members, state actors and service providers in the field on selected protection and legal concerns;
• Keep records of the urgent legal needs identified and the actions taken to assist affected PoCs;
• Produce weekly and monthly reports on activities based on IRC tools;
• Provide input for advocacy initiatives, as required;
• Conduct other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to:  Livelihoods Centre Manager-MLtechnical:Legal manager (Beirut).
• Position directly supervises:  NA
• Indirect Reporting:  Legal Manager

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

• Internal: ERD staff in Mkhales and other areas when required, other Legal counsellors in North Livelihoods
• External: NA

Work Experience: At least two years of prior professional experience in a similar post, preferably with an international organization.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Belief in human rights including gender equality.
• Strong communication skills including ability to gain trust and build relationships with new communities.
• Strong understanding of International Human Rights, Refugee Law and Lebanese law with special focus on Family Law;
• Familiarity with the Lebanese legal community;
• Basic computer skills including Microsoft Word;
• Experience in regular report writing;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, as well as independently;
• Flexible and able to work in a dynamic and diverse environment.

Language Skills: High standard of spoken and written Arabic and fluent English required. 

Working Environment:

Travel and other requirements: Standard office environment with limited travel in the vicinity of the Livelihoods Center, or to IRC Offices in Akkar, Tripoli and Beirut.