Legal Counselor -Ramtha

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (www.theIRC.org) is a world leader in relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict development services for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is currently working in over 25 countries around the world, addressing both the immediate and lifesaving needs of conflict affected people in emergencies and the reconstruction needs of post-conflict societies.The IRC has been working in Jordan since 2007 to provide support to refugees and vulnerable host community members in the areas of women’s protection and empowerment, children’s protection and cash assistance.

The IRC started implementing protection programming in North of Jordan in 2012 within the Women’s Protection and Empowerment centers. This includes information dissemination, legal counselling and support for civil status documentation needs.The protection program seeks to promote a protective environment for adults and children, women and girls in particular.Legal service provision contributes to this objective through supporting refugees and vulnerable members of the host community to access legal information, services and referral for representation in diverse areas including HLP, family law, and civil status documentation.

Job Overview/Summary:

Under the supervision of the Women’s Protection and Empowerment Manager, the Legal Counselor will identify legal needs in women and girls’ centers, provide counseling and assistance including support for obtaining documentation, legal information/advice on other legal topics (eg: family law, HLP). The Legal Officer will conduct direct case intake for counselling on site and will also receive referrals from other actors, including UNHCR and other NGOs. The Legal Counselor will refer cases requiring legal representation in courts to other specialized service providers.The Legal Counselor will be responsible for conducting legal information sessions on protection, rights and entitlements, legal status, statelessness and other issues, as dictated by the needs at field level. The Legal Counselor will work in close collaboration with the WPE counsellors to receive GBV and non GBV cases for legal counselling and to refer GBV cases to the WPE counsellors for case management. Also the Legal Counselor will network with protection committees to support advocacy at the community level.

Major Responsibilities:

• Identify legal needs in the field and provide on-site counseling to Persons of Concern;
• Evaluate cases in need of cash for legal documentation and after approval from the direct supervisor, assist persons of concern by accompanying them to relevant administrative bodies, for issues related to documentation;
• Coordinate with the Service Delivery Specialist for referral of cases with protection concerns to UNHCR and the Family Protection Department;
• Conduct case intake on site utilizing digital data collection system;
• Deliver information sessions on protection, rights and entitlements, legal status, statelessness and other issues as dictated by the needs at field-level;
• Refer cases for mediation and negotiation as needed (e.g. on housing, land and property issues);
• Analyze data and highlight trends and legal protection needs;
• Under the guidance of the 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 reports on activities based on IRC tools;
• Work to strengthen IRC’s relationship with refugees, refugee/host community leaders and municipal actors in order to maintain good access to POCs; and
• Write monthly reports for the WPE coordinator and manager on the activities conducted, advancements, challenges and requested support.
• Conducts other duties as assigned by supervisor.

KEy Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:WPE Manager

Indirect reporting: WPE Coordinator

• Law degree

Work Experience:

• Approximately 2- 4 years prior professional experience in a similar post, preferably with an international organization.
• Experience in working with women survivors of violence is an assets

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.
• Good understanding of International Human Rights, Refugee Law and Jordanian law;
• 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:

• Arabic and good standard of spoken and written English language skills

Working Environment: WPE women’s centres in Ramtha