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Snr Legal Off (Admin of Just) - Administration of Justice

Budapest

  • Organization: UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • Location: Budapest
  • Grade: Mid level - P-4, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Operations and Administrations
    • Legal - Broad
    • Legal - International Law
    • Peace and Development
  • Closing Date: Closed

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Senior Legal Officer (Administration of Justice)

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships


The Senior Legal Officer - Administration of Justice (AoJ) serves under the supervision of the Senior Legal Adviser & Deputy Head of Legal Affairs Service (LAS). However, the incumbent will function on a largely autonomous basis and may supervise a diverse team of international and local staff. 

The incumbent provides senior level support on matters relating to the UN internal justice system, including preparation of legal opinions and advice on requests for management evaluation, drafting legal pleadings in response to applications before the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT). The Senior Legal Officer (AoJ) is also responsible for providing advice on legal issues relating to investigations and disciplinary proceedings and supporting policy initiatives in wide range of areas.

The incumbent may handle as a priority cases related to sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment which require special care and expertise to substantiate complex cases and protect witnesses and survivors. The incumbent will play a strong role in contributing to effective action to detect, respond and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse along with sexual harassment, particularly by lowering the time required to process these complex cases. The incumbent will also contribute to the overall work of LAS, including in the areas of contracts (e.g., cash-based interventions, MOUs with partners) and the status, privilege and immunities of UNHCR and its personnel.



All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR¿s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.



Duties
- Provide senior level support and advice on non-refugee and related legal matters including administrative, personnel issues, including but not limited to requests for management evaluation, cases brought before the UNDT and UNAT and in disciplinary proceedings resulting in high level of compliance with legal advice; procurement matters, contracts and the status, privileges and immunities of UNHCR and its personnel.
- Draft legal opinions, pleadings and other legal advice in accordance with established legal policy, standards and procedures.
- Represent UNHCR before the UNDT and UNAT.
- Provide expert advice and guidance on a wide array of legal matters, with a special emphasis on the UN internal justice system and human resources legal issues, particularly disciplinary cases involving sexual exploitation and abuse or sexual harassment.
- Advise on the interpretation and application of the UNHCR internal regulatory framework, in particular relating to procurement and supply and propose initiatives and measures to enhance existing policies and practices, appropriately addressing UNHCR¿s needs, and ensure compliance with relevant rules and regulations.
- Review draft policies and related technical proposals and ensure that they are aligned with established policy and standards;
- Guide relevant entities and offices in HQ, Bureaux, the the Field to ensure that personnel matters are dealt with in accordance with relevant procedural guidelines. Provide legal support to joint staff-management and other advisory bodies.
- Analyse and advise on requests for management evaluations by UNHCR staff.
- Prepare legal pleadings in response to applications before the United Nations Dispute Tribunal.
- Provide legal advice, as necessary, to the Inspector General's Office on investigation procedures and to the Director of DHR on disciplinary proceedings.
- Perform other related duties as required.




Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P4/NOD - 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree


Field(s) of Education

*Law; International Law; International Business Law;
Litigation Practice; or other relevant field.

(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)


Certificates and/or Licenses

BAR Exam; or other relevant field.

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)


Relevant Job Experience

Essential
- Minimum 8 years of previous relevant work experience including in the field of litigation (to fulfil this requirement, the incumbent must demonstrate experience in written advocacy acquired before judicial courts or arbitral and administrative tribunals).
- In-depth knowledge and experience of international law, including, international administrative law as practiced in international organizations (in particular in the United Nations) and/or experience applying employment or administrative law in a national jurisdiction.
- Thorough understanding of the UN system, or ability to rapidly acquire such an understanding.
- Strong analytical skills and ability to conduct legal research on a range of complex and intricate issues.
- Excellent skills in drafting a broad range of documents of a legal nature, including policies and administrative instructions, legal opinions, pleadings, contracts and/or briefing notes.
- Demonstrated ability to provide oral briefings on complex legal issues to legal and non-legal audiences.
- Bar exam or equivalent qualification to practice law in at least one national jurisdiction.


Desirable
- Experience with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Experience in dealing with issues related to the internal justice system of the United Nations, knowledge of the jurisprudence of the UNDT and UNAT as well as organizational regulatory frameworks and policies.
- Prior exposure to, and demonstrated competence in, the conceptual development of strategic HR approaches and corporate HR policies.
- Knowledge of the privileges and immunities of UN/HCR and its personnel.
- Knowledge of the principles of international commercial law and contract law as applied by the UN.
- Knowledge of UN/HCR field operational realities.
- Solid computer skills, including good knowledge of databases.


Functional Skills

LE-Legal Research;
LE-Contract law applied by the UN;
*LE-Passed Bar Exam or Equivalent;
LE-Litigation Experience in Law Firm;
*LE-Draft Legal opinions;
LE-International Administrative Law

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)


Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.



This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates. C001L3 - Accountability Level 3
C002L3 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 3
C003L3 - Communication Level 3
C004L3 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3
C005L3 - Client & Result Orientation Level 3
C006L3 - Organizational Awareness Level 3
M001L3 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 3
M005L3 - Leadership Level 3
M003L3 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 3
M002L3 - Managing Performance Level 3
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X004L3 - Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Level 3
X007L3 - Political Awareness Level 3

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).

Please note that the closing date for vacancies in this September 2020 Compendium is Tuesday 20 October 2020  (midnight Geneva time).

This vacancy is now closed.
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