Legal Assistant

JOB SUMMARY:

Performs a variety of legal and administrative assistance to staff on all legal issues associated with interpretation and application of the Treaty of Peace and 1981 Protocol, the conduct and scope of Treaty verification activities, personnel issues, potential or threatened claims by or against the MFO and investigations.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support the FCN on interpretation and application of the security provisions of the Treaty and related arrangements.
• Largely independently review and analyze COU data and evaluate potential violations stemming from the Treaty and Agreed Activities.  Based on this analysis, draft and/or assist in drafting documents associated with potential violations of the Treaty.  
• Independently conduct first review of ad hoc observations and reports of most military activity observed in order to determine whether a potential treaty violation has occurred.  Independently identify factual concerns with the reporting and coordinate with colleagues to address these accuracy concerns. Relying on agreements between the parties and historical practices, identify issues which require elevation to the FCN for review and those which may be closed without further action.  
• Conduct initial research of internal policies and guidance documents and draft guidance revisions and reminders that are distributed to all staff.  Draft internal guiding documents for the legal office to document legal advisory precedence.
• Identify and raise with FCN potential issues that might meet the criteria for Serious Incident Reports (SIRs).  Draft or assist with the drafting, review and clearance of SIRs, and prepare drafts of follow-up SIRs until the incident is closed. 
• Draft or assist in drafting convening orders for FCN review for formal investigations. Provide process guidance and technical assistance to Investigating Officers and/or Boards of Inquiry.
• Review, edit, and maintain archives of Force Military Police Unit (FMPU) reports. Ensure that the reports accurately reflect references to FSOPs, FSOs, and/or Directives.
• Prepare drafts of claims for MFO to recover money for damages incurred by the MFO.
• Conduct training on the OVR mission, observations, duty investigations and member roles in supporting the MFO mission.
• Prepare vehicle accident reports for insurance companies in Egypt and Israel.
• Prepare templates, correspondence and minutes of meetings as requested. Attend meetings and provides notes/readouts as requested by the FCN. Develop and maintain the electronic and paper libraries of Force Legal files.
• As directed by the FCN, perform periodic “on-call” duty in order to ensure compliance with mandatory deadlines and reporting requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES.

• Must possess excellent writing, research, and communication skills.  
• Proficiency in Word and Excel and computer literacy are essential.
• Must be detail oriented and possess excellent organizational skills.
• Must be a team player with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a multinational environment.
• Fluency in written and spoken English, with emphasis on legal terminology. Knowledge of Arabic or Spanish is an asset.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

College Graduate with a minimum of 2 years’ experience in legal assistance or paralegal service or 8 years’ experience working in a specified legal service in an international organization, national government or military setting.  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• This is an MFO Grade 8 position which carries a starting total annual salary of USD $78,793. The MFO offers attractive compensation packages with competitive salaries and benefits. Website: https://mfo.org/compensation-and-benefits.
•  All applicants are required to complete an on-line profile to be considered for this post.
•  Only those applicants who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.
•  MFO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).
•  Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Egypt time (GMT+2) on the closing date of the announcement. 

At the MFO, we seek candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our commitment to peace and regional stability. We are strongly committed to ensuring workforce diversity; particularly in terms of gender and ethnicity. We believe that by promoting fairness in the workplace and fostering a culture of inclusiveness, we can attract the best talent. We strive to create a work environment in which employees feel valued and have the opportunity to excel regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. We do not tolerate any kind of harassment, abuse, or discrimination.