Internship - Legal Office, WFP HQ Rome, Italy

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, physical or mental disability.

Internship - Legal Office

Legal Office

HQ Rome, Italy

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.  We are currently seeking to fill four intern positions in the Legal Office based in Rome, Italy. The Internship will be based in HQ, Rome Italy, opportunity to work remotely from the country of origin/residence is also possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION:

The Legal Office provides support for WFP’s mission through its three branches – the Administrative and Employment Law Branch (LEGA), the Contractual and Constitutional Law Branch (LEGC) and the Maritime, Transport and Insurance Law Branch (LEGM). The incumbent will be selected to work in one of the three branches with the possibility of doing some cross-functional work between branches. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Title of Post: Legal Intern
• Supervisor: Legal Officer, as assigned
• Unit: Legal Office
• Country:  Italy
• Duty Station: Rome (in presence) or possibility for working remotely  
• Duration of internship: Minimum 3 months
• Expected Start Date: Negotiable - starting November 2023

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of a Legal Officer, the candidate may perform the following duties:

• Conduct legal research into and assist in interpreting WFP’s regulations and rules and other internal normative sources of law, and public international law, including but not limited to international treaties governing privileges and immunities and the jurisprudence of the international tribunals, such as the International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal;
• Prepare legal briefs, opinions, memoranda and correspondence;
• Interpret and apply international treaties, and assist in drafting diplomatic communications to the governments of countries in which WFP works; 
• Assist in the drafting, review and negotiation of commercial contracts and agreements with governments, UN agencies, international and national partners and vendors; 
• Study legal questions relating to procurement, shipping, aviation, land transport, insurance, and commercial and contract law;  
• Analyse and assess evidence collected in cases involving alleged employee misconduct; 
• Assist in the preparation, pursuit and negotiation of claims;
• Perform other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Candidates must be currently enrolled in, or about to begin, the final year of an undergraduate law programme (first degree); be currently enrolled in a graduate law programme (second degree, e.g., master’s or JD); or have graduated from an undergraduate or graduate law programme within six months of the deadline for applications. In all cases, candidates must have attended a course within the last 12 months for credit towards the law degree. (If you are selected, a university certification will be required).
• Proficiency in MS Office (in particular, Word, Excel, and Power Point).
• Previous legal experience in a law firm, in-house, or the legal office of another international organisation is preferred but not required.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

Purpose:

• Understands WFP’s strategic objectives and the link to the individual’s work objectives.
• Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors.
• Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
• Sets daily tasks that align with WFP’s overall operations.

People:

• Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness and includes these in conversations on the individual’s professional development goals.
• Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
• Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence and develop and improve individual skills.
• Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.
   

Performance:

• Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
• Aims to deliver results within individual scope of work on time and without errors; seeks assistance and guidance from senior lawyers, as needed.
• Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
• Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.
   

Partnership:

• Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
• Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately escalate needs of external partners.
• Portrays an informed and professional demeanour toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Provides operational support on analysis and assessments that quantify and demonstrate WFP’s unique value as a partner.

WORKING LANGUAGES

• Excellent written and spoken English is required (proficiency/level C).
• Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or Portuguese is preferred, but not required.

SUPERVISION (Level/Methods of Supervision)

Under the direct supervision of a Legal Officer, the legal intern will be provided with one-on-one technical supervision, skills development, and mentoring. Supervision will include performance planning and review, as well as learning and development discussions, as appropriate.

TRAINING COMPONENTS

Throughout their assignment WFP interns have access to an industry leading learning platform, WeLearn. 

LEARNING ELEMENTS

At the end of the assignment, the intern would be expected to have improved their skills in the following areas:

• Legal analysis skills;
• Legal drafting skills (expository, advocacy, and contract drafting); and 
• Inter-personal skills required for working in a dynamic legal office, dealing with in-house clients, and manoeuvring in a large UN organization.

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

• VA Reference no: 826921
• How to Apply:

Interested applicants should submit their applications with a CV and a Cover letter in English. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Closing Date: 23 May 2023 at 11:59 pm Rome time (GMT + 1)

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1000 per month depending on the duty station of assignment (in case of remote working the stipend is calculated based on the actual location of the Intern).
• WFP is not responsible for living expenses, arrangements for accommodation, necessary visas and related costs.
• WFP will reimburse travel tickets for candidates who are nationals of developing countries and are pursuing their studies in their home country.
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognised institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education.
• Candidates who bear any of the following relations to WFP staff members are not eligible to apply: sons, daughters, siblings.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

These are the common standards of behaviour that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Different expectations of behaviour are defined depending on your grade and role/responsibilities within WFP.

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.

Saving Lives

Changing Lives