Senior Legal Officer - Administration of Justice (E)

Full Job Description

B

Family

PR4

Professional* Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff member’s country of nationality.

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

No

2023-10-13

November 9, 2023

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 the Legal Affairs Service (LAS). However, the incumbent will function on a largely autonomous basis and will have supervisory responsibilities.   

The incumbent provides senior level support on all 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) and representing the Organization at oral hearings before international tribunals, including the UNDT. The Senior Legal Officer - AoJ is also responsible for providing advice on legal issues relating to investigations and disciplinary proceedings, as well as substantive input regarding the drafting of legal opinions and policies on human resources related matters.

The incumbent will also contribute to the overall work of LAS, including in the areas of contracts and the status, privileges 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 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.
• Represent UNHCR in settlement negotiations and mediations with aggrieved personnel.
• Prepare legal pleadings in response to applications before the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and represent the Organization as Counsel at oral hearings.
• Provide advice on the triage and assessment of cases referred to Headquarters, including through the SpeakUp Helpline.
• Review draft human resources policies and related technical proposals and ensure that they are aligned with established policy and standards.
• Guide DHR units at Headquarters locations and offices in the field to ensure that personnel matters are dealt with in accordance with relevant procedural guidelines.
• Analyse and advise on requests for management evaluations by UNHCR staff,
• Provide legal advice, as necessary, to the Inspector General's Office on investigation procedures and to the Director, DHR on disciplinary proceedings.
• Conduct training in the area of administration of justice and human resources, and other outreach and professional development initiatives in these areas.
• Manage personnel through regular performance appraisals, coaching, and assessments of training and development needs.
• Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Additional duties for Dispute Resolution

• Coordinate LAS’s engagement with other UNHCR dispute resolution stakeholders at Headquarters, in Regional Bureaux and in the field on collaborative initiatives regarding integrity, compliance and ethics as well as conflict/management interventions and outreach.
• Provide advice on the triage and assessment of cases referred to Headquarters, including through the SpeakUp Helpline.
• Manage intake of management evaluation requests with a view to identify cases suitable for informal dispute resolution as well as strategic follow-up on management evaluation decisions.
• Design training material in the area of conflict management, administration of justice and human resources, including lessons learned and conduct workshops, webinars, presentations and other outreach and professional development initiatives in these areas.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P4 - 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;                Litigation Practice;               or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Mediation;              *Bar Examination;                or other relevant field.

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

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Previous relevant work experience including in the field of litigation. 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. Extensive knowledge of the internal justice system of the United Nations grievance mechanisms, the jurisprudence of the UNDT and UNAT, and the UN human resources machinery. Ability to conduct legal research on a range of complex and intricate issues. Experience 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.

To the dispute resolution position:  

Demonstrated ability in negotiation and conflict management. Experience with mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Desirable

Knowledge of the mechanisms in UNHCR. Prior exposure to, and demonstrated competence in, the conceptual development of strategic HR approaches and corporate HR policies. Proven experience in developing training material and facilitating workshops, webinars and other adult learning. 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 operations.

Functional Skills

*LE-Legal Research

*LE-Draft legal settlement agreements

*LE-Litigation and case management

*LE-Contract law applied by the UN

*LE-Litigation and oral and written court advocacy skills

*IT-Computer Literacy

CO-Cross-cultural communication

(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 .

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

Empowering and Building Trust

Managing Performance

Leadership

Judgement and Decision Making

Cross-Functional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

Policy Development and Research

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

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.

Advanced court advocacy skills and substantive litigation experience obtained as an attorney in a law firm and/or a legal officer in an international organization.
In-depth knowledge and experience of international law, including, international administrative law as practiced in international organizations (in particular in the UN).
Proven expertise in the law of the international civil service and current knowledge of the jurisprudence of the UN Dispute and Appeals Tribunals.
Thorough understanding of the UN system and UNHCR's mandate, operational structure and admin processes.
Comprehensive understanding of UN staff regulations and rules and UNHCR internal regulatory framework.
Highly developed analytical skills and ability to effectively conduct legal research on a range of complex and intricate issues.
Demonstrated negotiation skills & ability to provide oral briefings on complex legal issues to lawyers and not legally trained audiences.
Excellent drafting skills (legal opinions/pleadings/briefing notes) in both English and French.

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit:

Nature of Position

The Senior Legal Officer (AoJ) P4 serves under the supervision of the Senior Legal Adviser/Deputy Head of Service (LAS) P5. The incumbent will function on a largely autonomous basis and will supervise two Associate Legal Officer s and may also supervise any interns, consultants and junior staff. He/she provides senior level support on all 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 and oral advocacy before the United Na tions Dispute Tribunal . He/she is also responsible for providing expert advice on legal issues relating to investigations and disciplinary proceedings, and supporting policy initiatives in the area of HR management

Living and Working Conditions

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Cross-cultural communication, IT-Computer Literacy, LE-Contract law applied by the UN, LE-Draft legal settlement agreements, Legal Research, LE-Litigation and case management, LE-Litigation and oral and written court advocacy skills

Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Litigation Practice

Certifications

International Law - Other, Law - Other

Number of Workforce in Operation/Work Setting, Workforce to Supervise

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Policy research & development, Teamwork & collaboration

Compendium Bi-annual Compendium 2023 Part B - October 2023

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance