LEGAL OFFICER

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is in Legal Affairs Unit (LAU) of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Juba classified in the “E” category and as a non-family duty station. Legal Officer reports to Senior Legal Officer.

Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision and within the limits of the delegated authority of the Senior Legal Officer, the Legal Officer will be responsible for the following duties: • Manage and supervise assistant legal officers and support staff of the legal affairs unit and coordinate their activities; • Provide legal advice and opinions on a wide range of legal issues affecting the UNMISS mandate and activities, including international public, private and administrative law matters, as well as issues of the interpretation and application of constitutional and national law and legislative and other instruments governing the United Nations as they affect the Mission or the mandate; • Provide legal advice, opinion and expertise seeking the Senior Legal Officer’s guidance on complex legal issues on the interpretation of the Mission’s mandate, legal status of the Mission and its members, their privileges and immunities and the UNMISS Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA); •Provide legal advice on all aspects of UNMISS operational activities, rules of engagement, directives on the use of force and related guidelines, matters relating to international law, including international humanitarian law, international criminal law and the protection of civilians, and internally displaced persons as appropriate; • Provide legal advice on administrative, personnel and contractual matters, procurement matters, third party claims, and legal questions involving the interpretation or application of United Nations regulations and rules; • Provide legal advice on drafts and review agreements, institutional and operational modalities, contracts, legal submissions and other legal documents and participate in negotiations for the settlement of claims and disputes; • Liaise and participate in meetings and discussions with governments and other institutions and entities; other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as other internal and external actors and organizations, as required; • Participate in administrative Boards and Committees, including the procurement process, claims and property management, and in ad hoc working groups and task forces, as assigned by the Senior Legal Officer; • Perform extensive legal research and analysis on highly complex or novel legal issues/questions and prepare legal opinions, studies, briefs, reports, and correspondence; represent the Unit/Mission at meetings, conferences, seminars, etc.; • Perform other duties, as assigned by the Senior Legal Officer, Chief of Staff or Mission Management.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM Knowledge of and ability to apply legal principles, concepts and procedures and terminology for review, examination, and processing of a range of legal documents. Knowledge of various legal research sources, including electronic, and ability to conduct research and analyze information on a wide range of legal issues. Knowledge of substantial and procedural international administrative law. Ability to interpret and apply legislative instruments, develop and present results, recommendations, and opinions clearly and concisely. Ability to draft legal papers, process and documents. Show pride in work and in achievements; demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter; be conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; be motivated by professional not personal concerns; show persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remain calm in stressful situations. Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. COMMUNICATION Speak and write clearly and effectively. Listen to others. Correctly interpret messages from others and respond appropriately. Ask questions to clarify and exhibit interest in having two-way communication. Tailor language, tone, style and format to suit and match the audience. Demonstrate openness in sharing information and keeping colleagues and people informed. TEAMWORK Work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicit input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; be willing to learn from others. Place team agenda before and above personal agenda. Support and act in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Share credit for team accomplishments and accept joint responsibility for team shortcomings. JUDGEMENT/DECISION-MAKING Identify key issues in a complex situation and come to the heart of the problem quickly. Gather relevant information before decision making. Consider positive and negative impacts prior to decision making. Take decisions cognizant of the impact on others and the Organization. Propose a course of action or make recommendations based on every available information. Check and validate assumptions against available facts. Determine that proposed actions satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Make tough decisions when necessary. Exercise sound judgement in difficult situations.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law. A first-level university law degree in combination with three additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible legal experience working as a lawyer in government, international organizations or in private practice is required. Professional experience in the application, analysis, research and writing in public international and administrative law is required. Experience with Mission-State relations, particularly with post conflict transitional governments; privileges and immunities; laws relating to the international civil servants; contract negotiation and interpretation; procurement; boards of inquiry are desirable. Legal experience with a United Nations entity is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required

Assessment

This is a Recruit from Roster job opening therefore, previously rostered candidates are not subject to any further assessment and as such, will not be invited for such an assessment.

Special Notice

This “Recruit from Roster” job opening is only open to roster applicants who are already placed on pre-approved rosters, following a review by a United Nations Central Review Body. Only roster applicants who were placed on rosters with similar functions at the same level are considered to be eligible candidates. Eligible applicants receive an email inviting them to apply. Rostered applicants are encouraged to apply only if they are interested and available to take up the position at the duty station/s specified in the Job Opening. Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected. Qualified women that meet the requirements of this job opening are particularly encouraged to apply and will be given full consideration in accordance with the United Nations efforts to increase women participation in its workforce.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.