Senior Legal Officer (International Humanitarian Law), P-5, OCHA/PDSB

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships: This position is located in the Policy Advice and Planning Section (PAPS) of the Policy Development and Studies Branch (PDSB), in the office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Senior Legal Officer (International Humanitarian Law) reports to the Chief of Branch.

Responsibilities: In the area of concentration and within delegated authority and location, and, as necessary, in consultation with OLA, the Senior Legal Officer may be responsible for the following duties

• Serves as a recognized expert in one or more areas of concentration, and independently handle a wide range of multi-discipline, highly complex, and often sensitive and/or conflicting legal matters involving issues relating to international and international humanitarian law , to include interpretation and application of instruments in that area of concentration;.

• Makes various types of recommendations to senior officials of substantive units with respect to actions to take; recommendations are usually accepted as proposed.

• Provide authoritative legal advice on diverse range of highly complex or novel substantive and procedural questions of law, in particular on the interpretation and application of international and international humanitarian law as it pertains to relief operations.

• Organizes and supervises research studies and the preparation of legal opinions, as well as performs extensive legal research and analysis on highly complex or novel legal issues/questions and prepares legal opinions, studies, briefs, reports, and correspondence.

• Advises on and supervises the review, negotiation and drafting of, institutional and operational modalities, legal submissions/motions, and other legal documents; develops new legal modalities to meet unique needs/circumstances.

• Services diplomatic conferences, commissions, committees, task forces, expert groups and other bodies, including preparation of background materials, summaries of issues and views of delegations, meeting reports, etc.

• Serves on various standing boards, committees, ad hoc working groups and task forces, as required; promotes the work of the United Nations and represents the organization at meetings, conferences, seminars, etc. including as focal point for international humanitarian law within the UN Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group, International Disaster Response Laws; Rights up Front and Right to Protect (R2P) processes;

• Contributes to review and design of new, or new applications of, legal instruments, policy, guidelines, systems, etc.

• Supervises and participates in preparing legal publications of the unit.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following:

Senior officials (typically P-5 to D-2, ASG and USG as requested) throughout the Secretariat, including regional commissions and Criminal Tribunals.

Judges, senior attorneys and consultants, managing directors of firms, Assistant Administrators and Executive Directors or equivalent in UN common system organizations, specialized agencies, governments, and other external entities.

Results Expected: Contributes to the management and administration of unit and its outputs through effective coordination and supervision of work/projects and of staff, ensuring the overall quality and consistency of technical work, or successful prosecutions. Provides high-level in-house legal counsel capacity, to include timely and authoritative advice, services and representation on highly complex or novel legal matters that can be readily implemented without substantive revisions. Effectively determines strategy and approach to legal issues and develops innovative solutions to major problems/issues, which may arise. Contributes to the development of policy, directives and guidelines and to the dissemination of policy and best practices. Demonstrates professional leadership and a high degree of persuasiveness and diplomacy to generate consensus with relevant parties on divisive legal issues.

COMPETENCIES

• Professionalism:Knowledge of international legal procedures and instruments, in particular on international humanitarian law, both substantive and procedural. Ability to apply legal expertise to analyzing a diverse range of complex and unusual legal issues and problems and in developing innovative and creative solutions related to international humanitarian law and its application to humanitarian operations. Strong analytical skills and ability to conduct comprehensive legal research on a range of issues, including those of a unique and/or complex nature; proficiency in legal writing and expression and ability to prepare legal briefs, opinions, indictments or legal submissions/motions, and a variety of legal instruments and related documents. Discretion and sound judgment in applying legal expertise to sensitive, complex legal issues. Strong negotiating skills and ability to influence others to reach agreement. Ability to work to tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/cases. Knowledge of contemporary international relations and of UN system, organization and interrelationships. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

• Client Orientation:Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

For Managerial Positions:

• Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

•Vision:Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks; clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals; generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.

• Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience:A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in international law, including legal analysis, research and writing. Experience as it pertains to relief operations is strongly desired.

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

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency of English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Notes:

• A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further “stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…” Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.
• Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based in New York.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.
• The expression “Internal candidates”, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.
• Please note that candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the post.
• For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17.
• For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.

HOW TO APPLY:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

• Cover Letter
• Personal History Profile (visit https://inspira.un.org to generate a PHP)
• Proof of required academic credentials (for external applicants)
• Employment verification letter from most recent employer (for external applicants)
• Last two completed Performance Appraisal or two Reference Letters for external applicants

ALL SUBMISSIONS TO BE SENT TO:

Contact Name: Mr. Aurelien Buffler Email Address: buffler@un.org

Copy (cc): Ms. Maria Vargas Email Address: vargas1@un.org