Legal Officer at UN-Habitat

Responsibilities

• Advises and handles complex legal and policy issues on a wide range of areas related to human settlements, housing, water sanitations and infrastructure projects, constitutional, international, public, private, administrative, and, for Tribunals, (substantive, procedural and comparative) law, including the interpretation and application of constitutive, legislative and other instruments governing UN-Habitat’s activities and operations.
• Conducts extensive legal research and analysis and prepare studies, comparative studies, briefs, reports and correspondence relating on a wide range of legal issues, sustainable human settlements, the core focus areas of UN-Habitat’s work and the framework for the New Urban Agenda. • Undertakes basic or extensive review of legal documents, instruments, or other material relating to sustainable human settlements, the core focus areas of UN-Habitat’s work for the New Urban Agenda and identifies important issues, similarities, and inconsistencies.
• Prepares or assists in the preparation of drafts of background documents, policies, standard operating procedures, papers, studies, reports, legislative texts and commentaries on those texts, teaching materials relating to UN-Habitat’s work, its internal policies and procedures and opinions in the field of international law.
• Prepares or assists in the preparation of legal opinions/advice on a wide range of legal issues involving international public or private law, human settlements projects, activities incidental to the implementation of UN-Habitat’s mandate including the United Nations Charter, General Assembly resolutions and decisions involving, inter alia, issues relating to privileges and immunities, peace and security, criminal prosecutions, institutional questions, treaty law and practice, procedural issues arising during meetings of United Nations organs, constitutional and administrative law of the Organization.
• Prepares or assists in the preparation and review of agreements, reports and contracts with governments, NGOs and other public and private entities, as well as in the negotiation and settlement of claims and disputes arising from such agreements and contracts.
• Assists colleagues in servicing meetings, conferences, commissions, committees, task forces, expert groups and other bodies, including preparation of background materials, minutes, summaries of issues and views of delegations, meeting reports, etc.
• Assists in representing the Organization in legal disputes by providing written briefs, motions/submissions and in oral proceedings before arbitral and other tribunals or administrative proceedings, including disciplinary cases and other matters before the Management Advice and Evaluation Section (MAES) and the UNDT.
• Review, advise on and draft legal briefs, submissions, and pleadings before the UNDT and UNAT.
• Provides legal advice on human resources and reviews administrative matters.
• Provides guidance and supervise newly recruited personnel in the Legal Unit on the work of the Legal Unit.
• Carry out the necessary administrative duties for maintaining the Legal Unit’s database (electronic and online), posting and retrieving of legal materials.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Head of the Legal Unit.

Education

• Advanced university degree, (Master’s degree or equivalent), in international relations and/or law is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is an advantage.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in law, obtained in the legal office of an international intergovernmental organization, or a government, including legal analysis, research and writing is required.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in providing legal and policy advice to intergovernmental bodies such as the Executive Boards, UN Governing Bodies etc. on matters relating to their mandates, rules of procedure and supporting their meetings is desirable.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in the drafting, reviewing, negotiating and developing of international agreements and other legal instruments such as Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Host Country and Conference Agreements between different stakeholders in the international arena is desirable.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in legal representation in matters related to the United Nations or similar international organization’s internal justice system, including legal representation before Dispute tribunals or Appeal bodies is desirable.
• Legal experience in an international or intergovernmental organization providing advice in the conceptualization, implementation and legal review of human settlements, housing and humanitarian projects particularly in conflict and post conflict situations is desirable.
• Two (2) years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable