LEGAL OFFICER

Org. Setting and ReportingThe United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) was established by Security Council resolution 2476 and is mandated to promote and strengthen political stability and good governance, including the rule of law, preserving and advancing a peaceful and stable environment, supporting an inclusive inter-Haitian national dialogue, and protecting and promoting human rights in Haiti. This position is located in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), BINUH. The incumbent will be based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and will report to the Chief of Staff. ResponsibilitiesIn the area of concentration, within delegated authority and location, and, as necessary, in consultation with OLA, the Legal Officer may be responsible for the following duties: • Serves as a lead officer in one or more areas of concentration and independently handles a wide range of multi-discipline and complex legal matters involving issues of international, public, private and administrative law, to include interpretation and application of instruments in that area of concentration, or, for Tribunals, criminal law (both substantive and procedural). • Provides legal advice on diverse substantive and procedural questions of considerable complexity, which may include those related to administration and management, institutions support, procurement and contracts, peacekeeping and other operational matters, separately administered programmes and funds, criminal investigations and prosecutions, etc. • Performs extensive legal research and analysis and prepares legal opinions, studies, briefs, reports, indictments and correspondence; provides legal advice to the unit/division. • Prepares legal submissions/motions as necessary in the course of investigations and prosecutions. • 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. • Reviews, advises on and drafts complex contracts, agreements, institutional and operational modalities, or legal motions/submissions and other legal documents; develops new legal modalities to meet unique needs/circumstances. • Advises on and participates in negotiations and settlement of claims and disputes, or pleas of guilty, to include establishing strategy and approach, deciding on the legal text for terms and conditions of contracts, on the recommendations on the merit of claims, etc. • Provides legal advice on the interpretation and application of staff regulations and rules, including the review of administrative decisions; prepares draft amendments to the staff regulations and rules; prepares draft administrative issuances or amendments thereto and verifies their consistency with the existing staff regulation and rules; prepares analyses and evaluations of human resources policies and practices. • Represents the organization on more complex cases before arbitral and other tribunal or administrative proceedings, including disciplinary cases and staff appeals; in Tribunals, acts on behalf of the Prosecutor as co-counsel in proceedings before Trial or Appeal Chambers. • 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. • Coordinates and direct teams of other legal officers dealing with significant problems as required, and/or mentors and supervises the work of junior officers on specific projects. • Contributes to review and design of new, or new applications of, legal instruments, policy, guidelines, etc. • 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. Results Expected: Provides sound legal advice, services and representation on complex legal matters, in accordance with applicable legal policies, rules and practices, to protect the interests of the organization and minimize liabilities, and to protect the interests of victims. Conducts independent, accurate and comprehensive research on significant, complex matters and delivers carefully conceived legal opinions, studies, recommendations, as well as well-written legal documents, contracts and other instruments. Effectively determines strategy and approach to legal issues and develops innovative solutions to problems/issues that may arise. Delivers successful negotiation results and resolution of problems/issues. Forms strong partnerships with relevant parties involved in legal matters to facilitate resolution of conflicts and influence parties to accept compromise solutions to achieve objectives. CompetenciesProfessionalism: Knowledge of international legal procedures and instruments, 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. 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, 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. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable. 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. EducationAdvanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in law. A first level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in law, including legal analysis, research and writing is required Experience in professional legal work advising on questions of public international law and privileges and immunities in UN peacekeeping and/or special political missions, is desirable. Experience in professional legal work advising on questions of administrative, employment or labour law, discipline matters, and staff regulations and rules, policies, procedures and operations of the United Nations or a similar international organization, is desirable. Experience in Haiti is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position(s) advertised, fluency in both English and French is required. Knowledge of Haitian Creole is an advantage. AssessmentNot available. Special Notice• This position is temporarily available for 6 months. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. • 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. • Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station. • This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. • Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation. • Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as \"retirement.\" Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service. United Nations ConsiderationsAccording 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 FeeTHE 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.