Legal Officer (P)

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  • Added Date: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
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Job Identification (Reference Number) : 13456
Position Title : Legal Officer (P)
Duty Station City : Manila
Duty Station Country : Philippines (the)
Grade : P-2
Contract Type : Fixed-term
Recruiting Type : Professional
Vacancy Type : Vacancy Notice
Initial duration : one year with possibility of extension
Closing date : 01 April 2025

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

IOM is committed to ensuring a workplace where all employees can thrive professionally, while working towards harnessing the full potential of migration. Read more about IOM's workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Applications are welcome from first- and second-tier candidates, particularly qualified female candidates as well as applications from the non-represented member countries of IOM. For all IOM vacancies, applications from qualified and eligible first-tier candidates are considered before those of qualified and eligible second-tier candidates in the selection process. For the purpose of this vacancy, the following are considered first-tier candidates:ย 

Internal candidates Candidates from the following non-represented member states: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Comoros, Congo (the), Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Iceland, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
ย 

Second tier candidates include:
All external candidates, except candidates from non-represented member states of IOM.

Organizational Context and Scope

The Office of Legal Affairs provides legal advice to the Director General, the Deputy Directors General, the Regional Offices, Country Offices, and other Departments and Offices of the Organization. The Office provides support to ensure that the activities and operations of the Organization are carried out in accordance with the legal framework governing IOM, including the IOM Constitution, decisions of the governing bodies of IOM, the Unified Staff Regulations and Rules, the Financial Regulations and Rules, IOM instructions and international law.

The Office of Legal Affairs is comprised of three divisions: the Contract Law Division, the General and Administrative Law Division and the Institutional Law and Programme Support Division; it also operates through three regional legal hubs, located in Bangkok, Nairobi and Panama.

The Legal Officer will work under the overall supervision of the Legal Counsel and the Division Head of the Contract Law Division and the direct supervision of the Legal Officer, Unit Head.

Prepare draft contracts for IOMโ€™s operations and activities, including funding, procurement and project implementation agreements. Assist with contract negotiations where required.Assist in preparing legal advice for colleagues worldwide, in order to protect IOMโ€™s legal interests.ย Conduct legal research including on contract law in order to inform the conduct of IOMโ€™s operations and activities.Review and assist with the development of internal guidance and policies on legal issues arising in the work of the Unit.ย Provide support capacity on the legal side, as needed, including through review of documents and duty travel, if required.ย  ย Assist with the analysis of privileges and immunities issues in contracts where funding and operations are underway or may be contemplated.Assist in preparing legal advice to colleagues worldwide, including on issues arising in connection with funding, partnerships, supply chain, finance, termination of contract and dispute resolution.Support the Legal Officer, Unit Head, during any periods of leave, absence, or any periods of unavailability.Identify potential legal risks in operations and promptly inform the Legal Officer, Unit Head, to ensure early engagement and advice from the Office of Legal Affairs.Conduct thorough analyses of Division archive in order to assist with knowledge management and organization of internal systems, and propose changes aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.ย Performing such other duties as may be assigned.

Education

โ€ข Masterโ€™s degree in Law from an accredited academic institution with two years of recent, relevant professional experience; or
โ€ข University degree in Law with four years of relevant professional experience.

Accredited Universities are those listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database.

Experience
โ€ข Recent experience practicing contract law in a law firm, or the Legal Department (or equivalent) of a United Nations entity or other in-house legal role with recent practicing experience, advising on contract law;
โ€ข The following experience would be an advantage:
oย ย ย ย Advisory work on public and private sector financing, supply chain and procurement matters, intellectual property, project management, dispute resolution;
oย ย ย ย Experience in analyzing legal instruments, undertaking legal research and drafting legal documents and contracts; and,
oย ย ย ย Experience in advising on the privileges and immunities of an international organization.

Skills
โ€ข Legal research and drafting skills;
โ€ข Critical thinking and problem solving ability; and,
โ€ข Ability to handle crisis situations effectively and provide solutions in high-pressure environments.

Languages

For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.ย 

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Required Competencies

IOMโ€™s competency framework can be found at this link Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five values:
ย 

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.

Core Competencies โ€“ behavioural indicators Level 2
ย ย ย ย 

Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organizationโ€™s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work.Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

Notes

Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile.

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation. This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations. Recommended candidates endorsed byย 
the Appointments and Postings Board will remain eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.

The list of NMS countries above includes all IOM Member States which are non-represented in the Professional Category of staff members. For this staff category, candidates who are nationals of the duty station's country cannot be considered eligible.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances. Subject to certain exemptions, vaccination against COVID-19 will in principle be required for individuals hired on or after 15 November 2021. This will be verified as part of the medical clearance process.

Vacancies close at 23:59 local time Geneva, Switzerland on the respective closing date. No late applications will be accepted.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment systemย (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies.

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