Legal Specialist

Organizational Setting

In April 2025, the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) for the Sustainable Development of the Brazilian Legal Amazon approved the UNJP/BRA/097/UNJ project \"Environmental Regularization Project through Land Governance and Territorial Planning, as a pillar for Sustainable Development / Land for Women Project\". The intervention was conceived by the Institute of Colonization and Lands of Maranhão (ITERMA) and will have the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the executing agency. 
The \"Land for Women\" project aims to promote land and environmental regularization in settlement areas and rural communities in Maranhão, with a priority focus on women heads of household. Seeking to reduce social inequalities, expand territorial governance and promote sustainable agricultural practices, the intervention will combine land titling actions, training in sustainable practices and entrepreneurship, access to credit and environmental monitoring, with a view to ensuring land tenure security, promoting access to public policies and strengthening economic autonomy. 
The project is organized into three project components/deliverables, namely:
•     Formalization of women's lands in rural and traditional communities.
•     Training in bioeconomy practices, sustainable management and female entrepreneurship.
•     Technical capacity of the Governments of Maranhão and Pará for land monitoring and environmental enforcement strengthened.

Reporting Lines

The Legal Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the Assistant Representative for the FAO Programme Unit in Brazil and under the technical guidance of the MPTF Project Coordinator. This role will be legally overseen by LEGN and specific outputs will be submitted for the unit’s validation.

Technical Focus

The Legal Specialist will work in the legal scope of the \"Lands for Women\" project, with an emphasis on the legal analysis of actions aimed at land and environmental regularization, the formulation of normative strategies and the strengthening of institutional governance. It will act as a technical articulator between the executing spheres, the state government and institutional partners, promoting legal certainty to the project's actions, normative alignment with state and national public policies, and compliance with the parameters of FAO, MPTF and Brazilian legislation. The focus also includes support for the modeling of innovative titling mechanisms, the expansion of access to rights, and the structuring of legal arrangements for sustainable development with a gender perspective.

Tasks and Responsibilities

•     Support the coordination of the project and counterparties in the legal analysis of proposals for acts, contracts, terms of cooperation, drafts and instruments that may arise from the project's actions, with a view to regulatory compliance, legal certainty and adherence to the principles of public administration.
•     Provide legal support for land and environmental regularization processes, with a focus on titling for women heads of household in rural areas, considering ethnic, gender, and race approaches.
•     Participate in the formulation of proposals for legal and institutional guidelines for land governance in Maranhão, promoting alignment with federal legal frameworks and international best practices.
•     Support the development of internal regulations, technical opinions and legal notes that ensure the correct legal framework of the project's actions.
•     Work with state and federal agencies (such as ITERMA, PGE, SEMA, INCRA, MJSP, FAO) and civil society organizations to ensure legal certainty in strategic processes and decisions.
•     Contribute to the preparation and review of terms of reference, notices, contractual instruments and administrative arrangements of the project.
•     Support the overall coordination of the project in complying with legal guidelines, socio-environmental and gender safeguards, and in the formalization of execution acts.
•     Prepare legal reports and inputs for accountability and audits, as well as monitor diligence and statements of control bodies.
•     Participate in technical meetings and cross-sectoral workshops with key project actors.
•     Systematize regulations, guidelines and good practices for replication and sustainability of actions.
•     Accompany field visits to provide legal technical advice, when and if necessary.
•     Travel, when required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING:

Minimum Requirements  

•     Graduation in Law 
•     Minimum professional experience of 5 (five) years in Public Management, working in the formulation, analysis or legal advice of public policies, government programs or land and environmental regularization projects
•     Working knowledge (level C) in Spanish and/or English, and working knowledge in Portuguese (level C)
•     Brazilian Nationality

FAO Core Competencies

•     Results Focus
•     Teamwork
•     Communication
•     Building Effective Relationships
•     Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•     Active registration with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).
•     Lato or stricto sensu postgraduate degree in Public Law, Public Management, Public Policy, Public Administration or related areas.
•     Mastery of Brazilian administrative, land and environmental legislation.
•     Ability to write opinions, normative drafts (decrees, ordinances, contracts, terms of reference) and legal documents applied to public management.
•     Previous work with land regularization of social interest or policies aimed at traditional communities and rural women.
•     Experience with institutional articulation at the state or municipal level, especially in regions of the Legal Amazon.
•     Working knowledge of the stages of implementation of public policies and legal frameworks on gender, environment and territorial planning.
•     Familiarity with social and environmental safeguards, legal risk assessment and regulatory compliance in government projects.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION