SENIOR LEGAL OFFICER (Temporary Job Opening)

Org. Setting and ReportingThis position is located in the Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC), Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). Under the overall authority of the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Senior Legal Officer reports to a Principal Legal Officer. ResponsibilitiesThe Senior Legal Officer is 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-disciplinary, highly complex, and often sensitive legal matters involving issues relating to public international law, including the interpretation and application of instruments in that area of concentration. • Leads, coordinates and direct teams of other legal officers; guides and supervises the work of junior officers; may assist the Assistant Secretary-General or the two Principal Legal Officers in general management and administration of the unit, organizing and prioritizing the workload and providing general coordination and supervision of assignments as regards legal work. • Makes various types of recommendations to senior officials of substantive units with respect to actions to take; recommendations are usually accepted as proposed. • Provides authoritative legal advice on a diverse range of highly complex or novel substantive and procedural questions of public international law, in particular in the field of the law and practice of the Organization regarding the United Nations Development system and the work of the Resident Coordinator system. • Organizes and supervises research studies and the preparation of legal opinions; conducts extensive legal research and analysis on highly complex or novel legal issues and prepares legal opinions, studies, briefs, reports and correspondence. • Prepares draft host country agreements required for the conduct of the operational activities of the United Nations Development system; advises on and supervises the review, negotiation and drafting of complex agreements, institutional and operational modalities 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. • Contributes to the review and design of new, or new applications of, legal instruments, policies, guidelines, systems, etc. • Performs other duties as assigned. Competencies• Professionalism: Knowledge of public international law, in particular in the field of the law of international organizations. 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 opinions and a variety of legal instruments and other, related documents. Ability to explain complex issues and defend principled positions in meetings, including meetings of political bodies and senior managers. 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 the UN system, its organizations and their 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. • Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks \"outside the box\"; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. • 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. • Managing performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member. Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills. Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines. Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff. Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative. Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff. Appraises performance fairly. • Empowering others: Delegates responsibility, clarifies expectations, and gives staff autonomy in important areas of their work. Encourages others to set challenging goals. Holds others accountable for achieving results related to their area of responsibility. Genuinely values all staff members' input and expertise. Shows appreciation and rewards achievement and effort. Involves others when making decisions that affect them. EducationAdvanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in public international law is required. A first-level university degree in law in combination with an additional two years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in law, including legal analysis, research and writing, is required. At least two years of professional legal experience working in the legal office of a Government department or ministry or of the secretariat of an international organization is required. Professional legal experience advising on issues relating to international criminal accountability mechanisms is required. Professional legal experience advising on questions of international law regarding privileges and immunities is desirable. Professional legal experience advising on legal issues relating to the United Nations Development system and the work of the UN Resident Coordinator system is desirable. At least two years of professional experience working with the UN, a specialized agency of the UN or a related intergovernmental organization are desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage. AssessmentEvaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview. Special Notice• This position is temporarily available until 30 September 2024. 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.