Legal Officer P4, LEGA

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

THE ROLE

• Serve as a lead officer in one or more areas of concentration, and independently handle a wide range of multi-discipline and highly complex legal matters including interpretation and application of various legal instruments in the relevant area of concentration to ensure the provision of comprehensive legal services.
• Participate in negotiations and settlement of claims and disputes involving WFP and its personnel, including through representation in administrative or tribunal proceedings and arbitration proceedings.
• Develop policies, directives, guidelines, procedures and other internal or corporate documents to provide organization with appropriate regulatory framework.
• Contribute to determination of strategy and approach to legal matters involving WFP and its personnel.
• Undertake extensive legal research and analysis and prepare legal opinions, studies, briefs, reports and complex correspondence to enable the provision of comprehensive legal services.
• Provide efficient legal services on various standing boards, committees, working groups and task forces and represent organization at meetings, conferences and other events including complex cases in tribunals or administrative proceedings to ensure the efficient exchange of technical discussions and that WFP’s interests are protected.
• Facilitate increased awareness of potential liability exposure and proactive minimization of risk to enable well-informed decisions.
• Build productive partnerships with other Legal Offices across UN system to ensure consistency in legal information and to complement WFP provided legal services.
• Supervise, coach and build capacity of other staff.
• Take responsibility for an equitable and inclusive workplace which incorporates all dimensions of the WFP diversity and inclusion framework.
• Other as required.

Education

• Advanced University degree in Law, or First University degree in Law with additional relevant experience and training in private, administrative or employment Law.
• Must be qualified to practice or admitted to practice by a recognized national or state bar or law society.

Experience

• Typically eight years or more (three of which international) of relevant progressively responsible experience in law and provision of a wide range of legal services including to the senior managers or important clients.
• Prior litigation experience in administrative or employment law.

Language

• Fluency (level C) in English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

• In depth expertise in legal principles, concepts, procedures and terminology for review, examination and processing of a range of legal documents, evidence gathering
• Knowledge of various legal research sources, techniques and ability to interpret and apply complex legislative instruments and draft legal papers.
• Demonstrated ability to design new concepts, policies and applications.
• Strong initiative-taker and demonstrated ability to take independent decisions.
• Strong business acumen and ability to think strategically.
• Solid communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Strong time management and priorities management skills.
• Practical knowledge of arbitrations and tribunal processes and procedures.
• Strong knowledge of international administrative and employment law including the UN system regulatory framework and tribunal procedures.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This is an International Professional position and is open to all nationalities.
• Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is however classified as “non-rotational” which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational.
• The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year.
• This position is open to both internal and external candidates.
• WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel, visa and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance. For more information, visithttps://icsc.un.org/.
• The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.