Job Description
- The Legal Unit, situated in the Office of
the Executive Director (OED), is responsible for, but not limited to:
- The provision of timely and sound legal
advice to UN-Habitat through its officials including the Executive
Director, the Deputy Executive Director, Senior Managers, and other
relevant UN-Habitat officials and partners;
- Preparation of Guidelines on handling and
preventing issues such as corruption, misconduct, fraud, inefficient use
of resources, unnecessary legal claims and liabilities which continue to
pose serious threats and challenge to the operations of UN-Habitat and its
relations with its partners;
- The efficient and timely review and
clearance of all legal agreements and legal instruments prior to their
signature to reduce exposure of UN-Habitat to risks, legal claims and
liabilities;
- Provision of appropriate legal
representation before the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) and
dispute settlement bodies; and (e) Resolving disputes with partners and
other stakeholders and ensuring that disputes are efficiently handled and
minimized. II.
Purpose & Objectives
- Under the direct supervision of the
Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Office, the Individual Contractor shall
undertake specific responsibilities aimed at achieving the required
objective and results and support the realization of UN-Habitat’s mandate.
The Individual Contractor will carry out the following duties:
- Review, verify and process legal
instruments ensuring conformity to relevant guidelines and requirements,
extract key data and update database, monitor requisite follow-up actions,
approvals, etc.
- Assist in the preparation and filing of
cases with the United Nations Administration of Justice (UNDT and UNAT)
and any other body such as the Management and Evaluation Unit (MEU).
- Handle, or refer to the Legal Officer as
appropriate, a variety of verbal and written inquiries from internal and
external parties, including providing information on processes and
procedures related to specific legal activities, instruments, etc.
- Conduct basic research on assigned
issues, using existing legal files and alternative sources (e.g.,
computer-assisted searches using the internet, intranet or other
databases); verify facts, identify citations, precedents, issues to be
addressed, etc., and draft statements of findings, respondent replies to
appeals, etc. for review by the Legal Officer.
- Edit and conduct final checks for
accuracy of a variety of specialized legal documentation, instruments, and
related correspondence, for final clearance and approval.
- Participate and assist in drafting legal
opinions and correspondence.
- Assist in the preparation of legal
documents for electronic storage, access and circulation/publication,
including document scanning and conversion, review of content and
extraction of key data and text excerpts for categorization and indexing
purposes, etc.
- Schedule appointments/meetings, monitor
deadlines, etc.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications/special skills
- Bachelor’s degree in law from a
recognized institution is a requirement. A master’s degree in law or a
related field would be an added advantage. Minimum experience of one (1)
year is a requirement, part of which must be related to International and
Administrative Law and Legal Research in an international organisation.
How To Apply