Associate Legal Officer

Position Title: Junior Professional Officer – Associate Legal Officer

Duty Station: Manila, Philippines

Classification: Professional Staff, Grade P2

Type of Appointment: JPO, One year with possibility of extension

Estimated Start Date: As soon as possible

Closing Date: 21 December 2020

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.

Context:

The regular responsibilities of the Office of Legal Affairs (LEG) are to provide advice and input to the Director General (DG) and other stakeholders on all legal issues facing the Organization and their related policy implications. The objective of LEG is to ensure that the functioning of the Organization is within its mandate and in accordance with international law. LEG provides legal support to all activities of the Organization, thereby contributing to the achievement of all aspects of the IOM strategy. Within LEG, the Contract Law Division (LEGCR), through its Units in Manila and Panama, reviews and approves the conclusion of contracts and similar agreements for IOM in accordance with the relevant policies of IOM. Such contracts and agreements include all types of Cooperation, Funding, Implementation, Service or other Agreements with States, International Governmental Organisations (IGOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other partners, and contractors.

In addition, LEGCR deals with various legal issues concerning contractual relations, including contract negotiation, advise on intellectual property rights, contractor’s non-performance, termination, contractual disputes, arbitration, misconduct by contractor’s employees, and complaints made by a contractor and its employees, as relevant.

The Junior Professional Officer will be provided with regular feedback on his/her performance and progress, with special attention granted to goal setting and overcoming challenges.

Under the overall supervision of the Legal Counsel and direct supervision of the Unit Head, Manila Unit, Contract Law Division (LEGCR-MU), Office of Legal Affairs, the Junior Professional Officer’s duties and responsibilities will include:

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

1. Draft and review various types of contracts and agreements necessary for the development and implementation of IOM projects in a timely manner with limited supervision, taking into account IOM’s legal status, IOM’s contract templates and the organizational policies, regulations and rules.

2. Assist the Unit Head in drafting, revising and updating IOM contract templates, including identifying the needs of developing new templates and revising existing templates.

3. Assist the Unit Head in the maintenance, testing and user support of the Office of Legal Affairs’ contracting software.

4. Draft research papers on various legal issues.

5. Follow meetings (internal and external) relevant to the Office of Legal Affairs.

6. Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Coaching and learning elements

As an integral part of the IOM assignment the Junior Professional Officer will:

• Gain experience in working for an international organization, with its specific legal status in the international community.

• Gain experience in public international law issues, in particular privileges and immunities of the organization but also others such as data protection.

• Be able to prepare argumentation and documentation on various legal issues using the IOM internal policies, frameworks, rules and regulations.

• Improve negotiation skills by determining the content of contracts globally with a wide range of actors.

• Contribute to the provision of formal legal advice from the Office of Legal Affairs to IOM’s Regional and Country Offices in a variety of legal issues.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

Education

• Juris Doctorate in Law or Public International Law from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or

• LLM, or other advanced degree in Law, Public International Law, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or

• LLB or similar university degree in the above fields from an accredited academic institution licensing individuals to serve as a practicing attorney with four years of relevant professional experience.

Experience

• Recent substantive practicing experience as an attorney working on contract review;

• Experience working with the United Nations or international organization, an advantage.

Languages

IOM’s official languages are English, French, and Spanish.

For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is an advantage.

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

Note

This post is open in the context of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) scheme sponsored by the Government of United States of America therefore this post is open to nationals of United States of America only.

Accredited Universities are the ones listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database

(https://whed.net/home.php).

Required Competencies:

The successful candidate is expected to demonstrate the following values and competencies:

Values

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible.

• 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.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators level 2

• 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 Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own action and delegated work.

• Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/about-iom/iom_revised_competency_framework_external.pdf

Competencies will be assessed during a competency-based interview.

Other:

• Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile. For this staff category, candidates who are nationals of the duty station’s country cannot be considered eligible.

• The appointment is subject to funding confirmation.

• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment or visa requirements and security clearances.

• No late applications will be accepted.