• Country: New York, USA
• No of vacancies: N/A
  
• Salary: N/A 
• Organization: UNICEF
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: 2024-02-02

How can you make a difference?

Members of the UNICEF Legal Office are expected to be open-minded and resourceful, responsive, and dynamic, transparent and approachable, and clear and authoritative. The overall direction of the Legal Office is set by the General Counsel in New York.

The Legal Affairs Specialist will is expected to work autonomously, collaborating regularly with other team members, all under the supervision of the Chief.

Manage a large portfolio of legal projects and files, ranging across the organization including, by way of illustration:

1. Act as the lead lawyer on:

• banking agreements with UNICEF’s financial counterparts;
• legal agreements for cash transfer for beneficiaries in humanitarian settings;
• private sector fundraising and digital payments (payment service providers);
• leases for UNICEF offices globally;
• partnerships with governments, international financial institutions, global philanthropic organizations and foundations, civil society organizations and private sector entities to structure financial contributions and programme implementation;
• advising on UNICEF’s internal financial policy development and interpretation; and
• dispute resolution with regard to disputes between external entities and UNICEF.

2. Collaborate closely with teams across the organization, at the headquarters / divisional level, and at the regional and country office level, in a wide range of development and humanitarian contexts.
3. Develop and provide training and capacity building to internal divisions and offices teams across UNICEF; proactively share knowledge with other team members.
4. Support projects managed by the Office (legal knowledge management, office governance, case management) throughout their entire lifecycle, including design & planning, stakeholder engagement, monitoring & evaluation.
5. Take on other tasks and duties as required.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• A minimum of a post-graduate university law degree (for example. LL. B post-graduate; LL.M.; J.D.) in a relevant field of law (e.g. international law, commercial law) or equivalent is required; or, at the discretion of the General Counsel, a first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in the practice of law in a relevant field is required (e.g. international law; commercial law).  Experience in a law firm, in private practice or as in-house counsel, or in an international organization (UN and related organizations, international financial institutions, development banks, regional banks)  is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in another language, particularly one of the other official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is also desirable.
• A constructive and client-oriented approach to resolution of problems is required.
• Excellent research, legal writing and drafting skills are required.
• Excellent verbal communication and negotiation skills, excellent interpersonal skills with staff at all levels, and the ability to work with utmost discretion in handling sensitive and confidential matters are required.

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