• This position is located within the United Nations Investigative Team for Accountability of Da'esh / ISIL (UNITAD) and will be based in Baghdad, Iraq. The Legal Officer reports to Senior Investigator, head of the financial investigation.
• UNITAD was established by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), according to which it is mandated to support domestic efforts to hold ISIL (Da'esh) accountable by collecting, preserving and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the terrorist group ISIL (Da'esh) in Iraq.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Within delegated authority and depending on location, the Legal Officer may be responsible for the following duties:

•  Handles a range of issues related to constitutional, international, public, private, administrative, and, for Tribunals, criminal (substantive, procedural and comparative) law, including the interpretation and application of constitutive, legislative and other instruments governing United Nations activities and operations, in consultation with senior Legal Officers or Prosecuting Trial Attorneys.
•  Conducts extensive legal research and analysis and prepare studies, comparative studies, briefs, reports and correspondence; including research into modes of liability relevant to financial involvement in international crimes
•  Undertakes basic or extensive review of legal documents, instruments, or other material; identifies important issues, similarities, and inconsistencies, etc; specifically looking at ISIL documents and decerning legal theories around ISIL’s administrative structures
•  Prepares or assists in the preparation of drafts of background papers, studies, reports, legislative texts and commentaries on those texts, teaching materials in the field of international law etc.
•  Prepares or assists in the preparation of legal opinions/advice on a wide range of international public or private law issues, including the United Nations Charter, General Assembly resolutions and decisions involving, inter alia, issues relating to privileges and immunities, peace and security, criminal prosecutions, institutional questions, treaty law and practice, procedural issues arising during meetings of United Nations organs, constitutional and administrative law of the Organization.
•  Prepares or assists in the preparation of agreements and contracts with governments, NGOs and other public and private entities, as well as in the negotiation and settlement of claims and disputes and in handling private international law and international trade law matters.
•  Reviews, advises on and drafts indictments or legal motions/submissions.
•  Assesses evidence for relevance and admissibility.
•  Prepares and assesses briefs of evidence.
•  Services or assists senior colleagues in servicing 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.
•  Provides legal advice on human resources matters; reviews administrative matters.
•  Administers programmes of legal technical assistance.
•  Prepares or assists with the preparation of international law seminars and symposia, lecture on various legal issues at such events.
•  Provides guidance to more junior staff.
•  Performs other duties as assigned.

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism:

• Knowledge of, and ability to apply, legal principles, concepts and procedures and terminology for review, examination, and processing of a range of legal documents. Knowledge of various legal research sources, including electronic, and ability to conduct research and analyze information on a wide range of legal issues. Knowledge of the civil law and/or common law legal systems and principles. Ability to interpret and apply legislative instruments, develop and present results, recommendations, and opinions clearly and concisely. Ability to draft legal papers and work under pressure. Ability to apply good legal judgment in the context of assignments given. 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.

Communication:

• Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Accountability:

• Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

EDUCATION

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international law. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in law, including legal analysis, research and writing.
• Experience in case-building on complex financial and/or international crimes is required.
• Experience working on ICL jurisprudence around joint criminal enterprise, indirect co-perpetration, and aiding and abetting is desirable.

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in one of the working languages of the UN Secretariat, English or French, (both oral and written) is required; knowledge of the other is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Source:https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=157830