Development Law Specialist

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

The Legal Office of FAO ensures that FAO's activities are carried out in accordance with its Constitution and the other Basic Texts of the Organization, consistent with its status as an intergovernmental organization of the United Nations system, and that its relations with governments, organizations and individuals are based on a sound legal basis.

The Development Law Service (LEGN) of the Legal Office of FAO provides legal advisory services to governments on matters relating to food and agriculture and natural resources (including land, water, fisheries, aquaculture, plants, animals, food, forestry, wildlife, environment, climate change and biodiversity), as well as general agricultural issues (institutions, trade, economic reform).

It is anticipated that LEGN will need external legal experts to assist its work in providing legal technical support for several FAO projects and other activities, which may take place in different region and sub-regions of the world, including in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

This call for expressions of interest is for the purpose of identifying suitably qualified experts in Development Law to be included on the roster for consideration for short-term assignments with LEGN, ranging from a few days to a maximum of 11 months (on a when-actually-employed basis). This call is aimed at experts with various levels of experience. The incumbent would be home-based, with availability to travel to Rome, Italy, for meetings at FAO Headquarters, as well as to selected countries where FAO projects are being or will be implemented.

The assignments may cover various legal activities, or be dedicated to a specific issue or activity related to the legal aspects of areas under the mandate of FAO.

Candidates who have already been informed of their inclusion in the LEGN roster list of specialists do not need to resubmit their application to this call for expressions of interest.

Reporting Lines

The Development Law Specialist reports to the Chief, LEGN, while day-to-day supervision is provided by a designated Legal Officer in LEGN.

Technical Focus

Legal research and advisory services to Governments in relation to food and agriculture and the management of renewable natural resources in countries where FAO projects are being or will be implemented.

LEGN seeks to identify candidates who may cover one or more of the technical areas under LEGN, per FAO's mandate\:

• Agricultural law, including agricultural health (food safety, phytosanitary and veterinary legislation; antimicrobial resistance), sustainable agricultural production (seeds, pesticides, organic farming and other marketing systems) and other areas of agricultural law (supply chain regulation mechanisms, contract farming, agricultural finance, cooperatives and other farmers' organisations, agricultural insurance schemes);
• Food and nutrition security, right to adequate food, school meals and nutrition;
• Climate change laws in relation to agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and forests;
• Enabling environment for responsible investments in agriculture and food systems;
• Fisheries law and aquaculture law;
• Food systems transformation
• Forests, wildlife, grazing;
• Gender mainstreaming within legal frameworks;
• Social protection in rural areas and decent rural employment;
• Sustainable land management, sustainable water management, sustainable Wildlife production.

LEGN is particularly interested in identifying qualified candidates to support its work in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and Pacific in the areas of\:

• Food and nutrition security and the human right to adequate food, in particular to support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines in support of the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.
• Aquaculture legal framework, including in support of the implementation of the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture.
• Fisheries laws and related legal framework in support of responsible and sustainable fisheries, especially small-scale fisheries, in light of the Voluntary
Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), and combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including through the implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) and instruments related to IUU fishing.

Tasks and responsibilities

The tasks and responsibilities of each selected Development Law Specialist will be defined in the Terms of Reference for the specific assignment. Specialists working with LEGN are normally called upon to provide advice to contribute to\: the progressive development of national legal systems; review of draft laws; participation in or leading legislative drafting projects; analyzing, evaluating and explaining various laws, legal systems or alternative legal approaches. The specialist will carry out his tasks within FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the FAO Policy on Gender Equality.

The incumbent will work under the supervision and close guidance of the Legal Officers. The nature of the tasks and responsibilities that will usually be assigned to them are\:

• preparing project concept notes;
• supporting the design of projects involving different relevant technical units, as well as regional, sub-regional and national FAO offices;
• preparing, reviewing and updating work plans;
• supporting the development and implementation of training and capacity-building activities;
• preparing materials, conducting legal research, preparing legal notes, reports and written advice;
• preparing or contributing to legal publications and analyses; and
• attending internal and external meetings, and reporting as per the reporting line on the results achieved.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Law
• Advanced Legal degree (LLM and/or PhD) would be an asset
• At least five years of relevant legal work experience in Development Law.
• Working knowledge (C1) of either English or French or Spanish. Knowledge of Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese or Russian would be an asset.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Applicants must have demonstrated interest in the technical areas listed above, as well as strong analytical, legal research and writing skills

Selection Criteria

• Degree of knowledge and experience in legal issues related to a relevant technical areas;
• Degree of experience in developing national legislative and regulatory measures to implement international agreements, codes, guidelines or other instruments;
• Experience in legal drafting and development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific;
• Ability to conduct legal research and analysis;
• Ability to write clear and concise reports and draft legal texts, legislative and regulatory instruments;
• Experience working with international, regional or sub-regional organizations or other entities in a relevant field;

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp

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