Legal Affairs Specialist o/p Brussels, P-4, Office of Executive Director, Rome, PAT 133709

The Legal Affairs Specialist will give recommendations and advice on a wide range of organizational activities and interests, including, among other things, the interaction of UNICEF with governments and other key partners as well as on strategic initiatives across UNICEF. This support helps UNICEF to take advantage of development opportunities as well as safeguard the organization from risk. The Legal Team aims to identify and mitigate exposure to potential liability and financial loss, to safeguard the ability of the organization to be accountable to its stakeholders, and to preserve credibility as well as funding from member states and other donors, both public and private.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, commitment

UNICEF’s Legal Team in the Office of the Executive Director supports the organization’s business units around the world – our clients – by delivering strategic legal solutions through collaboration. We provide legal advice that is risk-informed, timely, responsive, and pragmatic. We empower clients and build their capacity to self-help. We proactively engage with clients to anticipate trends and challenges and develop systemic solutions; and we protect UNICEF by identifying legal, reputational and other risks, and helping to mitigate those risks. Our lawyers are based in several UNICEF locations, including in Rome, Italy. 

The Legal Affairs Specialist will provide legal advice to internal clients on data protection matters, including interpretation of the Policy on Personal Data and Privacy and related regulatory documents, data protection in relation to a broad spectrum of agreement and MOUs, and any other data protection matters, as well as supporting other business units globally on a broad spectrum of legal matters ranging from commercial contracts, disputes, and institutional matters. Legal Affairs Specialist will report to the Senior Legal Affairs Specialist who reports to the Chief Legal Counsel.

We seek to hire an experienced lawyer to join the Legal Team in Rome, Italy under a fixed -term appointment. The initial appointment will be for two years, with the possibility of extension subject to organizational needs and satisfactory performance. 

How can you make a difference? 

Members of the UNICEF Legal Team are expected to be open-minded and resourceful, responsive, and dynamic, transparent and approachable, and clear and authoritative. The overall direction of the Legal Team is set by the Chief Legal 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 Senior Legal Affairs Specialist.

The Legal Affairs Specialist will act as the lead lawyer to:

1.     Provide substantive legal advice in the following areas from a data protection and privacy perspective:

1.)   partnerships with governments and international financial institutions;

2.)   commercial and financial transactions;

3.)   institutional matters, including privileges and immunities;

4.)   policy development and interpretation

5.)   human resources matter (except tribunal cases)

6.)   dispute resolution

2.     Collaborate closely with the UNICEF Data Protection Team, as well as with teams across the organization, at the headquarters / divisional level, and at the regional and country office level, in widely varying development and humanitarian contexts.

3.     Leads on representing the Legal Team in the Data Protection Programme Working Group and providing inputs and advice as necessary. This includes advising on the development and roll-out of divisional and regional implementation plans. This may include development of tools and guidance and jointly providing training with the Data Protection Team. 

4.     Leads on advising on and negotiating data protection framework agreements with key partners, as well as data processing agreements at all levels. This could also involve working on advising on strucuturing and governance of UNICEF digital products as well as related documentation. 

5.     Advise on data breaches and remedial actions, as well as other information security incidents as needed. 

6.     Advise on the legal interpretation of decisions, regulations, rules, procedures, and other elements of the UNICEF regulatory framework, including but not limited to UNICEF’s Policy on Personal Data Protection & Privacy.

7.     Develop and provide training and capacity building to teams across the organization; proactively share knowledge with other team members.

8.     Support projects managed by the Team (legal knowledge management, office governance, case management) throughout their entire lifecycle, including design & planning, stakeholder engagement, monitoring & evaluation.

9.     Take on other tasks and duties, as required.

The Legal Affairs Specialist will be expected to:

1. Be alive to the bigger picture. Connect dots, identify trends, develop solutions. This involves taking ownership and having a sense of accountability over their portfolio as a whole, consciously answering the need for creativity and resourcefulness in all situations (i.e. show initiative, be proactive, create and use networks, think outside the box). 
2. Take leadership in action and be responsive with client, while keeping their supervisor posted. This involves communicating with the client regularly, maintaining high levels of responsiveness to the client, keeping their supervisor regularly informed and seeking their input and guidance appropriately, managing the expectations of the client and knowing when to escalate.
3. Take charge – be responsible and be accountable. This involves:
   • taking a risk-based approach, prioritizing and, where matters warrant their investment, applying a forward-looking strategic approach - demonstrating coherence, rigor and thought over their matters;
   • being pro-active in stakeholder management, and following up on outstanding matters and queries;  
   • being resourceful, for example, use networks to unlock matters. 
4. Exercise good judgement on emerging challenges, especially where there is a need to escalate so as to avoid or overcome an impasse and involve their supervisor in a timely manner.

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: A minimum of an advanced 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.   At the discretion of the Chief Legal Counsel, a first-level university law degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university law degree.
• Work Experience: A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in the practice of law in a relevant field is required (e.g. data protection 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 required. 
• Skills: 
• Demonstrated expertise in data protection law and practice is required.
• 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.
• Language Requirements: 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.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is desired.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible candidates from different backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.