Legal Officer

Responsibilities

• Provides legal and procedural support to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC).
• Carry out research into substantive and procedural questions.
• Preparation of in-session documents that address legal questions including drafts texts of a legal instrument.
• Provides legal advice on the mandate and international status of the United Nations Environment. Programme (Programme), its Governing Bodies, subsidiary bodies, rules of procedure and applicable United Nations regulations, rules and resolutions. Perform extensive legal research and analysis and prepares legal opinions, studies, briefs, and reports.
• Reviews credentials of Member States to intergovernmental meetings convened under the auspices of UNEP.
• Handles a wide range of multidiscipline and complex legal matters involving issues of international public, law.
• Attends meetings and services diplomatic conferences, the meetings of treaty bodies including processes convened under the auspices of UNEP such as the INC, commissions, committees, taskforces, expert groups and other bodies, including preparation of background materials, summaries of issues and views of delegations and meeting reports. Advises presiding officers.
• Coordinates and directs teams of junior officers, including United Nations Volunteers.
• Reviews draft decisions of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR), United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and the Conference of the Parties of treaty bodies or intergovernmental platforms as well as draft decisions to be adopted by the INC.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in law, including legal analysis, research and writing is required.
• Two (2) years of Experience with the legal office of a government department or ministry or of the secretariat of an international organization with a specialization in international law, procedures of intergovernmental meetings and governance, is required.
• Experience in professional legal work relating to the rules of procedure and institutional questions of intergovernmental bodies administered by the United Nations or a similar international organization that focuses on the environment is required.
• Experience with Staff Regulations and Rules, policies, procedures and operations of the United Nations or other similar international organization is desirable. Two (2) years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in international law is required.
• A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two (2) additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.