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Legal Adviser and Director

UNESCO - 12 January 2009

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Job Description

Main responsibilities
Under the authority of the Director-General, the incumbent will be in charge of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs. He or she will be responsible for providing legal advice on all legal issues arising from the Organization’s activities.

The incumbent will advise the Secretariat on legal issues pertaining to the regulatory, statutory and standard-setting activities of the Organization. He or she will also be required to provide legal advice, at their request, to the General Conference and the Executive Board of UNESCO.

The incumbent will advise on the elaboration, adoption and revision of international standard-setting instruments, and on the implementation of the procedures for the application of these instruments.

He or she will also advise on the application, interpretation and amendment of the Constitution and other statutory and legislative texts of the Organization. In addition, he or she will direct the preparation and review of briefs for representing the Organization in proceedings before courts of law, administrative tribunals and any other judicial or quasi-judicial bodies.

He or she will represent the Director-General on the committees of the governing bodies of UNESCO relating to legal matters. The incumbent will be responsible for the management of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs, and will ensure the direction of the activities of the Office and its cooperation with the other units of the Organization.

Qualifications and experience

• Advanced university degree in the field of law with a specialization in public international law.
• Extensive professional experience in the legal field at the national level and/or experience in another organization within the United Nations system, in posts of high responsibility.
• In-depth knowledge of legal practice and procedures in international organizations.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English or French and a good command of the other language. Knowledge of other working languages of the General Conference (Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic) would be an advantage.

Competencies
The incumbent should be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

• Proven leadership and managerial skills.
• Formulate and communicate legal advice clearly and precisely.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Develop teamwork and build relations of trust and cooperation with a broad range of professional and cultural partners.
• Communicate effectively and persuasively, orally and in writing.
• Conduct high-level negotiations at the international level.

Terms and conditions
The post is at grade D-2, common to the United Nations system, with a salary composed of base salary and post adjustment, which, at the present dollar exchange rate, totals approximately US $160,600.00 (with dependants) or US $147,500.00 (without dependants) per annum, exempt from taxation. In addition, UNESCO offers an attractive benefits package, including 30 days’ annual vacation, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.

How to apply
Candidates wishing to apply for this post should do so through the following website: http://www.unesco.org/employment

Candidates without easy access to the Internet may, exceptionally, apply by mail, by sending a full curriculum vitae in English or French, preferably on the official UNESCO curriculum vitae form, showing their nationality, date of birth and gender, to: Chief, Recruitment and Classification Section, Bureau of Human Resources Management, UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.

An assessment centre may be used in the recruitment process for this post. Applications should reach UNESCO before 5 February 2009. Please quote post number “LA-001”.

THERE IS NO APPLICATION, PROCESSING OR OTHER FEE AT THIS OR AT ANY STAGE OF THE PROCESS.

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