Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Office of Administration of Justice and specifically in the Registry of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) in New York. The position is under the overall supervision of the UNAT Registrar as the First Reporting Officer, and the Principal Registrar is the Second Reporting Officer. The UNAT hears and decides appeals filed by or on behalf of current and former staff members appealing judgments rendered by the United Nations Dispute Tribunal or other first-instance tribunals.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Legal Officer will 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) and employment law, including the interpretation and application of constitutive, legislative and other instruments governing United Nations activities and operations, in consultation with senior Legal Officers, Prosecuting Trial Attorneys, or Judges.
Perform other duties in support of Registry initiatives, as requested.
Conducts extensive legal research and analysis and prepares case studies, comparative studies, briefs, reports and correspondence.
Undertakes basic or extensive review of legal documents, instruments, or other material; identifies important issues, similarities, and inconsistencies, etc.
Prepares or assists in the preparation of drafts of background papers, studies, reports, legislative texts and commentaries on those texts.
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.
Reviews, advises on and drafts indictments or legal motions/submissions.
Assesses evidence for relevance and admissibility.
Prepares and assesses briefs of evidence.
Assists in representing the Organization before arbitral and other tribunals or administrative proceedings, including disciplinary cases; in Tribunals, acts on behalf of the Prosecutor as junior co-counsel in proceedings before Trial or Appeal Chambers, or supports Tribunal Judges in preparing judgments and orders.
Provides legal advice on human resources matters; reviews administrative matters.
Prepares or assists with the preparation of seminars and symposia, lecture on various legal issues at such events.
Provides guidance to more junior staff.
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.

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.
CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

An Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent degree) in international law is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of experience in law, including legal analysis, research and writing is required.

At least two years of experience in administrative or employment/labor law is required.
Experience as a judicial/legal clerk, or in a tribunal registry or appeals board secretariat, or experience drafting appellate briefs, is desirable.

Languages

Language	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
English	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

The appointment against this position is limited to the Office of Administration of Justice.

External candidate selected through this job opening will be granted a fixed-term appointment limited to the entity (“FTA-limited”) in accordance with section 2.2 (c) of administrative instruction ST/AI/2025/3 on Administration of appointments.
Renewal of appointment is contingent upon continued existence of mandate and availability of funding. If this position is discontinued, the incumbent will be separated from service.
United Nations Secretariat staff members who meet the definition of "internal candidate" in staff rule 4.10 who are selected through this job opening will be reassigned or transferred to the position, without a lien to their parent position.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
Individual contractors and consultants (Affiliate Personnel) who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.
Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the Young Professionals Programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.
Applicants who have reached the mandatory age of separation are not eligible to apply for job openings.
At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

United Nations Considerations

According to 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. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.