Head of the Legal Division

Overview

Lead ICRC's Legal Division and manage legal matters internally and externally.

You have:

• PhD or Master’s degree in law, or equivalent, with confirmed expertise in IHL and other relevant norms
• Typically 15+ years professional experience
• Fluent in English; in addition French or other languages required
• Confirmed experience in carrying out a job with varied substantive and managerial responsibilities
• Ability to communicate complex issues in a simple and compelling way, orally and in writing
• Confirmed experience in managing and/or implementing ICRC programmes at Headquarters or in the field an asset
• Ability to build partnerships within and outside ICRC
• Strong and positive management skills

Contract

This is a ICRC - Open-ended contract. More about ICRC - Open-ended contracts.

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operates globally to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and violence. We respond swiftly to emergencies while also promoting respect for international humanitarian law.

As an independent and neutral organization, our mandate is rooted in the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We work in close collaboration with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to ensure a coordinated, effective, and timely humanitarian response.

In situations of conflict or internal violence, the ICRC directs and coordinates international humanitarian efforts to meet the needs of those affected.

Purpose of the position

The Head of the Legal Division reports directly to the Director of International Law, Movement and Partnerships and is part of the senior departmental management team. The Head of the Legal Division assumes a leading responsibility on ICRC legal matters both externally and internally, ensures excellency and consistency of the ICRC, supervises the management of all the Division’s units, and ensures the liaison with the pool of legal advisers in the field.

Main duties and responsibilities

Leadership on people management

• Plays a leadership role in defining and developing the Legal Division’s priorities and strategic orientations, in line with the Department’s wider ambitions
• Demonstrates a vision of the necessary connections between the various Units within the Legal Division, promoting adhesion amongst their managers, and encourages them to contribute to the work on transversal issues within the Division, Department, the ICRC and externally
• Manages in a participative manner their subordinate, in particular the heads of unit, in accordance with HR rules and procedures as well as ICRC’s People Leadership and Management principles
• Ensures adequate information flows among division members and record-keeping for institutional purposes
• Has direct financial responsibilities for the division budget

Leadership on International Law Issues

• Leads in proposing a prospective vision on the role of international humanitarian law, its current status, and anticipates possible developments, specifically by identifying the main legal trends in relation to ICRC’s response to operational challenges
• Defines global legal positions of and potential policy implications for the ICRC and its positioning as a leading organization on current and emerging IHL issues.
• Establishes priorities and defines strategic action plans and institutional positions in response to these trends while building and maintaining transversal working relationships with other stakeholders in the ICRC whose work is impacted by such legal issues
• Ensures institutional coherence in major issues of IHL and other relevant norms and the provision of timely and adequate legal advice on operational issues
• Engages with key and high-level external stakeholders on institutional legal issues. This includes governmental, Movement, international organizations and academic stakeholders and overall responsibility for technical partnerships with specific National Societies within broader institutional framework agreements.

External representation

• Represents and engages the ICRC on legal issues with key and high-level institutional interlocutors and in multilateral fora, both in the political, policy and legal-technical fields such as legal peers in ministries, in National Societies, and in academic circles.
• Provides leadership in the development of an outreach strategy for the ICRC’s legal work and positions.

Contribution to the wider strategic and political orientations of the Department

• Contributes and assists the Director of the Department in defining the departmental strategic and political orientations across the departmental responsibilities, not only on international law issues, but also the Movement, policy and outreach.

Education and experience required

• PhD or Master’s degree in law, or equivalent, with confirmed expertise in IHL and other relevant norms
• Typically 15+ years professional experience
• Confirmed experience in carrying out a job with varied substantive and managerial responsibilities.
• Fluent in English; in addition French or other languages required

Desired profile and skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong and positive management skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and capacity for collaborative teamwork, both within ICRC and the Movement and across the legal sector
• Ability to lead, manage, motivate and develop people
• Ability to communicate complex issues in a simple and compelling way, orally and in writing.
• Confirmed experience in managing and/or implementing ICRC programmes at Headquarters or in the field an asset
• Ability to build partnerships within and outside ICRC
• Computer proficiency

Additional information

• Type of position: Resident
• Type of Contract: Required Rotation
• Length of assignment: 4 years, extendable once for 4 years
• Activity rate: 100%
• Estimated start date: 1 July 2026
• Recruiter: Diara Niang
• Application deadline: 22nd March 2026

Our values

• At the ICRC, we value impact, collaboration, respect, and compassion. We seek candidates who demonstrate behaviors based on these shared values. For more information on the ICRC values, please visit this page.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 months ago - Updated 3 months ago - Source: careers.icrc.org