Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial
Contract
This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.
Salary
The salary for this job should be between 203,112 USD and 254,545 USD.
Salary for a P-5 contract in Copenhagen
The international rate of 110,869 USD, with an additional 83.2% (post adjustment) at this the location, applies. Please note that depending on the location, a higher post adjustment might still result in a lower purchasing power.Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.
More about P-5 contracts and their salaries.Background Information - Job-specific
The Legal Group
The Legal Group (LG) advises UNOPS management, project offices, regional offices and other specialized units within UNOPS on institutional, commercial, and administrative law matters. Legal Advisors at UNOPS provide legal advice in the areas of public international law, dispute resolution, commercial law and administrative law. This legal advice covers a wide range of topics, including host-country agreements and privileges and immunities, disputes with external parties, administrative/HR law matters, engagements, partnership agreements, grants, procurement contracts and set-up of hosted initiatives, joint programmes and multi-donor trust funds, and collaboration with outside counsel, pro bono law firms and the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), where required.
About the Role
The Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial has the primary responsibility of supervising the commercial law team in providing guidance and authoritative interpretations as required on project agreements, legal policies and procedures.
Reporting into the General Counsel (GC), the Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial exercises their accountabilities with designated authority provided by the GC and in accordance with the instructions established by the GC.
The Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial demonstrates a good understanding of the operational context in which UNOPS operates and leads the provision of review and advice on commercial law matters, assuming direct responsibility for especially complex and sensitive matters, as necessary.
The Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial supervises and oversees legal aspects of UNOPS’ commercial operations (including activities concerning engagements, procurement contracts, grant agreements, partnership agreements, and setting-up of hosted initiatives, joint programmes and multi-donor trust funds).
The Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial works with a high degree of independence, and is expected to travel from time to time.
Functional Responsibilities
Summary of key results expected:
- Legal Advice
- Strategic Advisory Services
- Team Leadership
Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
1. Legal Advice - Supervise and oversee the provision of advice on commercial law matters under LG’s purview, including assuming direct responsibility for sensitive and high-risk matters, and high-level contract negotiations.
- Provide guidance on, and authoritative interpretation of, the UNOPS legal framework. Maintain and lead in the development of the legal framework, including policies, procedures, guidelines and other internal documents to promote operational effectiveness and efficiency. - Ensure that outputs produced by the commercial law team are aligned and of a high-quality standard, and that advice is responsive, clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. - Interface with key stakeholders, develop, implement and evaluate controls to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and requirements. - Ensure that the GC is informed of sensitive or high-risk matters that have significant financial and reputational implications, or are of strategic importance for UNOPS.
2. Strategic Advisory Services
- With input from the GC, take responsibility for translating the functional (LG) workplan into priorities for the commercial law team, and directly provide inputs to developing the commercial law team’s workplan.
Develop and implement innovative approaches to legal services provided by the commercial law team, including development and deployment of standards, processes, contracting mechanisms and templates, ensuring effective quality control.
Drive ongoing analyses of LG-related data to identify and assess risks, opportunities and trends within the commercial law area. Provide the GC with timely and accurate reports containing strategic advice and proposals on the implications of the risks, opportunities and trends, aligned with UNOPS’ strategic plan.
- As delegated by the GC, represent UNOPS internally and externally on issues related to commercial law matters.
- As directed by the GC, represent LG on UNOPS committees.
Perform other strategic legal advisory services as directed by the GC.
3. Team Leadership
Provide authoritative legal advice, support and recommendations to senior managers.
- Lead the commercial law team in the delivery against its workplan and objectives, reporting on progress to the GC.
- Work with data analytics and evolve the risk approach to keep track of workload and trends of the commercial law team’s activities and tasks, in order to efficiently manage the team and workload.
Ensure effective planning, recruitment and development of a flexible workforce across the commercial law team, with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance.
4. Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
Ensure that knowledge and information on commercial legal matters are maintained and actively shared within LG.
- Enable collaboration and continuous feedback through different channels and prepare advice and training for the commercial law team and relevant stakeholders in easily disseminated formats, with emphasis on areas identified as recurring issues.
- Drive awareness across UNOPS on contractual obligations and impact of non-compliance on the organization's image/ reputation.
- Contribute to enabling the culture of ongoing research, keep abreast of internal and external developments, and coordinate productive partnerships with other legal offices across the UN system, to develop best practices to ensure the provision of comprehensive legal services.
Supervise and coordinate a team of professional staff, to ensure appropriate capacity development and that technical advice and assistance are consistently high quality, client focused and within the established legal framework.
Impact of Results Achievement of results by the Senior Legal Advisor, Commercial supports UNOPS entities in delivering the organization’s long-term strategic plan and reinforcing UNOPS reputation as an effective partner of choice in sustainable development and project services in the countries served.
Competencies
Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.
Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education - Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in law is required. - A first-level university degree in law (Bachelor’s or equivalent) from an accredited university in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. - Qualification to practice law in a national jurisdiction of a UN Member State, or admission to practice law by a recognised national or state bar or law society of a UN Member State is required.
Experience - A minimum of ten (10) years of professional legal experience is required. - Within the ten (10) years of professional experience, at least five (5) years of commercial law experience is required, preferably as legal counsel in a law firm, company, governmental service or international organization; and at least five (5) years supervising and leading a team is required. - Strong understanding and knowledge of the United Nations system, including the privileges and immunities of international organizations, is an asset. - Experience in providing legal advice in support of a government agency or international organization is an asset. - Demonstrated experience in communicating complex legal concepts across a range of audiences and managing complex stakeholder interactions and negotiations is required.
Language Requirements - Fluency in written and spoken English is required. - Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is desirable.
Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: Staff Contract level: P5 Contract duration: Fixed-term staff contracts - 'One year initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability'
For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/UN-Staff-Contracts.aspx
Additional Information
- Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
- UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
- Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
- We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.
Terms and Conditions
- For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
- All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
- It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.