Assistant Legal Officer

Responsibilities

• Assist in the preparation of legal advice and drafting of position papers and guidelines on pertinent legal and operational issues.
• Stay abreast of the domestic legal issues and pertinent laws regarding POC and advise the Office accordingly.
• Contribute to advocacy towards proper interpretation of law and doctrine as well as in the development of standards of protection.
• Consistently apply international and national law and UNHCR policies and standards.
• Assist the Office in providing legal counselling to persons of concern.
• Liaise and intervene with local authorities on the legal issues pertaining to POC.
• May act as interpreter during meetings with authorities, if required.
• Participate in meetings within UNHCR and with external counterparts at the relevant level.
• Assist in the development of project proposals and project implementation.
• Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Years of Experience / Degree Level
• For P1/NOA - 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree
• Field(s) of Education
• Law; Human Rights Law; Refugee Law;
• International Humanitarian Law;
• or other relevant field.
• Certificates and/or Licenses
• Not Specified.
• (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
• Relevant Job Experience
• Essential
• Desirable
• Completion of UNHCR learning programmes on protection would be an asset or any other equivalent external courses.
• Functional Skills
• LE-Legal Research
• LE-Draft legal settlement agreements
• UN-UN System - Legal Status and Structure
• (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
• Language Requirements
• For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
• For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
• For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.
• As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
• This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional esse

Additional Information

Deadline for Applications June 6, 2026 Hardship Level E (most hardship) Family Type Non Family Residential location (if applicable) Grade NOA Staff Member / Affiliate Type National Professional Officer Reason Regular > Regular Assignment Target Start Date 2026-07-01 Standard Job Description Assistant Legal Officer Organizational Setting and Work Relationships The Assistant Legal Officer is a member of the protection or legal team in a Country or Sub-Office. He/she may report to the (Senior) Protection or (Senior) Legal Officer, Head of Sub-Office or to the Assistant Representative for Protection. In smaller Offices, the post may report directly to the Representative. The Assistant Legal Officer assists the Office in providing quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (POC). S/he is also required to assist the office in ensuring that POC are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern and authorities as well as protection and assistance partners. All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

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