Chief of Section, Legal Affairs -- UNEP, GENEVA

Posting Title: Chief of Section, Legal Affairs, P5
   
Job Code Title: Chief of Section, Legal Affairs
   
Department/ Office: United Nations Environment Programme
   
Duty Station: GENEVA
   
Posting Period: 6 March 2015-5 May 2015
   
Job Opening number: 15-LEG-UNEP-38981-R-GENEVA (X) 

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between states. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival (www.cites.org). The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. This post is located in the CITES Secretariat at the Geneva duty station.
		Responsibilities
	Under the general/direct supervision of the Secretary-General, CITES, the incumbent will perform the following: 1. Plan, formulate, oversee and implement the work of the Legal Affairs and Trade Policy, Regulatory Services (LATP) :  • Ensure implementation of relevant Resolutions and Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties and its permanent committees. Includes decisions related to the National Legislation Project, support to national legal officers, prosecutors and the judiciary; national wildlife trade policy and related social or economic instruments; permit confirmation and the monitoring of legal trade; national reporting; media relations; and general compliance with and enforcement of the Convention; • Ensure relevant Resolutions and Decisions are implemented in an efficient and timely manner and identify means for improving the effectiveness of such Resolutions and Decisions;  • Plan, organize and clear documentation for meetings of the Conference of the Parties and its permanent committees;  • Direct and coordinate review of, provide technical assistance related to implementation of CITES legislation within individual Parties and dependent territories to ensure that it is adequate;   • Direct and coordinate actions aimed at building of Parties’ capacity to review their national wildlife trade policies and related legal, social or economic instruments; technical support for national permitting and reporting as well as related compliance monitoring and feedback support the development and application of guidelines on compliance with the Convention and stay abreast of relevant compliance/enforcement activities in other forums;  • Provide general oversight for the planning and execution of media-related activities;  • Liaise with and expand a network of contacts within national, regional and global bodies involved with sustainable development policy; national legislation; social/economic instruments; legal officers, prosecutors and judges; general legal issues within the UN; environment and trade; and compliance with enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements;  • Monitor activities both within the Unit and in other Units, related to projects that focus on or have implications for legal and trade policy matters and provide technical input and materials related to training activities undertaken by other units.  2.  Provide substantive and general legal advice: • Serve as a recognized expert in national and international environmental law, particularly related to CITES;  • Provide authoritative legal advice and make recommendations to officials within the Secretariat on a range of legal issues;   • Contribute to the review and design of new, or new applications of, legal instruments, policy, guidelines, systems, among others;  • Guide and supervise the work of junior legal officers, oversee and participate in preparing legal publications of the Unite and liaise with other UN legal officers and advisers. 3.  Manage the programmatic, human and financial resources:    • Review the evolution and execution of the LATPU work programme to ensure its conformity with the priorities established by the Conference of the Parties;  • Develop work plans under the Performance Appraisal Scheme (PAS), discuss and develop performance indicators with staff and ensure that deadlines are met for completion. Provide guidance to staff and foster tram work/communication within the Unit and with other units;  • Prepare the Unit’s programme and budget and monitor the financial resources available for the execution of the work programme and ensure their optimal use;  • Ensure the proper establishment and maintenance of databases and website tools related to the work of the Unit.  4.  Perform other duties as assigned.
		Competencies
	• Professionalism: Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence in and mastery of legal matters. 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.   • Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see thing 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. Meet timelines for delivery of products or services to client.   • Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.   • Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: Empowers others to translate vision into results; Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.   • Judgment/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision, and; makes tough decisions when necessary.
		Education
	Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in general law, international law or environmental law.  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 ten (10) years’ of progressively responsible legal experience at both national and international levels is required.  Experience with policy development and implementation as well as the drafting, review, application and prosecution of national legislation is highly desirable.  Experience in an international environment is an advantage.
		Languages
	English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required.  Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.

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