Senior Legal Officer at African Union(AU)

Requisition ID: 1090
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Contract Type: Regular 
Reports to: Deputy Director
Directorate / Department : Continental Operational Center 
Division :Office of the Deputy Executive Director, Statistics Unit
Job Grade: P3

Purpose of Job

• Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Senior Legal Officer is responsible for liaising between the Centre and the Office of the Legal Counsel in Addis Ababa on legal issues pertaining to the operations of the Centre.

Main Functions

• The Senior Legal Officer will provide support to the Deputy Director in providing legal advice to the Centre and its Units in order to ensure legality in decision making and compliance with relevant legal instruments of Member States in relation to cross-border crime; 

Specific Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice to the Centre with regard to Staff Rules and Regulations, Financial Rules and Regulations, implementation of the host agreement, and other administrative or institutional issues; 
• Follow-up on decisions taken by the AU Policy Organs to ensure their effective implementation; 
• Ensure that all decisions and actions undertaken by the AU Policy Organs are in conformity with the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Abuja Treaty and other legal texts and instruments. 
• Provide advice on all issues relating to privileges and immunities of the Centre, its staff and representatives as well as experts on mission for the Centre; 
• Draft or provide technical/legal support in the drafting of administrative contracts and agreements such as contracts of engagement of personnel, consultants and contracts awarded for the procurement of goods or services;
• Draft agreements, contracts and other legal texts to ensure that the interests of the Centre and the AU are protected; 
• Prepare contracts to which the Centre may be a party and offer advice on issues and disputes that may arise from their application; 
• Deal with legal issues relating data protection and sharing among Member States; 
• Assist in drafting reports for submission to the Executive Council and the Assembly of the Union; 
• Participate in meetings of a legal nature on behalf of the Centre; 
• Follow-up on matters being handled by various administrative committees and other ad hoc task forces and committees; 
• Perform any other functions as may be assigned by the Deputy Director.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• A Master’s Degree in Law with emphasis in the area of Public International Law, Administrative Law or equivalent qualification or other related disciplines with seven (7) years relevant work experience out of which three (3) should be at expert level. Experience should be in legal positions in government, inter-government, public or private sectors, or in international organizations.
• OR
• Bachelor Degree in similar fields coupled with a total of ten (10) years relevant work experience mentioned above, out of which three (3) years should be at expert level. 
• A higher qualification will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrable experience in drafting legal documents for executive level consumption and/or peer review.
• An understanding of the African Union way of working and managing associated relationships with Member States/RECs and partners is preferred.

Required Skills:

• Proven negotiation and arbitration skills 
• Candidates must exhibit capacity to work under pressure in a multicultural environment; 
• Personal commitment, goal oriented and drive for results, flexibility and respect for diversity.    
• Pro-active and solutions oriented 
• High level of autonomy at work, yet with profound team-spirit 
• Computer literacy.
• Proficiency in at least one of the African Union working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese or Spanish) is required. Knowledge of one more or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Insight...
• Change Management..
• Managing Risk...
• Developing others...
• Core Competencies
• Conceptual thinking...
• Job Knowledge and information sharing...
• Drive for result...
• Continuous improvement orientation...
• Functional Competencies
• Conceptual thinking...
• Job Knowledge and information sharing...
• Drive for Results...
• Continuous improvement orientation...

Tenure of Appointment

• The appointment will be made on a regular term contract for a period of three (3) years, of which the first twelve months shall be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract will be for a period of two years renewable, subject to satisfactory performance and deliverables.

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Remuneration

• Indicative basic salary of US$ 37,453.00 (P3 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment ( 46% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$  16,819.20   (per annum), and education allowance (100% of tuition and other education-related expenses for every eligible dependent up to a maximum of US$ 10,000.00 per child per annum) for internationally recruited staff, and a maximum of $3,300 per child per annum for locally recruited staff.