Legal Officer, P3

UNEP is recruiting a Legal Officer (P-3) to join its Law Division in Nairobi. UNEP is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the UN system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP’s Law Division is the lead Division charged with carrying out the functions of UNEP in the field of environmental law and governance, providing technical assistance and capacity building, advisory services, thought leadership, and collective intelligence on national and international governance and policy issues, including those related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).

The Law Division leads UNEP’s role as secretariat to the Fifth Montevideo Programme on the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law, a ten-year intergovernmental programme adopted by the UN Environment Assembly in 2019 that promotes environmental rule of law and aims to strengthen related capacities in countries. In partnership with UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division, the Law Division also administers programmes of legal technical assistance and capacity building related to sustainability and circularity, including in the textile value chains.

Responsibilities span technical assistance and capacity building implementation (administering programmes of legal technical and capacity building support in environmental law and governance under the Montevideo Programme and in sustainability and circularity; preparing agreements and contracts with governments, NGOs and other public and private entities); advisory services and thought leadership (handling issues related to environmental law and governance, constitutional, international, public and administrative law, including interpretation and application of MEAs at national level, synergies across MEAs, and emerging issues such as circularity across value chains; preparing background papers, studies, reports, legislative texts and commentaries; preparing legal opinions on international public law and environmental law issues; preparing environmental law seminars and symposia; servicing intergovernmental meetings, negotiations and conferences); and research and analysis support (conducting extensive legal research and comparative studies in environmental law and governance, reviewing legal documents, collecting and analysing data to identify trends and providing data visualisations, and providing guidance to junior staff).

Required qualifications include an advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in international environmental law or a related field with environmental law coursework, or a first-level university degree with qualifying experience in lieu. Work experience requirements include a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in environmental law or environmental governance, including legal analysis, research, writing or negotiation in an international or multicultural setting; a minimum of three years of experience in project or programme management in environmental governance, environmental law or sustainable development; experience in technical assistance and capacity building in environmental law; and experience working in professional legal work relating to procedural or institutional matters of intergovernmental bodies.

Experience related to the sustainability and circularity of value chains is desirable, along with a minimum of two years within the United Nations common system, an international organisation or an intergovernmental organisation, and two years or more of experience in data analytics. English is required at UN Level II across all skills; Spanish or French at UN Level I is desirable. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.