Overview
Legal Specialist Jobs in Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya at UNOPS
Title: Legal Specialist
Company: UNOPS
Location: Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya
Job Highlight
This is a unique opportunity for a seasoned legal professional to contribute to UNOPS’ global mission by providing authoritative commercial legal advice. The role offers significant autonomy in managing the provision of legal services to projects, the chance to adapt policies to new challenges. It provides exposure to diverse legal topics within an international development and humanitarian context, fostering professional growth and impact.
About The 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 spans various topics, including host-country agreements, privileges and immunities, disputes with external parties, administrative/HR law, partnership agreements, grants, procurement contracts, and the establishment of hosted initiatives, joint programs, and multi-donor trust funds. It also involves working with outside counsel, pro bono law firms, and the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) as needed.
Role Purpose
The Legal Specialist, Commercial, acts as a seasoned professional, independently providing in-house legal services within existing legal frameworks. S/he provides authoritative advice on the application of established commercial law policies and procedures, adapting them to meet emerging client or project needs. The Legal Specialist is responsible for solving complex legal problems, managing a specific portfolio of commercial legal work, and maintaining strong client relationships to ensure reliable service delivery, thereby protecting UNOPS from legal, financial, and reputational risks.
Functions / Key Results Expected
- Legal Advice and Representation
- Advise Project Offices on commercial matters under LG’s purview, including review and negotiation of legal agreements, interpretation, alignment and development of the UNOPS legal framework.
- Provide legal advice and support to Project Offices in relation to partnership and framework or funding agreements, negotiation of model agreements with partners, procurement contract templates and grant agreements.
- Provide legal advice and support to Project Offices in relation to hosted initiatives, joint programmes and multi-donor trust funds.
- Provide timely advice and support actively finding solutions to everyday implementation challenges, based on policy and best practices.
- Represent UNOPS in negotiations with external parties on legal topics, such as negotiations on contracts and agreements.
- Coordinate interactions between business units and local legal retainers, external legal counsel and legal advisors from OLA or other UN agencies.
- Policy Development and Implementation Support
- Recommend changes to policies, processes and operating standards based on the feedback and experience of the country offices.
- Ensure transparent and efficient project implementation, in line with policy and business needs.
- Work closely with other units within UNOPS to address mission-critical issues and find fit-for-purpose solutions and contribute with technical and practical knowledge to the development of strategies to improve efficiency and strengthen internal controls.
- Contribute to cross-functional initiatives to ensure that internal policies, procedures, systems and tools are consistent with the overall legal framework, practical, relevant and add value to organizational operations.
- Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
- Support the systematic documentation and updating of legal precedents and templates.
- Contribute to research and coordination within the team and across the organization
- Provide structured knowledge and subject matter expertise which is used across practice areas to provide coherent and tailored advice to the requesting offices.
- Stay informed about internal and external developments and best practices.
- Deliver and facilitate trainings on commercial matters to internal colleagues.
- Regional Focal Point Role (as assigned)
- Represent the LG Commercial Practice as the identified Focal Point by assuming the responsibilities for a specific region, liaising with the Regional Office and all regional actors (internal and external) for all legal matters related to the regional portfolio.
- Manage the regional workload, completing the above listed functions with a focus on a specific region.
- Foster and develop the relationship and collaboration with one specific region allowing for dedicated and tailored legal support, capacity building and solutions to the region.
- Coordinate and oversee the legal advice and support provided by other LG members (other than the Legal Specialist’s supervisees) to a specific region to ensure consistency;
- Liaise and communicate with the other regional focal points on novel, high-risk and/or problematic issues to ensure consistency in strategy and advice across the LG Commercial Practice.
Education Requirements
Required:
- An advanced university degree (J.D. or Master of Laws or equivalent); or a first-level university degree in law (Bachelor of Laws or equivalent) from an accredited university in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
Experience Requirements
Required:
- At least 5 years of relevant experience as a lawyer in commercial law, international law, public international law and/or, commercial dispute resolution, including legal analysis, advice, research and/or drafting of texts.
- Proficiency in legal drafting and ability to draft accurately, clearly and concisely under pressure is required.
- Experience in communicating complex legal concepts across a range of audiences is required.
Desired:
- Commercial law experience, preferably as legal counsel in a law firm or international organization.
