Overview
The Senior Legal Officer will provide strategic leadership and management of legal activities for the Global Staff Union (GSU), offering authoritative legal advice and representation on employment and administrative law matters.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate GSU legal activities.
- Supervise and guide GSU Legal Officer and legal consultants.
- Oversee engagement of external legal counsel.
- Contribute to optimal allocation and management of legal resources.
- Serve as primary source of authoritative legal advice to GSU President, Executive Committee and Staff Council.
- Provide legal support to GSU members on employment and administrative law matters.
- Evaluate evidence and prepare case files.
- Advise clients on legal strategies and ensure implementation of actions.
- Support negotiations to resolve disputes.
- Review or draft agreements and settlement documents.
- Provide expert guidance on staff relations issues, disciplinary matters, and employment disputes.
- Represent or support representation of employees in internal appeals and before the ILO Administrative Tribunal.
- Conduct or oversee comprehensive legal analysis of individual cases.
- Make recommendations for structural improvements to the GSU Legal Service.
- Provide legal advice to GSU consultations with WFP Management.
- Review and assess WFP policies, directives, and administrative issuances.
- Prepare legal briefs and recommendations to inform GSU positions.
- Identify systemic risks, legal gaps, and inconsistencies in WFP’s policy formulation and application.
- Propose measures to improve conditions of service and the internal justice system.
- Monitor and analyse decisions, resolutions, and reports issued by UN entities.
- Contribute to GSU advocacy on common system issues.
- Support GSU in its work as member of the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA).
- Prepare research-grounded legal opinions, memoranda, briefs, advisory notes, and reports.
- Conduct legal risk assessments and advise on mitigation strategies.
- Provide legal support to the GSU President and Staff Council.
- Liaise with WFP Staff Relations, Legal and other departments.
- Liaise with Staff Federations and other UN system bodies.
- Contribute to the functions of the GSU Secretariat.
- Brief staff on legal and policy developments.
