Job Description

Please note that this vacancy is only open to eligible staff members who have been individually notified of their eligibility to apply for positions advertised in the Accelerated Posting Compendium.

June 12, 2026

A (least hardship)

Family

PR4

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-05-28

Senior Legal Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Legal Officer (SLO) position is located either at Headquarters (within the Division of International Protection) or in a Regional Bureau or in a Country Office and reports to the Deputy Director or Head of Protection Service or Representative or Deputy Representative, as appropriate.
The incumbent has direct supervisory responsibility for legal and protection staff. Responsibilities and accountabilities may include inter alia: statelessness, the Global Compact on Refugees commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, child protection, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, registration, human rights standards integration national legislation, judicial engagement, internal displacement, mixed movements, and climate-related displacement, S/he contributes to designing a comprehensive legal strategy and response related to the protection of refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless persons and represents the organization in contacts with national and/or regional authorities and officials, UN sister entities, other intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, embassies and academic institutions that can contribute to enhancing protection and achieving solutions which reflect international legal principles. The incumbent will also build networks with external legal experts and lawyers, high level government officials, and activists to advocate for, promote, develop and/or defend UNHCR's views and positions, and will represent UNHCR in senior level legal and policy fora.
If based in a Regional Bureau or Country operation, the SLO works in close collaboration with the Division of International Protection.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Contribute to the development of a coherent legal strategy within the Area of Responsibility (AoR).
- Develop background and general policy and legal positions.
- Provide legal and policy advice and guidance on the interpretation and application of international instruments and regional where relevant - relating to forcibly displaced and stateless persons , global protection positions and policies and, as required, on the development of situation/country-specific guidance.
- Monitor and support the development of national and/or regional laws, policies and processes, as appropriate.
- Develop and contribute to strategies at the regional and country level, including on legislative and judicial engagement and UN human rights mechanisms and/or regional ones and other protection frameworks, and integrate human rights standards in protection strategies and advocacy.
- Coordinate monitoring, engage with, comment on and report on domestic legislative developments in the region/country.
- Engage with external partners and stakeholders, including governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, etc. on issues related to legal protection principles and related international and/or regional or national law.
- Handle individual cases and situations raising special questions of application or interpretation of international law, refugee and human rights law.
- Organize expert and other meetings on specific issues, including preparation of background research materials.
- Gather, analyse and disseminate information on political, legal, social and economic developments which have a bearing on UNHCR¿s protection activities in the area to promote the adoption of protection policies and activities.
- Represent UNHCR in meetings and fora on legal and international protection.

For Senior Legal Officer in Regional Bureaux and Country Operations:
- Coordinate quality timely and effective policy and legal advocacy interventions with relevant stakeholders at regional and national levels.
- Support country operations in identifying and taking up opportunities to influence legislative, institutional and judicial processes in relation to asylum, statelessness, and internal displacement, ensure quality comments are provided on draft legislation and policies and to Human Rights mechanisms, draft/review judicial interventions and engage with legal and judicial institutions as relevant.
- Develop legal capacity of protection staff throughout the region/country through trainings and regional workshops and consultations, promote reviews and evaluations across relevant legal areas, document and disseminate good practices.
- Develop project proposals and project implementation in the relevant AoR.
- Support, monitor and review regional and country programming for protection, from planning to evaluation and advocate for adequate resource allocations.

- Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P4/NOD - 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Law; International Law; Human rights or refugee law; or other relevant field

Certificates and/or Licenses
Management Learning Programme;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential
Minimum 5 years of relevant professional job experience in the area of protection, human rights and/or international humanitarian law, including experience in working directly with Field Offices. In-depth knowledge of international refugee law and human rights law and/or International humanitarian law and ability to apply the relevant legal principles, and of UNHCR's protection strategies and policies.

Desirable
Not specified

Functional Skills
*CO-Drafting and Documentation
*LE-Legal Research
*LE-Draft legal settlement agreements
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
*PR-Human Rights Doctrine/Standards
*PR-International Humanitarian Law
*LE-Judicial Engagement
PR-Climate change and disaster related displacement
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

• Regional legal advisory & policy-to-practice translation: Strong experience advising multiple operations on protection and solutions strategies—translating international refugee/human rights law and UNHCR policy into context-specific, operationally usable guidance across diverse country contexts.
• Government engagement & asylum system development: Demonstrated ability to lead and sustain law and policy dialogue with governments, including on asylum capacity, documentation, and transition to national systems—paired with diplomatic judgement and advocacy skills in politically sensitive environments.
• Regional coordination, legal drafting & judicial engagement: Excellent legal drafting, COI, and policy development skills, with experience supporting or leading judicial engagement, reviewing internal legal guidance, and responding to complex legal queries (including from operations and external stakeholders).
• Cross-cutting portfolio leadership (statelessness, HR, RBA): Ability to manage and connect multiple regional portfolios—statelessness, human rights, COI, and routes-based approach—and ensure their integration into protection and solutions strategies across operations.
• Capacity development & partnership building: Proven track record in designing and delivering capacity-building initiatives for authorities and partners, engaging with regional/international fora, and contributing to broader protection outcomes (including fundraising inputs where relevant).

Arabic (Desirable) - French (Desirable)

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Arabic

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French

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

The Senior Legal Officer (SLO) function is situated within the MENA Protection Service (MPS) in the MENA Regional Bureau and operates under the overall guidance of the Senior Protection and Solutions Coordinator. The MENA region’s protection strategy is focused on strengthening refugee protection through sustained dialogue and engagement with government counterparts to preserve and expand protection space for displaced populations. Across several countries, progress continues in advancing law and policy dialogue aimed at facilitating access to government documentation, as well as the development of joint roadmaps for the phased transfer of roles and responsibilities. Efforts also include reinforcing national capacities for the establishment of asylum systems. In parallel, the implementation of a route-based approach to mixed movements remains a corporate priority.

The functional responsibilities include providing legal and policy advice and guidance to operations in developing protection and solutions strategies, including support in contextualizing organizational policies and guidance. The function contributes to regional and country-level capacity development initiatives for national authorities, aimed at enhancing advocacy opportunities for improved inclusion and protection of forcibly displaced and stateless populations. Close collaboration is maintained within MPS and with operations to advance law and policy dialogue with governments, particularly in relation to asylum capacity. Coordination with country offices and DIPS is required for the development of country-of-origin information (COI) and country guidance documents. The role encompasses addressing legal issues, reviewing and providing input on internal legal policies, and supporting strategic judicial engagement. It also includes responding to COI-related queries on Palestinian refugees from both operations and external stakeholders, as well as covering the Statelessness and Human Rights portfolios in the MENA region. Furthermore, the function contributes to ensuring that key elements of the route-based approach are integrated into protection and solutions strategies across operations, and may provide inputs into fundraising initiatives linked to capacity development, route-based approaches, and broader protection portfolios.

Living and Working Conditions:

Jordan has a total population of 9.4 million people. Amman houses 42% of Jordan’s population, 4.008 million, making it the populous city in the country. Amman is categorized as (A) duty station. Several International airlines operate daily flights from Amman (Queen Alia International Airport). The local currency is the Jordanian Dinar and the exchange rate is fixed and equivalent to ( 1 JOD=0.71 USD), Money traders and good local banking system are available.

Jordan is visa free for UNLP holders; however appointed staff must obtain a residency permit. Residency permits and other local protocol remain a challenge due to governmental procedures, subject to frequent changes. The process of obtaining residency in Jordan may vary depending on nationality of applicant, type of contract offered and its length.

Staff members assigned to Amman are residing in private accommodation. Rent in Amman can vary depending on the size of the property itself, number of bedrooms and the area of Amman in which it is located. Renting a 3-bedroom apartment can range from 1100 – 2500 USD per month.

Food and other commodities are widely available in the local shops and markets.

Amman tends to have a Mediterranean climate; summers are mildly hot, winter usually starts around the end of November and continues until mid-March, there is occasional snowfall.

The medium for teaching in international schools is English, however there are a few French language schools as well. There is a plethora of institutions for children of all ages from pre-school to high school as well universities.

The majority of international educational institutions are in Amman.

Amman is the home to many top-end hospitals and clinics. Due to Jordanian healthcare’s international appeal, nearly all doctors and many support staff speak English. Healthcare here is also very accessible and affordable.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Bachelor of Arts: Human Rights, Bachelor of Arts: International Law, Bachelor of Arts: Law

Certifications

HCR Management Learning Program - UNHCR

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Policy research & development, Political awareness, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Accelerated Posting Compendium 2026 - Part B

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance