Legal Consultant - Emergency Unit

INTERSOS is a non-profit humanitarian aid organisation that works to bring assistance to people in danger, victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Established in 1992 with support from the Italian Federation of Trade Unions, its actions are based on the values of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equal rights and opportunities for all people and respect for diversity and coexistence, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable and the unprotected.

INTERSOS identifies with the core values of CONCORD, the European Confederation of NGOs; it adheres to international codes of conduct for humanitarian organisations and the values and principles expressed within those codes. INTERSOS is recognised by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and the principal UN agencies; it is privileged to hold an advisory status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
INTERSOS is an independent association which, through its own humanitarian operators, intervenes to effectively answer the needs of people in serious crises situations, mainly in the world's poorest regions, who are suffering, deprived of rights, dignity and essentials goods. It maintains a flexible operating structure. The head office in Italy coordinates, supports and monitors the planned activities in the countries of intervention carried out by decentralised offices.

Job Purpose:

This position has been created as a response to the emergency situation in Beirut areas that were affected by the latest explosion.

The Legal Consultant is responsible for providing legal information and counseling to vulnerable persons, in accordance with INTERSOS’ mandate, priorities and donor agreements.

Main Duties:

• Family Law
• Gender Based Violence and Child Protection legal framework
• Support in Legal identity documents including obtaining civil documentation necessary to access rights and services (birth registration, marriage registration, proof of marriage)
• Accompany the beneficiary to the relevant local authorities office to submit or follow up on an application
• Follow up with relevant local authorities on application process or documents of beneficiaries
• Knowledge of housing, landing and properties law
• Citizenship and statelessness issues related to displacement

Exceptionally, the team may engage in other thematic areas based on needs and external requests.

Specific Duties:

1. Conduct basic interviews with beneficiaries in order to assess legal and urgent protection needs.
2. Provide legal information and legal advice to beneficiaries on main legal issues encountered.
3. Attend meetings and workshop/training as requested by the Protection Officer, the Protection Manager or the Project Manager.
4. Respect deadline for the delivering of weekly and monthly reports and any kind of urgent reporting to the Project Manager or Protection Officer.’
5. When applicable, provide legal assistance to people who are in need of urgent and legal protection
6. Provide services including legal representation in court.
7. Inform Protection Officer of the individual progress of legal cases on a weekly basis.
8. Any other task not listed here but necessary to the project and activities.
9. Available to work extra hours and available at the weekend for emergency cases.

Competencies: (Knowledge, Skills & Abilities)

Professional Competencies:

• Minimum 3 years of relevant professional experience in the legal field.
• Previous experience in humanitarian work or NGOs (working on refugee related legal problems).
• Prior experience in working with governmental authorities is a plus.
• Familiarity with international protection and human rights legal standards.
• Knowledge on how to communicate with vulnerable population groups, such as women, children, youth, elderly, disabled and refugees.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of local communities and customary rules.
• Excellent reporting skills.
• MS. Proficiency (OS Windows, MS Office, Internet etc.).
• Driving License.

Behavioural competencies:

• Excellent communication skills
• Teamwork
• Communication Skills
• Planning and Organizing
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative
• Independence, i.e. conducting tasks with minimal supervision, and stress resilience
• Ability to work closely with a diverse team of individuals
• Problem solving and decision making
• Ethical and transparent decision-making
• Strategic vision
• Leadership: developing and motivating staffs
• Driving and achieving results
• Humanitarian motivation and commitment to INTERSOS values
• Respect of Intersos policies and procedures