Senior International Legal Advisor (Retainer)

The UNOPS Ukraine Office has been established in April 2017. At present UNOPS manages an extensive portfolio of projects in Ukraine and is seeking to expand its delivery. Accordingly, UNOPS is now shifting direct representational and oversight functions to Ukraine.

UNOPS works with multiple partners including the Governments of Ukraine, bilateral and multilateral donors, and United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programme. In keeping with EU-Ukraine Association Agreement of 27 June 2014 and other Government reform initiatives, UNOPS is particularly interested in strengthening its coordination and liaison capacity with relevant Government institutions, Government led mechanisms and emerging trust fund instruments.

Following the Maidan revolution of 2013/14, reform has moved to the top of the agenda for the Ukrainian government and its international partners. Within that context, reform of the energy sector has been identified as a key priority. 

The Government of Ukraine identified some specific reform needs and first steps have been initiated to address shortcomings. Reform of the energy sector is driven by Ukraine's obligations under the Treaty on the Establishment of the Energy Community and the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union (EU), and is aimed at the implementation of acts of the Energy Community legislation in the field of energy, namely: Directive 2009/72/EC on common rules for the internal market in electricity (Third Energy Package), Directive 2005/89/EC concerning measures to ensure security of investment in the electricity supply and infrastructure system and other legislation of the European Union.

Support to the Energy Market’s Development in Ukraine

Targeted at development of the competitive Energy Market in Ukraine, Programme supports Ukraine in strengthening its energy security agenda. It provides all required technical assistance to energy sector Government of Ukraine (GoU) entities, energy regulator and other stakeholders in implementation of laws and secondary legislation on the electricity market, energy markets and energy regulator; district heating‐related and other areas as needed, focusing on two components:

• Assistance in electricity market implementation;
• Assistance in improving district heating utility services.

Programme works directly with the offices of the Prime Minister of Ukraine and Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Coordination Centre for Introduction of a New Electric Energy Market, Office of Reforms under the Cabinet of Ministers, relevant departments of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, Ministry of Social Protection and Labour, National Energy and Utilities  Regulatory Commission (NEURC), Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, other principal national stakeholders and Kyiv City State Administration and Kyiv City Council.

Under the direct operational supervision and guidance of the Programme Manager (Chief of Party), and in close collaboration with other personnel, Senior International Legal Advisor will work from home with the regular visits to Kiev, Ukraine. S/he will provide high quality advice and expertise to the national government and other counterparts.

The Senior International Legal Advisor is responsible for the quality assurance of all policy-related project operations. S/he will develop quality assurance plan relating to all areas of those project activities and will be the focal point for ensuring communication of that plan.

Reporting to the Programme Manager (Chief of Party), the Senior International Legal Advisor is responsible to familiarise with the project initiation documents (PID), Legal Agreement and Logical framework and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure the project(s) products are capable of meeting the quality requirements for both UNOPS, beneficiaries and the client. Success of the Project(s) and hence the Senior International Legal Advisor will be based on the Success Criteria of UNOPS engagements which are linked to the below responsibilities.

Delivery and Performance:

• Establish positive and fruitful working relationships with all interlocutors, providing advice and guidance on specific energy related issues.
• Establish solid working relationship with the project board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders.
• Provide strategic advice and technical assistance to the national counterparts and the Project Team.
• Provide expert advice to the national government and other counterparts on how the Project intervention fits into wider energy and legal system of the country.
• Advise the Project Team with the development of business cases, situational and political economy analysis, as required and related to the legal matters.
• Advice the Project Team with the design of programs and project interventions related to the legal matters.
• Lead identification of and engagement with actors and stakeholders involved in the legal sector, under the area of Project responsibility, for the purpose of sharing reform initiatives, best practices and lessons learnt. 
• Provide expert advice to strategic planning, capacity development and performance management for Project activities involving legal dealings.
• As required, provide strategic advice and expertise for design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation frameworks for relevant programs Project interventions.
• Provide expert advice on Terms of Reference (ToR) for required inputs for consultancy related services.
• Where appropriate, monitor and assess performance of contractors and consultants.
• Provide feedback to the Project on work progress and share issues and concerns that may need executive action and decision.
• Participate and represent UNOPS in national and international forums as directed. 
• Contribute to identification and sharing of the Project’s lessons learned and the best practices

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

 ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.