The IPAS Legal team works under the leadership of the IPAS Legal Team Lead, and ...
The IPAS Legal team works under the leadership of the IPAS Legal Team Lead, and under the overall technical Guidance of the General Counsel, in the above three areas of supporting operations, business efficiency and knowledge management. For IPAS Legal this translates into daily interactions with country offices and regional offices to provide sound and accurate legal advice.
The Team Lead is responsible to ensure that such advice is timely and focuses on providing solutions and results. This requires close interactions not only with country offices, but also with other IPAS teams, the different policy groups within HQ and the regional offices. It also requires a good understanding of the diverse environment in which UNOPS operates.
The incumbent will be expected to travel regularly.
In order to exercise his/her legal responsibilities, the incumbent acts with designated authority provided by the General Counsel. The incumbent will work in accordance with the instructions established by the General Counsel.
The incumbent will be expected to escalate complex matters outside his/her authority to the Legal Group, led by the General Counsel, and shall report in coordination with the IPAS Manager on matters reviewed by IPAS Legal.
Specific Job Functions:
Management of IPAS Legal team
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Supervise and lead the IPAS Legal team, with a focus on building a strong team through promotion of continuous learning within the office and collaboration across the organization;
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Facilitate and encourage interaction and collaboration between the IPAS Legal team and the other IPAS teams and other stakeholders such as policy groups, implementing units and external parties.
Advice on institutional and commercial matters
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Lead the team in reviewing new engagements and engagement amendments, with a focus on identifying risks and opportunities in close collaboration with other IPAS reviewers;
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Supervise the team in the review of project agreements with various funding sources; as well as in the review and negotiation of contracts and grant agreements with recipients of UNOPS funds;
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Support the implementation of UNOPS standards and coordinate and review audit responses. Follow-up on the implementation of audit recommendations;
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Advise on risk mitigation strategies for the organisation;
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Provide holistic advice in coordination with other IPAS advisors.
Cross-functional integration and process efficiency improvements
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Contribute to cross-functional initiatives through the provision of high quality advice to ensure that internal policies, processes and systems are aligned with the overall regulatory framework, practical, relevant and add value to organizational operations;
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Support the development and improvement of UNOPS regulatory framework;
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Work closely with other units on utilizing and enhancing systems and tools;
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Contribute with specialist and practical knowledge to the short-term plans and long-term strategies of IPAS towards business efficiencies.
Product/Process-Efficiency Improvement
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Address client feedback/suggestions, as well as a log on recurrent challenges and make suggestions for long-term solutions through policy/process change;
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Contribute to the enhancement of policy developments;
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Recommend solutions and process efficiency initiatives;
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Contribute as a practice specialist to the development and maintenance of corporate systems and tools;
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Contribute as practice specialist to resolving corporate-wide challenges by coordinating and developing long-term strategies towards innovative solutions.
Knowledge management and capacity building
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Ensure knowledge and information on legal matters is maintained and shared actively within the team, and packaged in appropriate formats that can be easily communicated with the implementation offices;
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Keep abreast of external developments and best practices and provide recommendations to relevant stakeholders;
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Provide regular feedback to internal clients on challenges, gaps and possible areas of improvement;
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Provide training to personnel, addressing corporate and institutional legal issues relevant to field personnel and other internal clients.