Legal Assistant, New York

• Organization: OLA - Office of Legal Affairs
• Country: United States
• City: New York
• Office: UN Office of Legal Affairs, New York
• Grade: G-5
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UN Secretariat, New York

Closing date: Wednesday, 7 September 2016

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Posting Title: Legal Assistant, G5
Job Code Title: LEGAL ASSISTANT
Department/ Office: Office of Legal Affairs
Duty Station: NEW YORK
Posting Period: 9 August 2016-7 September 2016
Job Opening number: 16-LEG-OLA-64754-R-NEW YORK (O)
United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity
Special Notice
This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.
Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test after submitting an application. Having passed the Administrative Support Assessment Test in English at the United Nations Headquarters, Economic Commission for Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office at Vienna, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia may be accepted in lieu of the GGST.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on 'The Application Process' and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on 'Manuals' hyper-link on the upper right side of inspira account-holder homepage. Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application.
In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.
Organizational Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Codification Division, Office of Legal Affairs. The incumbent will report to a Principal or Senior Legal Officer.
Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of a Principal Legal Officer or Senior Legal Officer of the Codification Division, the Legal Assistant provides a combination of general office, legal, meetings servicing and other administrative support within the Division.
The Legal Assistant

• Researches and compiles legal materials for use in the preparation of studies and reports.
• Handles, or refers to the appropriate officer as appropriate, a variety of verbal and written inquiries from internal and external parties, including providing information on processes and procedures related to specific legal activities, meetings, publications, documents, websites, instruments, etc.
• May edit and conduct final check for accuracy of a variety of specialized legal documentation, instruments, publications and related correspondence.
• Services various committees, hearings and other meetings; selects and compiles relevant background materials; assists in the preparation of relevant documents; attends meetings and drafts minutes/notes; monitors follow-up actions, etc.
• Coordinates administrative services (e.g. translation of legal publications) to include preparing and monitoring requests, liaising with relevant units, and maintaining related statistics for reporting purposes as required.
• Assists in the preparation of legal documents for electronic storage, access and circulation/publication and archiving (electronic and hard copy), including document scanning and conversion, review of content and extraction of key data and text excerpts for categorization and indexing purposes, etc.
• Creates, as necessary, maintains and updates internal databases; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Provides general office support services; drafts, edits, proofreads and finalizes for signature and/or process a variety of documents, correspondence and other communications.
• Incorporates changes as marked by the author, ensuring that the final version of the document conforms to the original manuscript, in accordance with existing editorial guidelines.
• Produces camera-ready documents for reproduction by formatting documents in desktop publishing layout, including photocopying, scanning and OCR.
• Undertakes tasks relating to the maintaining of existing websites, or creating new sites.
• Sets up and maintains reference files/records (electronic and paper).
• Schedules appointments/meetings, monitors deadlines, etc.
• Assists in servicing various committees and other meetings including assisting in the preparation of pre-, in- and post-session documents, preparation of draft of Journal and summaries, notes for the Chairman, setting up log for documents and assigning document symbols relevant to the particular meeting, coordination with Meeting Services and Documents Control; preparation of the programme of work, list of delegations and list of documents.
• Coordinates administrative services (e.g. translation of legal publications,) to include preparing and monitoring requests, liaising with relevant units, and maintaining related statistics for reporting purposes as required.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g. leave recording, request for office supplies and equipment, etc.).
• May provide guidance/training to less experienced staff.
• Performs other ad hoc duties as assigned.

Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM

• Knowledge of the UN system and procedures (e.g. administrative and meeting services);
• familiarity with substantive matters within the purview of the work unit.
• Knowledge of relevant internal policies, processes and procedures generally and in particular those related to legal and associated activities and processes;
• familiarity with standard research sources and ability to research and compile relevant legal materials/information.
• Ability to show tact and discretion in dealing with confidential matters and materials.
• Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given; and good communication (spoken and written) skills, including drafting and editing skills.
• Shows pride in work and in achievements;
• demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
• shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges;
• remains calm in stressful situations.
• Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

TEAMWORK

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise;
• is willing to learn from others;
• places team agenda before personal agenda;
• supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position;
• shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZING

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;
• identifies priority activities and assignments;
• adjusts priorities as required;
• allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work;
• foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning;
• monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary;
• uses time efficiently.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five years of experience in paralegal work, conference servicing, general office support or related area is required.
• Experience working with advanced Microsoft Word, including tables, templates, graphics, long documents and/or macros is required.
• Experience in electronic research of documents and legal materials are required.
• Experience in electronic research of documents and legal materials are required.
• Experience in research and preparation of United Nations or other international organization documents is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
• For the post advertised, fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
United Nations Considerations
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, TRAINING OR ANY OTHER FEES). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON BANK ACCOUNTS.