Job Description

Job Description

• JOB TITLE:  Legal Counsellor
• DEPARTMENT:  Program
• Report to:  Protection Officer
• LOCATION:  Taiz 
• Duration: End of 2024 based on funding availability & performance
• Closing Date: 10 Mar 2024

Introduction:

The Legal Counsellor will be responsible for delivering timely, high-quality, and effective legal services. This includes providing legal counseling and mediation support, facilitating the issuance of legal documentation, raising awareness of fundamental rights, and ensuring access to legal documentation. The officer will work closely with local authorities, communities, and relevant stakeholders to address legal issues.

 Responsibilities:

• Through mobile team and field visits to the targeted areas you will be responsible to:  

• Provide legal counseling and mediation support to IDPs on legal issues including family, civil, and HLP matters (particularly evictions), civil status documentation; 
• Facilitate the issuance of legal documentation to IDPs; particularly, Identity Cards. This will include providing counseling to PoCs without IDs; compiling lists of individuals without IDs for submission to CRA; coordinating with local CRA branches, in line with the procedure agreed between UNHCR and central CRA and facilitating application and receipt of IDs at CRA branches; 
• Counselling and improving IDPs’ access to legal and civil documentation such as birth/death certificates and marriage/divorce documents;
• Sensitize IDPs on their fundamental rights and procedures to access legal and civil services through legal awareness-raising sessions via mobile activities; 
• When necessary, provide legal representation to IDPs on family, civil, and HLP matters (particularly evictions); 
• Refer legal representation cases for criminal matters to the specialized agencies/NGOs/entities when required;
• Liaise with local authorities and local communities to identify the most common legal issues pertaining to IDPs and their relation with hosting communities;
• Compile monthly reports – along with a suggested template by UNHCR - on the implementation status of the Legal assistance activities;
• Keep the Protection Officer and team leader informed of the development and challenges of the implementation of the legal assistance program, regularly and in a timely manner;
• Coordinate and follow up on the issuance of legal documents. And work to facilitate the issuance of identity documents
• When issuing ID cards, ID cards must be examined and distributed to beneficiaries in the areas of intervention.
•  Liaise and coordinate regularly with the CRA, including attending meetings when needed, for the smooth implementation of the issuance of ID cards.
• Follow up on cases that need legal representation in accordance with the agreed-upon procedures.
•  Prepare work plans for raising awareness activities on legal issues/topics.
• In collaboration with relevant project Officers and team leader, prepare work plans to provide training and capacity building about protection issues, IDP rights, and community-based approaches to field teams and CBPNs.
• Ensure that field teams help identify people in need of legal documentation and engage with protection oversight teams to conduct protection monitoring for human rights violations.
•  Assess the targeted population's legal protection needs and concerns, pay special attention to people exposed to specific risks, and communicate findings/trends to the protection department and project management.
• Prepare weekly, and monthly reports or any required report in a timely manner.
•  Archiving and keeping case documents in a safe and orderly manner
• Perform any other tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in in law, human rights, or any related field.
• Experience working with IDPs, returnees and vulnerable communities in camp and non-camp area.
• At least 3 years’ experience working in protection activities and emergency humanitarian field.
• Previous experience working with NGOs/INGOs is highly preferred.
• Fluent in Arabic and English (speaking, reading, writing).
• Strong knowledge and skills of computer and prior experience working with smart data collection tools such as KOBO, and respect confidentiality of data and information.