Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an international medical humanitarian association founded in 1971, provides medical assistance to populations whose lives are threatened: mainly in cases of armed conflict, but also epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters or exclusion from care.
MSF WACA (West and Central Africa) was created in 2019 and aims to bring about a change in the dynamics of the MSF movement. WACA is driven by a significant number of doctors and humanitarians of Doctors Without Borders from West and Central Africa who wish to be heard, to contribute and above all to proactively assume responsibility for the humanitarian mission of the organization. WACA reflects an identity of humanitarians, an aspiration for MSF, a truly inclusive movement of people who share the values of empathy for others. Its strength is based on other MSF associations and its associative fiber is amplified by concrete operational objectives.
Why should you join us? You will find yourself a rich multicultural environment embellished with many relaxation areas to exchange or just create. The opportunity to test and learn. Every idea is welcome, your comments and opinions will be appreciated at all levels of the organization. The chance to be a key player in a growing and highly qualified team
And most importantly, great colleagues in a healthy work environment… (yes! Yes!)
We Are Looking for:
Legal Advisor
Department: HR & Administration
Direct Manager: Head of Administration
Functional liaison: International Legal Department
MSF Interactions: Head quarter and Fields
Working %: 100%
Based in: Based in Abidjan and regional mobility
Mobility: Countries of interventions in Central and West Africa
Type of Contract: Fixed Term contract (renewable)
Duration: Until June 2023
Position to be filled: 01/08/2022
General objective
The right candidate for this Position is a legal professional who can provide accurate and relevant advice to the Organization and to safeguard the interests of the organization through legal means.
Thus, he/she will provide general legal support for the creation of the WaCA entity, as well as operations, in the following areas:
– Social law and duty of care
– Tax Law
– Labor Law
– Corporate law
– Administrative procedures applicable to deploy operations (immigration, custom, medical authorizations…)
– Brand and domain names
– Insurance
– Any other issue that generating administrative and legal constraints for MSF WaCA
Main responsibilities / Activities
He/she will be in charge of the following responsibilities:
– Identify legal issues, risks and questions facing MSF-WACA, and propose mitigation/contingency measures;
– Support MSF WaCA in identifying the applicable legal framework and anticipating related constraints/blockages;
– Legal Responsibility: provide advice, including in litigation;
– Give accurate and timely counsel to executives in a variety of legal topics (new and existing laws, partnerships, finance etc.), that would impact organization’s functions;
– Communicate and negotiate with external parties (regulators, external counsel, Lawyers public authority etc.), select external lawyers and establish a collaboration;
– Develop, update policies and contribute to internal training related to policies, procedures and Legal matter;
– Prepare contracts, MOUs, settlement documents, and any other legal documents according to the needs of the organization and build an internal database;
– Review all documents and changes to the legal landscape and examine how these changes affect the policies of the organization;
– Collect the legislative texts of the countries of the region, set up a legal monitoring system and responsible for monitoring all legal affairs within the organization;
– Liaise closely with the international legal department;
– Brief staff members on legal issues, potential liabilities and possible courses of actions in oral and written platform;
– Explain complicated legal jargon into language which everyone can understand;
Pré-requis du poste
Education/Qualification/Pre-requisites
• Master’s degree in private or comparative law
Professional experience required
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in a law firm or legal department
• Experience at the international level
• Experience in MSF or in the humanitarian sector is an asset
Professional Skills
• Rigor, clarity and adaptability to different legal systems;
• Ability to research, analyze and write;
• Ability to translate legal information into understandable language for operations.
Skills – Human and leadership skills
• Commitment to MSF principles;
• Ethics;
• Critical mind;
• Action oriented;
• Analytical skills;
• Cultural sensitivity and respect of diversity;
• Teamwork and cooperation;
• Strong negotiation skills;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Integrity and honesty;
• Highly developed communication skills both written and verbal;
• High attention to detail.
Languages
• Fluency in English and French.
Computer Skills
• Word, Windows environment, Office software package and e-mail.
In a dynamic work environment, MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, profile, physical disability or any other discriminatory ground.
Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.
Deadline: 12/07/2022
Only shortlisted candidate will be contacted.
