Head of Legal Aid Unit Human Mobility Hub – Middle East Office (Open to Internal Candidates Only)

What we are looking for:

A seasoned professional with senior management experience working in complex and volatile contexts with protracted crises and refugee hosting countries to lead as the Head of Legal Aid Unit, spearheading the Human Mobility Hub (HMH) legal aid activities and capacity-sharing with the rapidly growing network of more than 40 local partners and refugee/migrant led community-based organisations and networks.

The Head of Unit will provide leadership for all the HMH’s work with the legal aid partners in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as networks of lawyers and academia, on a wide range of topics to ensure the better protection of people on the move and the increased inclusion of community-based and refugee/migrant-led organisations in response and policy efforts.

What you will do:

• Lead on legal aid programme development.
• Manage implementation of legal aid projects in compliance with contractual commitments (i.e. quality, synergies, timeliness, use of resources) and aligned to regional and global strategies.
• Lead the development and implementation of joint projects and initiatives with partners.
• Provide technical support to partners, involving other programme and support colleagues as needed.
• Lead the development and implementation of capacity-sharing strategy with in-country partners.
• Ensure that key learnings are extracted from capacity-sharing with partners and incorporate them in HMH programming.
• Lead the development of legal aid partnerships in Egypt and Tunisia and the establishment of new partnerships based on NRC’s/HMH’s guidelines and priorities.
• Ensure effective communication and coordination mechanisms are in place between the HMH and its partners.
• Supervise consultancies using technical experts to develop substantial thematic papers, and ensure the high quality of legal analysis, studies, guidance notes and other products.
• Build network and lead engagement with relevant stakeholders on legal aid issues to achieve the most mutually beneficial terms for engagement between the HMH and in-country partners.
• Proactively find creative solutions to challenges in-country partners may face.
• Represent NRC if needed with donors or in coordination meetings.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.

What you will bring:

• Minimum 4 years of experience in a senior capacity within legal assistance in a humanitarian/ recovery context.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts with protracted crises and refugee hosting countries. Prior experience working in the MENA Region is preferable.
• Significant understanding of North Africa’s humanitarian, political and socio-economic context, and main challenges affecting people on the move in North Africa
• Lawyer with extensive expertise in managing and delivering legal aid programmes
• Expertise working with local actors is mandatory
• Good skills and experience in all aspects of programme cycle management – design and development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation
• Demonstrated experience in learning and evaluation and program development.
• Experience in capacity-sharing and community-based programming.
• Experience in coordinating activities and liaising with external actors.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile with Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. French and/or Arabic is highly desirable.

What we offer:

• Duty Station: Any NRC country office in MENA (Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Yemen)
• Contract: 12 months (Fixed-term renewable based on performance, funding and need for the position)
• Travel: Upto 50% within the areas of operations (regional, international)
• Salary/benefits: grade 10 on NRC’s salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Why NRC?

NRC currently has over 3,000 staff across the Middle East dedicated to assisting people affected by conflict in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Its humanitarian interventions are based upon its programming expertise in the Core Competencies of Education, Shelter, WASH, Livelihoods and Food Security, and Information Counselling and legal Assistance (ICLA) to vulnerable displacement- affected people.

NRC’s Human Mobility Hub (HMH) is aimed at improving understanding of human mobility today and in the future. It introduces innovative partnership models forging long-term strategic relationships in fragile contexts with Local Actors. Through in-country partnerships and collaboration, the Hub will promote effective responses to human mobility trends and the protection of people on the move. The Hub will produce strategic analysis, regional linkages and capacity sharing to advance the protection of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in transit and displacement settings.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

About Us

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world’s most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH