Legal Officer

The Legal Officer will report to the Senior Adviser on the Prosecution of International Crimes/Deputy 

Lead Coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA). As part of the Head of Operations Office, the Legal Officer will contribute to the efficient and effective accomplishment of the assigned tasks.

Context

The Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) is an initiative of the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States to enhance coordination of their respective efforts to further accountability for atrocity crimes in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. The ACA senior leadership comprises the Lead Coordinator and two Deputy Coordinators, one of which is selected by the EU.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Legal Officer will be required, in accordance with the EUAM Ukraine Mandate, Code of Conduct and the General Service Conditions for Locally Contracted Staff Employed by EUAM Ukraine, Serving in Ukraine, to perform the following tasks:

• Assist the Senior Adviser on the Prosecution of International Crimes/Deputy Lead Coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA)in performing his/her tasks of leading efforts to provide ongoing mentoring and technical and subject matter assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) of Ukraine on the investigation and prosecution of atrocity crimes, including legal analysis, managing the implementation of responses to other specialised requests from the OPG and leading working groups with Ukrainian and international participation on a range of IHL and ICL topics;
• Provide legal advice and support to assist Ukrainian institutions that are working as part of the criminal justice process in the area of international crimes, in accordance with EUAM policy and guidelines;
• Research and provide expert legal advice and make recommendations on international crimes-related legal and procedural issues as required;
• Draft legal opinions on Ukrainian and international legislation and case law including on draft laws;
• Assist in the planning, drafting and implementation of project activities; 
• Assist in the 
• Participate in the planning, design and delivery of trainings and workshops, and in the development of curricula and workshops in international crimes-related subjects;
• Actively participate in developing, planning and organising meetings and events with local authorities, stakeholders, and other international organisations;
• Advise on active cases by reviewing evidence and other case materials, preparing accurate summaries of the same, and contributing to advising national counterparts, when required;
• Actively partake in component and unit strategy and planning brain-storming sessions and think creatively of new and relevant solutions to enhance EUAM’s mandate activities;
• Take accurate notes/minutes of meetings with interlocutors and ensure the timely filing of reports;
• When necessary, translate documents related to the area of expertise from English to Ukrainian and vice-versa;
• Perform interpretation in liaison and consecutive mode from English to Ukrainian and vice-versa for the international members of EUAM as assigned, including during duty trips;
• Perform administrative duties including drafting e-mails, memos, letters, and other documents as required;
• Maintain and file documents and recorded data in the Sharepoint and other data storage systems in a timely manner;
• Handle information with confidentiality and discretion;
• Perform any other related tasks as requested by the Line Manager.

Qualifications and experience

Eligibility criteria:

• Enjoy full Ukrainian civil rights and have no criminal records; 
• Citizenship of Ukraine and/or holding permanent resident and work permits according to Ukrainian laws;
• Successful completion of a full course of university studies attested by a Bachelor’s degree in Law (Bachelor’s degree is a requirement);
• After having obtained the university degree, at least five (5) years of relevant and proven full-time professional experience spent practicing in criminal law including in prosecutions, or in the judiciary or as defence counsel or other related field.

Essential criteria:

• Possess excellent skills in conducting legal research and in drafting legal memoranda, reports and opinions;
• Be physically fit to perform the duties and to be able to travel within Ukraine;
• Professional fluency in English, Ukrainian and Russian, both oral and written;
• Knowledge and experience of Office Suite package;
• A good knowledge of the Ukrainian legal system and in particular the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine;
• Excellent organisational skills.

Additional advantageous assets:

• Professional experience of working in international criminal law and international humanitarian law;
• Experience in the planning, design and delivery of legal trainings and workshops;
• Professional experience working in European Union (EU) or other international organisations;  
• Experience of working in a multicultural environment;
• Driving license category B and ability to drive manual transmission vehicles.

Personality assets:

• Ability to act with initiative, responsibility, and independence; 
• Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and discretion when dealing with sensitive information;
• Teamwork and the ability to build productive, collegial and cooperative working relationships within a large, international team of lawyers and other professionals;
• Ability to foster and maintain effective working relationships with national and international counterparts;
• Ability to prioritise tasks and to deliver high quality of work in a timely manner under pressure and to tight deadlines;
• Willingness to work additional hours when required and to participate in duty trips inside and outside of Ukraine.

to apply, please fill in the application form -https://www.euam-ukraine.eu/our-mission/vacancies/