Human Rights Officer (Legal Advisor)
Organizational Context
This position is within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Amman, Jordan. The Human Rights Officer (Legal Advisor) reports to the Head of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Office or their designate, contributing to the organization's mandate in human rights protection and advocacy.
Job Purpose
The Human Rights Officer (Legal Advisor) provides expert legal counsel on human rights, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law frameworks. This role involves leading substantive legal research and analysis to identify and address violations, managing investigations, and formulating legal opinions. The position ensures the quality and strategic alignment of legal outputs, defines legal frameworks for public reporting, and advises on evidence preservation and information sharing. Furthermore, the role manages engagement with external actors and coordinates team activities to advance office priorities and strategic objectives, ensuring authoritative legal accuracy and accountability in all legal matters.
Responsibilities
Lead and provide expert legal advice on human rights, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law frameworks, identifying legal risks and recommending accountability measures. Conduct substantive legal research and analysis to identify and address patterns of violations, integrating findings into strategic and policy frameworks. Manage investigation planning, oversee the formulation of legal opinions, establish evidentiary standards, and validate responsibility attribution. Ensure quality assurance and legal vetting of opinions, memoranda, and briefing documents for strategic alignment and legal accuracy. Define legal frameworks for public reports, ensuring alignment with mandate and legal standards, and take accountability for legal output quality. Advise on evidence preservation and lead coordinated information sharing with jurisdictions and accountability mechanisms. Manage engagement with external actors, including human rights mechanisms, courts, and civil society, to advance office priorities. Coordinate team activities, including hiring, training, task assignment, performance evaluation, and deadline management.
Work Experience
A minimum of seven years of experience in human rights or related fields is required. This includes at least five years of demonstrated experience in human rights monitoring, documentation, analysis, research, and reporting methodologies, including field mission coordination. Knowledge of international humanitarian law and its application, as well as the ability to conduct legal analysis and draft reports, is essential. Experience with investigative methodologies and integrating digital evidence is desirable.
Skills
Expert legal advice on human rights, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. Substantive legal research and analysis. Investigation planning and management. Legal opinion formulation. Quality assurance and legal vetting. Strategic advice and reporting. Evidence preservation and information sharing. External stakeholder engagement. Team management and coordination. Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.