National Legal Specialist

FAO is a key player pushing for interventions that bridge the continuum between humanitarian support and development interventions in the food and agriculture sector, covering rural and peri-urban areas. Assisting in preventing disaster-related emergencies, providing early warning for food emergencies, and helping in rehabilitation of food production systems are amongst FAO’s predominant roles. The main forms of FAO’s interventions include, but are not limited to, needs assessments, the provision of essential agricultural inputs and technical assistance in planning and management for sustainable recovery and resilience in rural production systems.

The incumbent will largely support the project Strengthening Iraq Veterinary Legislation and Expanding Delivery of Animal Health Services and Disease Surveillance to update the current regulatory framework governing Animal Health in Iraq to meet the WOAH and other international standards

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Iraq, the direct supervision of the Deputy FAOR, the technical supervision of the Chief LEGN, and in close collaboration with the veterinary experts, the LTO and the national project team

Technical Focus

Animal health legislation

Tasks And Responsibilities

The National Legal Specialist will:

• Get familiar with the national legal report and update it as necessary. Get familiar with other documents of the project.
• Participate and support an inception meeting with key stakeholders to explain the content of the project and to identify key stakeholders.

Outcome 1.1

• Identify areas of existing overlapping between the Ministries of Agriculture and Health. Meet with the national authorities at different technical levels (technical, high managers) to identify potential solutions. Support the establishment of a small technical working group between the MoA and the MoH to identify and draft such solution. Propose a draft MoU or other legal instrument that clarifies the existing overlapping. Get inspiration from the One Health approach.
• Support the development of draft regulations to enable the implementation of the existing legislation in core areas subject to current legal gaps.
• Support the discussion and revision of the draft regulations towards their approval. Organize capacity development events as necessary to explain the elements included in such drafts.

Outcome 1.2

• Support the international legal consultant in the development of a risk matrix on barriers to passing animal health legislation.
• Support the establishment of a national legal drafting working group to develop a new or revised animal health law. To this purpose, liaise with the different government actors at the central and governorate levels to develop a list of aprox. 20 people composed of public civil servants and representatives from the major sectors (producers, industry, veterinary professionals).
• Organize the meetings of the working group based on the inputs provided by the international legal consultant and the Legal Officer. Prepare a work plan, prepare materials for all meetings, send the materials 10 days in advance of the meeting, conduct the meeting, take notes and prepare a summary note of results for every meeting.
• On the basis of the results collected in the meetings, develop a draft law.
• Discuss the draft law with the working group until they are satisfied with the results.
• Discuss the draft law more broadly with the various sector representatives.
• Organize a workshop to collect additional inputs. Invite representatives from different sectors, government entities, and governorates.
• Revise and update the draft.
• Prepare a document with an annotated version of the draft law and concrete recommendations for its approval and implementation.
• Organize a meeting with high-level representatives from the government and the Parliament (commission in charge of Agriculture) to present and explain the draft law.
• Prepare monthly short notes explaining the activities undertaken.
• Send a briefing note following each of the key meetings and otherwise keep the international legal consultant and the legal officer updated about the activities always undertaken.
• Translate brief texts from Arabic to English and vice-versa.
• Provide support to the project team as necessary in matters related to animal health legislation.
• Support the drafting of the terminal report.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Law, or closely related subjects;
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in agriculture, veterinary legislation or any related field;
• Working knowledge of Arabic and limited knowledge of English
• National of Iraq

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Additional Information

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

Job Posting

18/Dec/2023

Closure Date

01/Jan/2024, 3:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit

FNIRQ

Job Type

Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition

NPP (National Project Personnel)

Grade Level

N/A

Primary Location

Iraq-Baghdad

Duration

12 months

Post Number

N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality