Legal Officer, P4

Legal Officer, P4

WHO - World Health Organization

Geneva, Switzerland

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Unitaid is a global development agency engaged in finding global health solutions, including new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply and effectively, in low and middle-income countries. Its mission is to maximize the effectiveness of the global health response by catalyzing equitable access to better health products. This includes providing funding to facilitate or accelerate the development or market entry of new health products or create sustainable markets for existing health products that are needed to expand or optimize prevention, diagnosis or treatment. Unitaid is hosted by WHO.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

• Providing recommendations and high-quality legal services as the legal advisor on a wide range of legal issues designated by the Senior Legal Officer, including in relation to Unitaid's grant arrangements/agreements and other contractual matters, product development and access, IP licensing and technology transfer arrangements, patents, donor relations, inter-institutional partnerships, communication initiatives, and internal and external policies;
• Proactively identifying legal, commercial or ethical risks, together with any opportunities associated with Unitaid's work and investments;
• Providing clear and timely advice, together with pragmatic recommendations on the management and mitigation risks and following up as necessary;
• Leading on the drafting, negotiating and/or advising on legal documentation, including funding award contracts, grant and R&D agreements, IP and technology transfer licenses, legal correspondence, reports, policies and any other documentation or agreements required to support the implementation of Unitaid's projects, initiatives, investments and inter-institutional arrangements;
• Advising on data privacy issues and ethical requirements for clinical trials or other human subject research funded by Unitaid;
• Designing and negotiating legal requirements to ensure high standards of compliance within Unitaid-funded projects;
• Participating and supporting Unitaid's Secretariat in high level negotiations with partners, donors and governmental agencies on a wide range of issues relating to Unitaid's mandate;
• Advising on governance matters and drafting governance documentation, including governance policies, codes of practice and Board decisions;
• Supporting Unitaid's Board Governance Working Group as requested, including through presentations or preparing meeting materials;
• Advising on and managing ethical issues, including the risks of conflict of interest across all levels of Unitaid's activities and the need to ensure an effective approach to safeguarding;
• Other duties as required by the Senior Legal Officer.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential

• A master's level degree in law, with an emphasis in commercial law subjects.

Desirable

• Studies with respect to more than one legal system;
• Studies with an emphasis in intellectual property law.

Experience:

Essential

• At least 7 years varied experience as a lawyer practicing commercial, and/or public international law, whether within a law firm or legal department of a company or international organization;
• Experience in dealing with complex commercial legal issues and in negotiating and drafting complicated agreements.

Desirable

• Experience drafting and/or negotiating grant agreements;
• Knowledge of IP and patent matters, together with experience drafting and negotiating technology transfer and other IP driven agreements;
• Experience dealing with equitable access to health products;
• Experience in advising on governance matters and Executive Board related issues, in either the public or private sector;
• Experience in advising on ethical issues and conflict of interest management.

Skills:

• Excellent analytical and legal drafting skills, involving the ability to think strategically to identify key issues and draft clear, legal contracts and agreements, together with reports, policies or other legal and governance documentation in English (often in areas where precedents do not exist);
• Ability to negotiate and represent Unitaid's position, as well as to present legally authoritative and well-reasoned opinions on complex legal, governance and ethical issues, both verbally and in writing;
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to work effectively as a cross-functional team member and with minimal supervision;
• Full command of written and spoken English.

WHO Competencies:

• Teamwork;
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences;
• Communication;
• Producing results;
• Setting an example.

Use of Language Skills:

Essential

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable

• Intermediate knowledge of French.

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