Consultant (Legal Advisor Jerusalem) At Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre

The Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre’s Jerusalem Desk is looking for a consultant (legal advisor) to support its work on international humanitarian law (IHL) in the Israel-Palestine context.

Introduction

Diakonia is a Swedish organization established in 1966, which works with local partners and other strategic actors in over 30 countries for the fulfilment of the right of all people to live a life in dignity. Diakonia’s mission is to change unfair political, economic, social and cultural structures that generate poverty, inequality, oppression and violence.

As part of its efforts to promote respect of human dignity in all circumstances, in 2004 Diakonia established a Centre in Jerusalem focused on international humanitarian law (IHL), the complementary and specific legal framework regulating armed conflict. In addition to its Jerusalem Desk, the Diakonia IHL Centre now also operates a Global Desk based in Stockholm and Desks working out of Diakonia Country Offices in Lebanon and Mali.

The IHL Centre, like Diakonia as a whole, is committed to the promotion of equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace, and endeavours to apply feminist principles and to integrate a gender-responsive perspective throughout its work.

By promoting compliance with IHL and enforcement of its rules, the IHL Centre strives to generate more humanity in conflict, which Diakonia regards as a critical step towards the realization of its vision of a just, equal and sustainable world.

Background

The Jerusalem Desk advances the Diakonia IHL Centre’s overall objectives by functioning as a source of expertise on IHL and related areas of international law for actors operating in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) or on issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Desk conducts thorough and contextualized IHL-based analysis, and engages in related advocacy, capacity development and training. In these activities, it combines in-depth understanding of the context with a capacity to respond rapidly and provide IHL analysis of newly unfolding developments.

The Desk’s ability to function effectively and to realize its objectives depends crucially on maintaining its standing as a resource with exceptional legal expertise. To that end, in addition to its team of legal advisers operating from its office in Jerusalem, the Desk is seeking to recruit a consultant with excellent command of IHL and related areas of international law to support it as a legal advisor.

Objectives, Tasks and Deliverables of the Consultancy

Overall objective: To support the Diakonia IHL Centre Jerusalem Desk in the provision of legal analysis and legal training, in drafting legal texts, in its advocacy activities and in its engagement with stakeholders.

Specific Tasks:

• Conducting IHL-related legal research and analysis on issues pertinent to the occupied Palestinian territory
• Drafting and reviewing legal documents of various kinds for internal reference and for publication
• Presenting legal briefs to stakeholders from State service and civil society
• Planning and delivering IHL training
• Representing the Diakonia IHL Centre in meetings and public events and fielding questions
• Supporting the manager in high level representation
• Providing clarification on the law to various stakeholders, in the context of the “helpdesk” function of the Jerusalem desk
• Contributing to the identification of future research and other activities for the Desk
• Assisting in planning, monitoring and evaluating the Jerusalem Desk’s activities

Additional Information:

The tasks are to be undertaken primarily via online communication. The consultant will have some flexibility regarding working schedules but working hours will need to correspond with the Jerusalem time zone. The option of travel to Israel/Palestine will be explored, however the consultant will not be required to relocate during the consultancy period.

Experience and Qualifications

Minimum

• Advanced degree in law (JD or LLM) with specialization or experience in IHL and related fields of international law, in particular international human rights law
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• Demonstrated capacity to conduct advanced legal research and analysis independently
• Demonstrated capacity to draft high quality legal texts in English
• Experience and demonstrated proficiency in public speaking
• Experience in teaching IHL or international human rights law
• Five years of experience working in the field of human rights or IHL

Desirable

• Working knowledge of Arabic
• Knowledge of the law of occupation
• Familiarity with the Israeli-Palestinian context
• Knowledge of European Union law

Costs and fees

The legal advisor will be provided with a consultancy fee based on level of experience and qualifications. They will have to pay taxes in accordance with the regulations of their country of residence. If the consultant travels for any approved work purpose, the associated costs will be covered by Diakonia in addition to the stated consultancy fee.

Time frame

The assignment will run from 1 June 2022 until 31 August 2022. The total working hours for the entire assignment will be between 500 and 525 hours.

The possibility of extending the consultancy for an additional period will be assessed towards the end of the consultancy period. Subject to a successful performance review and funding availability, the consultant may eventually be offered a longer-term position with the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.