The incumbent performs the following key duties:

•           provides legal advice on:

            -           matters related to procurement of goods and services by the Council of Europe;

-           institutional or procedural matters;

-           interpretation of Council of Europe internal rules;

-           privileges and immunities of the Organisation and its staff;

•           reviews and revises terms and conditions of contracts for the purchase of goods and services;

•           reviews internal rules and documents;

•           reviews and updates standard template documents;

•           represents the Secretary General in disputes with staff and suppliers;

•           participates in working groups and bodies in which the Department is called upon to be represented, in particular the Tenders Board;

•           drafts legal documents including legal opinions, briefs, correspondence, notes or other documents;

•           conducts legal research, prepares studies, carries out analysis of legal issues.

Please note that the incumbent may be required to perform other duties not listed in the vacancy notice. 

Only applicants who best meet the following criteria will be considered for shortlisting.

·         Qualifications: higher education degree in law (2^nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area).

·         Experience: at least four years’ experience in providing legal advice gained in a law firm, a company, a government or an international organisation, including at least two years’ experience in drafting and reviewing of commercial contracts.

Experience in legal assistance related to international calls for tenders (public procurement) and/or legal practice in an international environment would be an advantage.

·         Language requirements: very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English or French) in oral and written communication and good knowledge of the other.

·         Nationality: nationality of one of the 47 Council of Europe member states.

·         Age: under 65 years at the closing date of the vacancy notice.

Essential Competencies

·           Professional and technical competencies:

-            good knowledge of civil and commercial law, including contract law and ability to apply legal principles, concepts and policies for the review and examination of complex legal issues and documents; ability to interpret and apply legal instruments;

-            knowledge of diverse legal research sources and capacity to gather data for effective decision-making;

-            analytical thinking, problem-solving and judgement skills: ability to analyse information on a wide range of complex legal issues and to generate workable solutions to problems;

-            ability to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities;

-            sound knowledge of current IT tools.

·        Communication and linguistic skills: ability to write clearly and succinctly in a convincing manner; ability to structure information in a logical manner to facilitate understanding by the intended audience; ability to verify the equivalence of texts in both official languages (English and French).

·           Interpersonal skills: relationship-building and networking, advising and diplomacy.

·           Personal attitudes: result orientation and sense of continuous improvement; concern for quality and efficiency; adaptability.

·           Personal values: discretion; independence and confidence.

For more information, please refer to the competency inventory of the Council of Europe.

Applications

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system.  By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your on-line application.  Applications must be submitted at the latest 31 May 2015 (midnight Central European Time).  

The selection procedure consists of shortlisting, assessment(s), and a panel interview.  Assessments may include one or more of the following: ability tests, behavioural questionnaires, job-related examinations, situational exercises, language tests, interviews and full assessment centres. At least one assessment will be eliminatory.

Depending on the number of applicants, the length of the required professional experience may be increased.  

Candidates with the best results in the previous stages of the procedure (tests, exams, etc.) will, as a last stage of the procedure, be invited for an interview with a panel.

Following this competition, a reserve list of successful candidates, in order of merit, may be established. This list will be valid for two years with the possibility of extending it to a maximum of four years. It should be noted that placement on a reserve list does not give candidates the right to an appointment within the Council of Europe.  The choice of candidates from a reserve list is not made solely according to the order of merit but also takes into account the requirements of the position to be filled and the qualifications of the candidates. 

During the period of validity of the reserve list, candidates on the list may be offered employment on a fixed-term contract, which may be renewed one or several times. There is a statutory probationary period of two years.

The compulsory retirement age is 65. 

Details on conditions of employment including salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance can be consulted on our recruitment website. 

Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed in each category and grade. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex.

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

The Organisation 

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading organisation in the protection of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It was founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members  and  now includes 47 member states, all having signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

By Statute, the Council of Europe has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member States’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member States. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution within the Council of Europe mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states.

The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member state concerned.

The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and in addition it maintains external presence in more than twenty countries. More information about Council of Europe external presence.

External recruitment procedure organised in accordance with Article 15B of the Regulations on Appointments