Legal Officer

Job Title: Legal Officer
Reports to: Program Manager
Department/Group: Law Enforcement Assistance
Location: Hanoi
Status: Fulltime

Background: The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization that saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS has been working to strengthen the commitment and capacity of the Vietnamese government to combat wildlife trafficking since 2006 and have established a well-respected presence in the country, providing support to a range of government agencies. We have generated a wide range of reliable data on a number of related issues and trained over 900 law enforcement officers from a range of agencies in investigation and enforcement techniques, and distributed a number of technical handbooks and guides. We have assisted central agencies to review and propose criminal intelligence analysis systems, inter-agency agreements and cooperation, national legislation, and have supported bi-lateral dialogues to suppress the wildlife trade and strengthen Vietnam’s enforcement response.

Scope of work: The Legal Advisor will work as a member of the Law Enforcement Assistance (LEA) team to reach the below, but not limited to, objectives. The LEA team was established as a cross cutting team to strengthen inter-governmental enforcement effectiveness to degrade, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal networks trafficking wildlife involving Vietnamese citizens. Our theory of change is that more effective enforcement will come as a result of a strategic intelligence-led policing approach where information on criminal entities is collated, analysed and shared to key individuals along trafficking supply chains; where wildlife crimes and the impact of enforcement is accurately and transparently monitored; and where officers in key agencies have the capacity, are mandated and held to account for effective enforcement actions.

Strategic objectives

• Advising upon the legal framework related to wildlife protection and law enforcement in Vietnam with sound understanding of international legal systems
• Conduct institutional and legal analyses to identify challenges and provide recommendations to improve enforcement effectiveness
• Preparing papers and conducting research on legal issues relevant to wildlife conservation
• Providing substantive legal advice for drafting WCS position papers related to the revision of relevant legal documents and regulatory framework for processing wildlife crime
• Advising the WCS program team on all matters of a legal, institutional and law enforcement assisting nature
• Support partners to develop training modules for law enforcement students and staff Programmatic objectives
• Provides information, advice and trainings to WCS staff on legal matters related to wildlife conservation and wildlife trafficking
• Provide legal opinions and perform extensive legal research and analysis on legal issues
• Work with partners to jointly review wildlife crime cases to identify gaps in law and processes as well as justice sector coordination challenges in endangered wildlife cases
• Provide inputs to fundraising efforts and reports relating to law enforcement assistance
• Represent WCS and/or LEA team in meetings as requested,
• Perform other duties as requested by senior management

Requirements

• Vietnamese citizen
• Advanced university degree in law is mandatory
• Knowledge and practice of criminal law and related legislations of Vietnam and other countries, desired
• Experience in wildlife related and/or wildlife conservation projects, desired
• Ability to manage complicated and demanding projects under tight deadlines
• Ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, pay attention to details and handle a variety of responsibilities efficiently and effectively
• Demonstrated ability to think and write clearly, creatively and persuasively; excellent written and verbal communication skills
• High level of fluency in written and spoken English required
• Knowledge of international agreements and legal mechanisms for combatting wildlife trafficking, preferable
• Ability and willingness to master new areas
• Willingness to travel

Schedule and Compensation

Salary grades are commensurate with experience and education. Benefits include private health insurance for staff and dependant(s), a 13th month year and 20 annual-leave days.

This position is opened to Vietnamese citizen only.

How to apply?

A cover letter, CV with photo, contact details for references to:

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu My – Finance and HR Officer
Wildlife Conservation Society, Room 1302, Thanh Cong Tower, 57 Lang Ha street, Ha Noi
Email: [email protected]

Deadline for applications: 30th October 2015

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.