World Bank Group Senior Legal Adviser Jobs in Ethiopia

World Bank Group Senior Legal Adviser Jobs in Ethiopia

Job Id: 226734

Category: Legal

Location: Addis Ababa

Career Level: Senior Level (5+ years experience)

Salary:

Job Description

Background

Currently, Ethiopia is one of the largest refugee hosting countries in Africa. At the end of 2018, the total refugee population hosted in the country was more than 900,000, displaced by droughts/famine, conflicts and civil wars in the region and beyond.

Since the outbreak of the civil war in South Sudan in 2013, close to half a million South Sudanese refugees have sought asylum in Ethiopia. Equally important is to take note that most of the Eritrean, Somali, Sudan and South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia are in a protracted displacement situation.

Most refugees are hosted in Tigray Regional State and the four Emerging Regions of Ethiopia (i.e., Afar Regional State, Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, the Gambella Regional State and Somali Regional State).

The Emerging Regions are those Federal States that are underserved and located in the periphery, i.e. bordering the countries that are producing asylum seekers/refugees, characterized by harsh weather conditions, poor infrastructure, low implementing capacity, high levels of poverty and very poor development indicators with poor provision of basic services.

There are instances where refugees are getting better basic services compared to the communities that are hosting them.

Ethiopia is a State party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and its 1967 Protocol, as well as to the 1969 Organization of African Union (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

Based on the international and regional refugee instruments/conventions, the Government of Ethiopia has also enacted the 2004 Refugee Proclamation (Proclamation No. 409/2004) and the new refugee legislation which is even more progressive, that was enacted by the Federal Parliament in January 2019.

Notwithstanding the ever-increasing number of asylum seekers crossing boarders into the country, Ethiopia maintains an open-door policy for those who seek refuge in its territory and allow humanitarian access and protection.

Furthermore, the Government of the Ethiopia is taking perceptible actions or steps to ensure the safety and dignity of refugees, as well as increasing self-reliance.

In September 2016, Ethiopia alongside the United States, co-chaired the Leaders' Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis. The main tenets of the New York declaration are to: (i) ease pressure on host countries, (ii) enhance refugee self-reliance, (iii) expand access to third-country solutions, and, (iv) support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity.

The Government of Ethiopia announced nine significant pledges, relating to the betterment of life of refugees and service delivery to the same group.

The New York Declaration also emphasizes the need to engage development actors in a sustainable response for refugees and host communities, the ‘Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework’ (CRRF).

CRRF promotes inclusion of refugees in the delivery of national services and national development plans and programmes, supporting these priorities where possible.

The CRRF also aims to bring on board partners into the refugee response, including those who have been less involved, by mobilizing their respective areas of expertise and interest to contribute to a broad-based response.

Organizational Context

The roll-out of the CRRF in Ethiopia requires intensive efforts, including consultations with a broad range of internal and external interlocutors at national, regional and district levels – in particular, the various government offices that need to be involved as part of the CRRF roll-out.

The CRRF in Ethiopia aims to address the protracted refugee situation and provide support to local integration of refugees in the country.

Special attention has been given to the implementation of the pledges made by the Government during the Leaders’ Summit. The CRRF will build on and complement existing strategies, coordination and funding mechanisms, incorporating both humanitarian and development actors.

In particular, concerted efforts are being made to consolidate the partnership with development actors with a view to bridging the gap between humanitarian and development interventions.

Against this background, the World Bank is hiring a Senior Legal Adviser to provide technical assistance to the Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and support the roll-out of the CRRF.

Duties and Responsibility

The Senior Legal Adviser (the Short-Term Consultant) will work under the overall guidance of the Deputy Director General of the Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and under the direct supervision of the World Bank Task Team Leader.

The Consultant will support ARRA on trends and policy formulation related to the CRRF. In particular, the Consultant will:

Provide advice to ARRA’s senior management team and staff at all levels on international, regional and national laws related to refugees
Advise on the preparation for regulations, directives, manuals and guidelines that meets basic requirements of Government and donors
Strengthen ARRA’s institutional and staff capacities on legal issues related to refugees including through provision of trainings
Perform other related duties as required.

Proposed Outputs

Develop work plan for activities in FY2019/2020 (Oct. 2019 to June 30, 2020)
Submission of timely and high-quality outputs as agreed in the workplan that reflects all feedback provided by the World Bank and ARRA
Produce bi-monthly email reports (1 page) on progress related to the workplan and any other relevant issues related to socio-economic development-related activities to be submitted to ARRA and WB.

Series of capacity-building and training events for ARRA staff to assume responsibility for legal issues related to refugees in a sustainable way.

Duration:

Until June 30, 2020

Job Requirements

Minimum Qualification

Advanced Legal Degree related to international or national refugee law.

Work Experience:

At least ten years of experience, which includes working within the Government of Ethiopia as well as an international humanitarian, development, or financial institution on refugee law;

Demonstrated experience working with national, regional or local governments on refugee law;

Good understanding of the development context in Ethiopia, including the country’s governance structure;

Prior experience in advising senior government officials (desirable);

Strong understanding of processes of the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian or development agencies; and
Experience of working on synergies between the humanitarian-development nexus.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV, motivation letter and list of references to falqobi@worldbank.org by end of day, October 25, 2019. Only short-listed candidate will be contacted.

World Bank Group Senior Legal Adviser Jobs in Ethiopia