Position Title: Access to Justice (Legal) Officer
Reports To: Senior Access to Justice Coordinator
Location: Kirkuk
Closing of Application Date: November 22, 2023
About Heartland Alliance International
Heartland Alliance International’s (HAI) mission is to secure the rights and well-being of marginalized people and communities. HAI envisions a world in which those whose rights have been violated are safe and empowered to actively engage in their communities and be at the forefront of social change. In Iraq, HAI provides holistic services focusing on psychosocial support, legal aid, violence prevention, livelihoods strengthening, and social cohesion to diverse vulnerable populations.
Position Summary
In partnership with UNICEF, Heartland Alliance International in implementing a 20 months project, under the title: “Access to quality child protection and socioeconomic reintegration services for conflict-affected children, adolescents and their families”. This project is providing case management, psychosocial support and access to justice services for children affected by conflict and their families, community deluge, capacity building and coordination with government stakeholders, and strengthening the children and adolescent’s economic situation through socioeconomic reintegration services.
The access to justice officer, will be based in Kirkuk governorate or in one of the districts around, he/she will be working under the supervision of the project A2J senior coordinator and PM. He/she will provide legal services (representation, consultation and civil documentation) aligned with HAI goals/mission and policies to children affected by conflict, those who are spending their sentenced and detention period in detention centers, pre-during trail phases in juvenile courts within Kirkuk Governorate. This A2J will be supporting the A2J senior coordinator in all related coordination activities with the government stakeholders and support in preparing capacity building trainings for legal professionals, judges, prosecutors, and lawyers. With taking into consideration that he/she advocate with respected courts to promote diversion and alternative to detention
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The Access to Justice Officer will be based in Kirkuk - Iraq, and will work directly under the supervision of the project Access to justice Senior Coordinator. The A2J officers will be responsible for identifying project target cases ( if the cases are not referred from case Management) providing legal consultation, representation and documentation to conflict affected children and their families, in the juvenile police station and detention centers within Kirkuk governorate. Duties will include but are not limited to the following:
- Conduct individual sessions providing legal information and legal counseling for the juveniles in detention centers, juvenile police station and juvenile courts.
- Ensure completion of case intake forms of legal cases and regularly update the case trackers and digital software system.
- Represent individual cases in Kirkuk juvenile court.
- Coordinate with the CP/MEL team in maintaining legal case documentation and oversee the development of case summaries.
- Ensure monitoring and evaluation activities and reporting meet HAI’s standards and are completed on schedule.
- Provide legal documentation assistance to the conflict affected children and their families in the return areas within Kirkuk governorate.
- Advocate on behalf of clients and make direct interventions with local authorities (e.g. phone calls, letters or meetings) or other organizations (NGOs) or international organizations (UN), were appropriate.
- Filing legal cases before administrative or other bodies in accordance with established procedures for legal representation (e.g. accessing essential personal documentation, government-initiated compensation benefits, and other legal issues, project targeted cases)
- Keep records of participants in legal awareness sessions and collect information of individuals benefited from legal counselling.
- Archive all legal cases in individual files, ensuring respect of confidentiality of data.
- Refer cases identified as needing non-legal assistance, or legal cases that need to be followed-up in another governorate. Cases can be referred both internally to other HAI services such as CP, MHPSS, Livelihood and used the internal forms for referrals.
- Provide legal representation before court and administrative bodies.
- Prepare and send daily/weekly field reports to the Sr. A2J coordinator/ Protection Manager, also raise any child protection concern or rights violation noticed in the area, according to best practices in term of confidentiality and safety of beneficiaries.
- Provide weekly work plan to the line manager outlining caseload and movements.
- Daily upload all the legal activities on software data collection system.
- Adhere to HAI policies, donor agreements, work plans, budgets and procurement plans
- Perform other duties, as required by the line manager.
Languages
English Proficiency Level Required: Intermediate
Arabic Proficiency Level Required: Advanced
Turkmani Proficiency Level Required: Advanced
Kurdish Proficiency Level Required: Advanced
· A bachelor degree in law.
- Minimum 4 years’ experience in providing legal aid services in humanitarian settings (minimum Level C).
- Active member of the Iraqi Lawyers’ Syndicate.
- Strong analytical skills.
- A broad network of contacts and ability to navigate within the legislative and judicial fields in Kirkuk and the IKR and across various ministries.
- A strong commitment to human rights and to implementation of international law.
- Demonstrated understanding of protection and ethical principles in humanitarian programming.
- Ability to reside in Kirkuk and travel within the governorate and to the other governorates, and to KRIs governorates.
- Experience with working in CP and Juvenile justice programming.
- Belief in human rights including gender equality.
- Experience working with people from different backgrounds.
- Practical understanding of Microsoft office applications.
- Report writing skills, meeting the monthly and quarterly reports deadlines.
- Experience with Windows platform, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Commcare System etc.
- Excellent oral communication skills.
- Excellent negotiation and relationship management skills, with the ability to proactively problem solve and find solutions.
- Proven ability to calmly, professionally, and successfully manage multiple priorities
Work conditions
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
- The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.
Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
- The employee may be required to travel frequently to insecure and limited-resource environments.
Sometimes the candidate may be required to work for extra hours to deliver emerging unprecedented priorities
please send your CV through this link
https://heartlandalliance.bamboohr.com/careers/998
indicating the vacancy job title in the subject line. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not hear back from us within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Heartland Alliance makes all hiring and employment decisions without regard to race, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, sexual identity, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, or HIV infection, in accord with the Organization's AIDS Policy Statement of September, 1987. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodation should contact the Human Resources and Administration Office at (312) 660-1431.
