Legal Officer, Public Law Team, Rome

WFP - World Food Programme; Roma; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

World Food Programme seeks a Legal Officer (P‑3) at its Rome headquarters to provide legal services across governance, agreements, and international law. The role emphasizes high‑level legal analysis, policy interpretation, and advisory support to Country and Regional Offices, ensuring compliance and strategic risk management.

The incumbent will draft and review contracts, provide timely opinions, and liaise with external counsel, contributing to WFP’s mission and global operations.

Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in law, or first degree with additional relevant experience and training.
• At least five years of progressively responsible legal experience, including international context.
• Knowledge of public international law is desirable; governance, immunities, host country agreements and UN engagement experience are assets.

Responsibilities

• Undertake extensive legal research and analysis to facilitate timely and quality legal services.
• Review and draft a variety of legal documents, including agreements, memoranda and contracts, to identify issues and risks.
• Prepare legal opinions, reports, and briefing materials on interpretation and application of regulations and instruments.
• Provide legal advice to Country Offices, Regional Offices and Headquarters within assigned areas of responsibility.
• Assist in negotiations, settlements, and liaise with external counsel to support WFP's mandate.
• Identify liabilities and assist in management of legal risks to support informed decision‑making.

Skills

Legal research

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Policy interpretation

Education

Advanced degree in law

Job description

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

22 October 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

ABOUT WFP

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of extreme weather shocks. At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP?

WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment. WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities. A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe. We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Legal Office is responsible for providing support to WFP and its organizational units to ensure that the implementation of WFP’s activities is in compliance with the relevant legal framework and that any legal risks that arise are considered and managed. The Legal Office is seeking to fill one Legal Officer position at the P3 level within the Public Law Team of the Contractual and Constitutional Law Branch (LEGC), based at WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy. If selected, LEGC will be the base branch for the post. LEGC works closely with the other branches of the Legal Office and operates in a collaborative environment that provides opportunities for lawyers to broaden their legal expertise and contribute across a wide range of legal matters affecting WFP’s global operations.

BRANCH SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Contractual and Constitutional Law Branch (LEGC) consists of two teams: the Public Law Team and the Private Law Team. The Public Law Team advises on governance matters relating to the interpretation and application of WFP’s constitutional framework, including the General Regulations, General Rules, Financial Regulations, Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board, delegations of authority and other norms issued thereunder. The team negotiates and advises on Basic Agreements and other agreements concerning the status of WFP in countries of operation, advises on privileges and immunities, and provides support on matters involving public international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the law of treaties. The team also supports WFP’s engagement with governments, United Nations entities, other intergovernmental organizations and with non-governmental organizations and represents the organization in dispute resolution proceedings involving matters within its mandate.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (NOT ALL-INCLUSIVE)

• Undertake extensive legal research and analysis, and handle a wide range of complex, multi-disciplinary legal matters of a substantive and procedural nature, including interpretation and application of applicable legal instruments, to facilitate the provision of timely and quality legal services.
• Review and draft a variety of legal documents, including agreements, memoranda of understanding, and contracts, to identify legal issues and risks and ensure compliance with the applicable legal framework.
• Prepare legal advice on the interpretation and application of WFP’s General Regulations, General Rules, Financial Regulations, Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board, other normative instruments issued thereunder, policies, and procedures, as well as applicable conventions, resolutions, and agreements.
• Prepare legal opinions, reports, memoranda, briefing materials, and other correspondence.
• Provide legal advice and interpretations to Country Offices, Regional Offices and Headquarters functions on a wide variety of legal issues within the incumbent’s area of responsibility, under the supervision of a more senior Legal Officer as appropriate.
• Prepare and/or review agreements and contracts with public and private entities including participation in negotiation and settlement of claims and disputes, including liaising with external counsel and supporting WFP's representation in arbitration, administrative proceedings, tribunals and other dispute resolution processes, as appropriate, to meet client needs and support WFP's mandate.
• Identify potential liabilities and assist in the management of legal risks in WFP’s activities to support well-informed decision-making.
• Prepare and assess briefs of evidence and other materials to contribute to legal analysis and solutions.
• Service and/or assist more senior Legal Officers in servicing internal and external committees, task forces, expert working groups and other bodies through the provision of legal advice and the preparation or review of legal documents, contributing to the formulation of WFP’s position.
• Contribute to building productive partnerships within the Legal Office, WFP and with other legal offices across the United Nations system.
• Provide legal analysis and recommendations to support the development of legal approaches and solutions within the relevant area of work.
• Represent the Legal Office and WFP at meetings, conferences and other events.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of legal training and knowledge‑sharing activities for other units and divisions.
• Perform other related duties as required by the Legal Office.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education Advanced university degree in law, or first university degree in law with additional relevant experience and training. Must be qualified to practice or admitted to practice law by a recognized national or state bar or law society or have equivalent professional legal practice experience.

Experience At least five years of progressively responsible experience in providing a broad range of legal services, of which at least three years should be in an international context.

Knowledge of public international law is desirable. Experience advising on governance matters, privileges and immunities, host country agreements, public international law, and engagement with governments, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs will be considered an asset.

Language

Fluency (level C) in English. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

MORE ABOUT YOU

You have:

• Knowledge of, and ability to apply, legal principles, concepts, procedures, and terminology for the review, examination, and processing of a range of legal documents.
• Clear and concise thinking and drafting with attention to detail.
• Strong negotiation skills and a problem-solving approach.
• Independent decision-making skills.
• Business acumen and ability to think strategically.
• High standards of ethics and values.
• General knowledge of United Nations system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures.
• A track record of delivering sound legal analysis, both orally and in writing, based on detailed legal research and proper conceptualization of legal issues.
• Aptitude to develop persuasive argumentation and legal strategy.
• Ability to prepare timely documents in a clear, concise, and logical manner.
• Commitment to work harmoniously within a team and with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Willingness to act as a mentor or point of reference to junior colleagues.
• Strong multi-tasking and time‑management skills.
• Proven communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work with tact and a high degree of discretion and confidentiality.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This is an International Professional position (non-rotational) and is open to all nationalities. Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is, however, classified as non-rotational, which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year. This position is open to both internal and external candidates. WFP offers attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days' annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance. For more information, visithttps://icsc.un.org/. The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [e-mail]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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