Legal Advisor

Pan American Health Organization Inc; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 77,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, DC, seeks a senior legal officer at P-4 to provide expert advice on international, administrative, and organizational matters within the Office of the Legal Counsel. The role involves drafting and clearing contracts and legal documents, conducting research, and representing PAHO in dealings with Member States and partners.

Candidates should have a law degree, a master’s in law, fluency in English and Spanish, and nine years of relevant

Qualifications

• Essential: A university degree in law and a master’s degree in law or related field.
• Licensed to practice law in a PAHO Member State.

Responsibilities

• Provide authoritative legal advice to Executive Management and department Directors on complex issues affecting the Organization.
• Review, draft, and clear agreements, contracts, legal memoranda, and other legal instruments for PAHO compliance.
• Conduct legal research, analyze precedents, and provide opinions on national and international law, administrative law, and technical cooperation.
• Represent the Organization’s legal interests before Member States and external parties, advising on procedural and substantive matters.
• Provide legal support to administrative areas and collaborate with counterparts in governments and international organizations.
• Supervise and mentor junior attorneys and staff; develop legal procedures, guidelines, and background materials for committees.

Skills

Public international law

Administrative law

Contracts drafting / review

Legal research

Policy advice to senior management

Management experience

Negotiation skills

Education

Law degree (JD/LLB)

Master’s degree in law or related field

Tools

MS Office Suite (Excel/Word/PowerPoint/Outlook)

ERP systems

SharePoint

Job description

Grade: P-4 Salary - Annually: Step I - 86,027.00 USD Post Adjustment - Annually: 0.00 USD Contractual Agreement: Staff - Professional Post Job Posting: August 12, 2026 Closing Date: September 2, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern Time Primary Location: Washington, D.C. Organization: LEG Office of the Legal Counsel Schedule: Full time

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:

Join PAHO’s Office of Legal Counsel and play a key role in providing expert legal advice on complex international, administrative, and organizational matters. This position contributes to protecting the Organization’s legal interests and supporting sound decision-making across PAHO’s programs and operations.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide authoritative legal advice to Executive Management, PAHO/WHO Representatives, and Department Directors on complex legal issues affecting the Organization.
• Review, draft, and clear agreements, contracts, legal memoranda, and other legal instruments to ensure compliance with PAHO policies, rules, and procedures.
• Conduct legal research, analyze precedents, and provide legal opinions on matters involving national and international law, administrative law, and technical cooperation activities.
• Represent the Organization’s legal interests before Member States, external parties, and in organizational decision-making meetings, providing legal guidance on procedural and substantive matters.
• Provide legal support to administrative and operational areas, including human resources, procurement, and general services, and collaborate with legal counterparts in governments and international organizations.
• Supervise and mentor junior attorneys and support staff; develop legal procedures, guidelines, and background materials for committees and organizational bodies.
• For a complete list of functions, please see the post description.

EDUCATION

Essential: A university degree from a recognized university and a master’s degree in law, international relations, political science or any other field related to the functions of the post. Licensed to practice law in a PAHO Member State.

EXPERIENCE

Essential: Nine years of combined national and international experience in law with a public international organization, governmental agency, and/or private practice, with emphasis on public international law, contracts, administrative law, technical cooperation agreements and comparative law, and including managerial experience.

LANGUAGES

Fluency in English and Spanish. Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

IT SKILLS

Demonstrated ability to effectively use current technology and software, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and management information systems. Other IT skills and knowledge of software programs such as Microsoft Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, and Word are considered essential.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

• Extensive expertise in public international law, administrative law, commercial law, and legal frameworks applicable to international organizations.
• Advanced knowledge of comparative and international law, corporate law, corporate governance, litigation, and commercial legal practice.
• Strong ability to analyze complex legal and policy issues and present clear, well-reasoned legal opinions and recommendations.
• Proven capacity to provide strategic legal counsel and influence decision-making at senior management level.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to develop reports, presentations, policies, procedures, and other technical or persuasive legal documents.
• Strong teamwork, collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and partnership-building skills.
• Commitment to integrity, accountability, respect for diversity, and delivery of high-quality results.

DURATION OF CONTRACT

One year. Post of limited duration. First year probationary period.

DISCLAIMER

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade and level.

PAHO supports an environment of mutual respect and dignity for all applicants.

Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process.

Maintaining high standards of integrity and accountability.

People joining PAHO are required to maintain these standards both in their professional work and personal activities.

Promoting a work environment that is free from harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and other types of abusive behavior.

PAHO conducts background checks and will not hire anyone who has a substantiated history of misconduct.

Providing a smoke-free environment.

Protecting the people in the communities we serve.

Therefore, we have zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.

People who commit serious wrongdoing will be terminated and may also face criminal prosecution.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is the specialized international health agency for the Americas. It works with countries throughout the region to improve and protect people’s health. PAHO wears two institutional hats: it is the specialized health agency of the Inter‑American System and also serves as Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), the specialized health agency of the United Nations.

PAHO engages in technical cooperation with its member countries to fight communicable and noncommunicable diseases and their causes, to strengthen health systems, and to respond to emergencies and disasters.

PAHO is committed to ensuring that all people have access to the health care they need, when they need it, with quality and without fear of falling into poverty.

Through its work, PAHO promotes and supports the right of everyone to good health. To advance these goals, PAHO promotes technical cooperation between countries and works in partnership with ministries of health and other government agencies, civil society organizations, other international agencies, universities, social security agencies, community groups, and other partners.

PAHO promotes the inclusion of health in all public policies and the engagement of all sectors in efforts to ensure that people live longer, healthier lives, with good health as their most valuable resource.

Under the leadership of its 51 member countries and territories, PAHO sets regional health priorities and mobilizes action to address health problems that respect no borders and that, in many cases, jeopardize the sustainability of health systems. From its Washington, D.C., headquarters, 27 country offices and three specialized centers in the region, PAHO promotes evidence-based decision-making to improve and promote health as a driver of sustainable development.