Venezuela – Legal Counsel Officer At COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI

COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is a secular and independent NGO, founded in Milan in 1965. It carries out development projects to contribute to the fight against poverty in particularly degraded areas and emergency programmes to support people affected by natural disasters or conflicts. COOPI is currently present in 33 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. The main institutional donors are the European Union, UN agencies, the Italian Government, local authorities and other European governments.

Description of COOPI in Venezuela

Since 2019, COOPI has established a presence in Venezuela to assist the local population following the worsening of the country’s socio-economic crisis. As of July 2020, it has launched a regional crisis response program that is implemented in consortium with Venezuelan organizations for the protection of vulnerable groups. In recent years, COOPI has expanded its interventions and is currently implementing projects with different donors in Caracas, Sucre, Delta Amacuro and Bolivar in protection (GBV, human trafficking), sexual reproductive health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and school feeding.

Objective/Job Description

Within the framework of the project “Integrated response to the emergency needs of the most vulnerable populations in Venezuela”, the intervention aims to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the populations affected by the crisis in Venezuela through a comprehensive and multi-sectoral response that favors the strengthening of a protective, resilient and inclusive environment. The organizations of the Consortium will concentrate their actions in eight (8) states of Venezuela: Capital District, Miranda, Zulia, Falcón, Sucre, Delta Amacuro, Bolívar and Amazonas, carrying out activities to improve access to protection, health and water, sanitation and hygiene services in the communities where the project intervenes.

COOPI plans to strengthen its structure at the country level by hiring a Legal Guidance Officer , responsible for supporting programmatic coordination in the planning, management, monitoring and strengthening of legal and protection response activities aimed at beneficiaries, adhering to the objectives, methodological and ethical guidelines established in COOPI’s standard operating procedures for the care and response of GBV and TdP survivors.

The Legal Guidance Officer will develop standard operating procedures for the standardization of legal guidance provided by the Case Management team, providing technical guidelines and supporting the counseling processes for GBV survivors and TdP victims from the national office, and on an itinerant basis in the bases and communities prioritized by the project.

Areas of Responsibility

Main activities

• Provide technical and operational leadership to the local protection team, in accordance with the organization’s policies, ensuring that all stakeholders are informed.
• Participate in the adaptation and contextualization of technical materials (protocols, policies, guidelines, operational standards, training materials) regarding legal assistance to GBV survivors and victims of Human Trafficking.
• Provide legal and technical support and assistance, when required, in legal guidance and case management activities carried out in the field, ensuring quality in the execution of the activities and services offered, as well as their adherence to current national and international legislation for the protection of GBV survivors and victims of TdP.
• Contribute to the technical training of local partners, providing support where necessary and ensuring a proactive and constant flow of communication.
• Guide, advise and accompany remotely and/or in person, if required, the beneficiary population of the project throughout the legal assistance process.
• Evaluate the quality of existing support services, identifying limitations and gaps, with an impact on an improved and culturally appropriate social response.
• Support the process of alliances and coordination with organizations, public institutions and key actors to activate referral routes for cases to specialized services.
• Participate in facilitating community awareness-raising and training for the prevention of human trafficking, gender-based violence and other forms of violence in priority territories.
• Participate in the processes of strengthening and supporting community networks to support women, together with community leaders and in accordance with the technical guidelines of the COOPI national team.
• Support in the design of proposals and training on GBV and TdP prevention issues.
• Contribute to the adaptation and implementation of project monitoring and accountability tools, facilitating their application with respect to the organization’s internal procedures.
• Participate in team and supervisory meetings.
• Participate in the training and experience exchange processes to which they are invited.
• Comply with safety guidelines and promote compliance during team field trips.
• Ensure compliance with COOPI’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, Gender Policy, Protection and PEAS Policy.
• Availability to travel within the national territory to the project implementation states.

Desired profile:

ESSENTIALS

• Legal professional, with sensitivity and experience in caring for GBV and TdP survivors.
• Duly registered and solvent in the Bar Association corresponding to the federal entity in which he/she will practice.
• Registration at the Social Security Institute for Lawyers
• Excellent knowledge of the local legal system and legal procedures.
• Postgraduate degree in humanitarian action, human rights, women’s rights, children’s and adolescents’ rights, and/or gender equality is desirable.
• At least four years of work experience in prevention and care for GBV survivors and TdP victims, with a gender equality approach and/or a survivor-centered approach.
• Communication and argumentative skills.
• Extensive humanitarian and empathetic knowledge and practices.
• Skills to raise awareness among groups on legal guidance on GBV, TdP, Women’s Rights, Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, DSDR.
• It is desirable to have worked with non-governmental organizations specializing in GBV and/or TdP.
• Excellent knowledge of the institutional structure of comprehensive support for survivors of GBV, TdP and protection routes at the community and institutional levels.
• Availability to work in interdisciplinary teams and under pressure conditions.
• Emotional strengths for working with GBV survivors: good emotional management, stress management, assertiveness, self-care strategies.
• Know and implement the survivor-centered approach.
• Know and apply the guiding principles of care for GBV survivors, including: safety, confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination.
• Understanding and knowledge of the local situation and community dynamics.
• Ability to gather information objectively, appropriately and sensitively, observing carefully, listening actively, paying full attention to the situation and information from various sources.
• Know and apply the principles of humanitarian action: neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence.
• Respect for COOPI’s Vision and Mission.
• Know, adapt and apply key GBV tools to the context, including: Interagency guidelines for GBV and TdP case management; Psychosocial support for GBV survivors and TdP victims; IASC guidelines for GBV interventions in humanitarian settings, Minimum standards for GBV interventions, GBV standard operating procedures, among others.
• Availability to travel to the territories prioritized in the project.
• Sensitivity to gender and diversity.
• Handling of computer tools (Microsoft Windows operating system) and office automation (Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

As suitable profiles are available, the call for applications may be closed before the indicated date. COOPI reserves the right to contact only those profiles considered suitable and preselected.

COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is an Italian independent and secular humanitarian organisation that fights against all forms of poverty in order to improve the world. Founded in 1965, today COOPI is present in 33 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East, with both emergency and development projects carried out by expatriate staff – an average of more than 270 people per year – and national staff. The main institutional funders are the European Union – ECHO and INTPA – USAID, UN agencies, the Italian Government, local authorities and other European governments.