Legal Assistant At Médecins Sans Frontières en Suisse

Job Offer
(strictly no recruitment agencies)

Join MSF OCG as a Legal Assistant!

We are looking for passionate candidates ready to contribute to our humanitarian mission.

Below, you will find the job details and the qualifications we are looking for.

Inclusivity and Diversity at MSF

Do your qualifications and experience not exactly match all requirements of the job?

At MSF OCG, we are committed to an inclusive culture that supports and amplifies the diverse voices of our staff members. We strive to create workplaces where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together to advance MSF’s social mission and create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with.

We understand that some people may hesitate to apply for employment if they don’t meet all listed job requirements. Research shows that this is especially true for women. If you believe your profile is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply even if you don’t fulfil every listed qualification.

We encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.

MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment. All selected candidates will undergo reference checks.

Context & mission

Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).

The MSF movement is built around 5 operational centers supported by 24 sections and offices worldwide. MSF Operational Center Geneva (MSF OCG) is one of these centers.

The Legal Department provides advice and general/private legal support to the operations and headquarters.

The Legal Assistant will be supporting the OCG team, providing support on the thematic pole Unit 4 and its legal advisors (Administrative and commercial laws, taxes, visa, etc.) and Unit 3 (Labour laws) and will act as an assistant dedicated to administrative, organizational and knowledge management activities for the whole OCG team.

Legal Assistant may punctually provide necessary legal assistance for the other legal scope (IHL, medic-legal) if requested.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Legal Support (60%)

• Legal support for project mission and headquarters.
• Supporting legal advisors in the preparation of legal analysis on specific operational dossiers: analysis of the documents, national laws & regulations, making risks assessments and drafting analysis.
• Making legal research of various national laws and regulations.
• Drafting note, memos on substantive dossiers.
• Support in the management of pre-litigations and litigations (commercial, tax, labour law), including drafting of Mater Files. Collecting documents, relevant information and legal references.
• Supporting in the revision of contracts and Memorundum of Understanding or any agreements with external partners.

Administrative Support and Organization of the Department (40%)

1. Management of the database:

• Update the follow-up tables of the ILD or OCG legal team.
• Collection of registration and renewal MOUs (framework and project) from departments or field.
• Monitoring the management of the legal Toolbox (collecting, filing IDL memos, practical tools, etc.).
• Dissemination of ILD tools.

  2. Providing support in the preparation of field visits for OCG legal advisors

• Gathering of the necessary documentation (visit report, national laws, country analysis, etc.).
• Overview of field visits, travels and leaves of the OCG team

  3. Organizing meetings of the OCG legal department:

• Preparing the agenda of the monthly meeting of the OCG Legal team.
• Drafting of minutes.
• Organization of ad hoc meetings upon request.

  4. Support and follow-up of recruitment (e.g.Interns).

Your profile

Education

• University degree in law: Master in private law / student at the CRFPA / other equivalent profile.

Experience

• Previous experience with MSF and the Intersectional Legal Department is an advantage.
• Previous professional experience is an asset (other NGO, law firm, etc.)

Languages

• Fluent English and French (written and spoken).

Skills/ Technical competencies

• Contract law; comparative approach.
• Tax law.
• Administrative law / public law.
• Labour Law
• Legal research.
• Ability to synthesize and analyse, autonomy, writing skills, precision, time management, responsiveness.

Personal Abilities/Qualities

• Team spirit.
• Motivation.
• Maturity.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.
• Autonomy and flexibility.

Terms of employment

• Full-time position 100% (40h/week)
• Fixed-term contract, 12 months.
• Working place: Geneva, Switzerland
• Ideal start date: February the 3rd, 2025
• Gross monthly salary (for 100%): from CHF 6’671 – CHF 8’022.- (salary commensurate with equivalent experience and internal salary grid).
• Paid vacation: 25 days per year, prorate temporis, plus any Swiss public holidays falling within the contract period.
• Pension plan: pension contribution covered 3/4 by MSF, 1/4 by staff member.
• Relocation package if moving from a different country to Switzerland.