Legal Consultant - Digital Child Protection Legislative Reform

Job Posting Organization:
UN Women was established in July 2010 as part of the UN reform agenda to enhance gender equality and women's empowerment. It consolidates the efforts of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, namely DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM, to create a more impactful entity focused on gender issues. UN Women operates globally, with a mission to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, empower women, and achieve equality between women and men in various sectors, including development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security. The organization provides targeted technical support to women leaders to enhance their participation in legislative and policy processes, ensuring that women's voices are heard and considered in governance. UN Women is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment, promoting mutual respect and equality in its workforce.

Job Overview:
The Legal Consultant position at UN Women focuses on conducting a comprehensive assessment of Lebanon's legal and institutional framework concerning the protection of children from digital and technology-facilitated harms. This role is crucial as children increasingly engage with digital technologies, which expose them to various risks, including online sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, and privacy violations. The consultant will work closely with a woman parliamentarian leading a legislative initiative aimed at addressing these issues through evidence-based and gender-responsive legal reforms. The consultant will be responsible for developing a legislative reform package that includes identifying gaps in existing laws, conducting comparative legal research, and consulting with national stakeholders to ensure that the proposed reforms are effective and applicable within the Lebanese context. The consultant will apply a child-rights-based and gender-responsive approach throughout the assignment, ensuring that the needs of all children, particularly vulnerable groups, are prioritized in the legislative process.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant will undertake several key tasks, including:

• Developing an inception report outlining the methodology, workplan, and analytical framework for the assignment.
• Conducting a national legal and institutional mapping and gap analysis to review existing Lebanese legislation relevant to child protection from digital harms.
• Performing targeted comparative legal research to identify effective legislative models from other jurisdictions.
• Engaging in stakeholder consultations to validate the legal analysis and gather technical input on potential reforms.
• Drafting a Legislative and Regulatory Options Paper that outlines feasible reform options and their implications.
• Preparing a comprehensive legislative reform package, including necessary legal texts and explanatory notes.
• Finalizing the legislative package based on feedback from UN Women and relevant stakeholders, ensuring it aligns with international human rights standards and is implementable within Lebanon's legal framework.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree in Law, International Law, Human Rights Law, Criminal Law, Technology Law, Cyber Law, or a closely related field. A first-level university degree in Law, combined with additional relevant experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. Additionally, candidates should have at least 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in legal analysis, legislative drafting, and legal policy development. Experience in drafting legislation or regulations in Lebanon is essential, along with demonstrated knowledge of the Lebanese legal system and legislative processes. Candidates should also have experience in areas such as child rights, cybercrime, privacy law, and gender-based violence, as well as experience conducting legal gap analyses and comparative research.

Educational Background:
An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Law, International Law, Human Rights Law, Criminal Law, Technology Law, Cyber Law, or another closely related legal field is required. A first-level university degree in Law combined with additional years of relevant qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:
Candidates should have a minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in legal analysis, legislative drafting, and legal policy development. Experience in drafting, reviewing, or proposing legislation in Lebanon is required, along with knowledge of the Lebanese legal system and legislative processes. Experience in at least two of the following areas is also required: child rights, criminal law, cybercrime, privacy law, and gender-based violence. Experience in conducting legal gap analyses and comparative legal research is essential, as is experience applying international human rights standards to national legal reform.

Languages:
Fluency in English and Arabic is required for this position. Strong drafting skills in both languages are essential, particularly in Arabic, to ensure that legal documents are accurately prepared and communicated.

Additional Notes:
This consultancy is home-based, with the possibility of participating in virtual and/or in-person consultations as required by UN Women and the designated parliamentarian. The consultant will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures, including a zero-tolerance policy on conduct incompatible with the organization's aims and objectives. The position may involve a payment schedule based on the completion of specific deliverables, including an inception report, national legal gap analysis, legislative reform options paper, first draft legislative reform package, and final legislative reform package.