EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full- time (Sunday to Thursday 8h00-16h00)
POSITION: Lawyer– Erbil
QANDIL is a Swedish non-governmental humanitarian aid organization founded in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden. Having continuously operated in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ever since, QANDIL’s main priorities of work are protection, refugee and IDP initiatives, WASH, construction, education and capacity building. QANDIL is currently UNHCR’s largest implementing partner in Erbil Governorate.
Protection and Reintegration Center (PARC) is a joint project funded by the UNHCR and implemented by QANDIL. The objective of PARC is to fulfill the rights of Refugees, asylum seekers, and Iraq’s internally displaced persons (Refugees). Through PARC, QANDIL currently employs more than 120 full-time staff providing various types of services, including legal services. PARC’s IDP Component provides Legal Aid, Community Services, and Protection assistance to Refugees. Most of these Refugees are originally from the Iraqi governorates of Al-Anbar, Mosul (including Shingal), and others parts of Iraq. They are of multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds, including Yezidi Kurds, Shabaks, Arabs, Christians, and more.
In order to offer legal, protection, and community service assistance to the maximum number of Refugees and Refugees, QANDIL has formed PARC Mobile Teams. These Mobile Teams consist of Lawyers, Protection Assistants, and Community Service Assistants (CSA) who conduct daily field visits throughout Erbil Governorate where Refugees and Refugees live, incl. those in camps and outside of camps, such as in churches, schools, unfinished buildings, and incomplete construction sites.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
▪ Assist persons of concern to access and enjoy their rights in light of international standards and according to relevant bodies of law.
▪ Willingness to work primarily in the field as part of a mobile protection monitoring team, traveling to various locations within Erbil governorate on a daily basis.
▪ Provide accurate and neutral legal counseling to Refugees/IDPs on a range of legal issues and concerns, particularly related to missing documentation.
▪ Advocate with local authorities to ensure that the rights of Refugees/IDPs are upheld and protected.
▪ Enhance knowledge of relevant protection issues; particularly related to changes in Residency and Asayish policy affecting Refugees/IDPs.
▪ Follow up on detention cases where required, and advocate for the basic rights of Refugees/ IDPs to be respected.
Swedish Humanitarian Aid Organization
▪ Represent Refugees/IDPs in cases related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, including domestic violence.
▪ Promote knowledge and awareness of Refugees’/IDPs’ legal rights; including registration procedures, birth documentation and access to justice.
▪ Collect data on each legal case assisted on a daily basis.
▪ Contribute to the weekly reports of the mobile protection monitoring team.
▪ Uphold QANDIL and UNHCR’s code of conduct, and ensure that all persons of concern are treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with humanitarian principles and human rights standards.
▪ Perform other duties as assigned by supervisors.
Required qualification and skills:
• Bachelor Degree in Law;
• At least two years’ work experience in the same position or relevant field;
• Willingness to work in all areas of the Erbil Governorate; travel long distances and work in adverse weather conditions.
• Language: Fluency in Kurdish & Arabic languages and English is a plus.
• Member of the KRI Lawyer’s Bar Association.
• Legal qualification and ability to practice law within the Erbil Governorate.
• Willingness to work primarily ‘in-field’.
• Must work well within ethnically diverse teams, and work cooperatively within teams.
Note: Applications not meeting the specified minimum requirements or received after closing date may not be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview that may include a written test of communication and writing skills.
QANDIL is a not-for-profit, non-governmental, non-political, and non-religious Swedish humanitarian aid organization that was founded in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden. Initially focusing on raising awa...
