Senior Legal Associate

About the role

UNHCR Türkiye, represented by a Country Office in Ankara, is recruiting a Senior Legal Associate to support the Protection Unit. The post helps ensure that protection standards, operational procedures and practices align with international standards, and supports activities carried out with the Union of Turkish Bar Associations in the legal aid field. The position is an individual contractor role with a start date of 16 November 2026.

Key responsibilities

• Assist in preparing legal advice, position papers and guidelines on legal and operational issues
• Monitor legal developments and provide briefings on legislative and judicial changes for internal papers and advocacy
• Support the preparation of legal materials shared with national counterparts, and compile good practices and comparative charts
• Help with UNHCR legal publications, the legal website and the dissemination of refugee law information
• Organise capacity-building activities for NGOs and lawyers, and represent the Office externally on protection doctrine and policy under the guidance of the Head of the Unit

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Law, Political Science, International Relations, Social Sciences or a related field
• At least 2 years of relevant professional experience in protection, asylum, migration management or related areas
• Turkish as mother tongue and excellent command of English
• External candidates must be legally present in Turkey at the time of application and hire, and attach a valid residence permit

Required skills

• Research, analytical thinking, planning and organising, data collection and reporting
• Strong drafting skills and stakeholder management
• Desirable: knowledge of International Refugee Law and Human Rights Law, UNHCR financial rules, good computer skills, prior UNHCR exposure, and other UN languages (C1)

What we offer

• Remuneration at the ICSC salary scale for the vacancy
• Annual leave of 2.5 working days per month and sick leave of 2 working days per month of service
• Cigna health insurance, optionally for eligible dependents
• 40 hours per week, including mandatory night shifts, with possible weekend and holiday work

The incumbent receives guidance from the Senior Protection Officer and is supervised by the Assistant Protection Officer. Applications are submitted through the UNHCR online application system; only shortlisted candidates are contacted, and late applications are not accepted.